Marvel's space opera is a win.

Rating: 9/10 (15 May 2018)

Marvel Studios brings a fun and humorous, yet emotional space opera to the big screen. With stunning action sequences, great character depth and an fitting score, Guardians of the galaxy (directed by James Gunn) is nicely told and keeps me very optimistic for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Starring in the film is Chris Pratt (gun-slinging scavenger Peter Quill), Zoe Saldana (the deadliest woman in the galaxy), Bradley Cooper (loudmouth raccoon), Vin Diesel (friendly walking tree), and Dave Bautista (Drax the beastly, yet somber destroyer).
What's great about this movie, is that beyond the action and the spaceships and gags, it's all about the team and the dynamic between each character. Every member of the team has a moment to shine and a hell of a lot of humor to provide for our comedic hunger (this film is full of well-executed quips). Jokes aside, we're actually given a reason to understand and relate to each of these characters and their motives within the plot as we're driven into their backstories briefly but wisely. Not only does this give us a good understanding of everyone without spending 30 minutes on each character, but leaves room for more development in future storytelling. Speaking of time, at 2 hours and 1 minute the pace of the film moves along nicely and never feels like its dragging along or being rushed to the finished line. The plot itself is fairly simple, but serves well for character development. The villain has an understandable motive although his overall plan feels a little generic, which is unfortunate as I think Lee Pace plays the part well.
The film is filled with wonderous set pieces and locations that feel as if they've lept from the pages of a comic book on LSD, and they are a complete joy to take in. The action is just terrific in all ways you could hope for in a space opera. If you're a fan of explosions, spaceship battles and godly cosmic powers, you'll feel right at home. The diversity and creativity in different alien species and races are also on par with that of Star Wars. Of course, none of this could be achieved without the impressive use of both practical and visual effects, which come together to paint a bright and attractive aesthetic for the movie.
One of the best decisions James Gunn made for this film was to include a 70's inspired soundtrack. Each song is perfectly matched with the scene its played in, the two complement each other and further add to the unique feel of the film. More importantly, the soundtrack showed me a side of music I never knew I enjoyed, I now listen to said soundtrack all the time. When a film's music moves me personally, that's enough to tell me it's perfect.
I'm really glad Marvel decided to hire James Gunn and let him pursue and perfectly execute his vision. Because what we as an audience receive is far beyond a masterpiece of entertaining cinema. Guardians of the galaxy is up there as one of the best comic book movies of all time, for me personally. You'll be laughing, cheering, maybe even sobbing. Regardless, definitely a very enjoyable flick and well-directed film in its own right. Must see.