Absolute fun!

Rating: 10/10 (2 August 2014)

Sure, someone who has never read a comic book may know who Captain America is and what Iron Man's real name happens to be but how many know who Peter Quill is or why there is a raccoon hanging out with something you are pretty sure was in The Lord of the Rings films? Guys like me do because we read "Guardians of the Galaxy" but what about those who think comic books are for kids?
Marvel Studios took a huge risk adapting one of their more obscure titles and bringing the Marvel movieverse further into the cosmos with "Guardians of the Galaxy" but the gambit paid off and paid off extremely well! Since Marvel knows exactly how to find the right men for the job, they hit gold by having director James Gunn bring the pages to life and he made a film that had not only a great story but was action-packed and funny all at the same time.
The cast is perfect and everyone—Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer and Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper doing the voices of Groot and Rocket—were the perfect choices. Even if their characters were altered slightly from comic book pages counterparts, they all nailed what was needed to make their character work. Whether it be Pratt channeling a little bit of Han Solo or Bautista capturing Drax's insanity, Zoe nailing the badass nature of Gamora or Bradley getting the essence of Rocket or Vin Diesel able to make Groot come to life (which is a challenge since all Groot says is "I am Groot"), they all made the Guardians great characters to watch and get invested in and have a blast with. But the cast didn't stop there, literally all players—Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Lee Pace, Benicio Del Toro, Djimon Hounsou—they were all captivating and all brought the rich cosmic world of the Guardians and made it something to really enjoy.
"The Avengers" is still my favorite Marvel Studios film but there is no doubt that "Guardians of the Galaxy" is a ridiculously close second. With all its Easter Eggs to try and find, it's outrageous and never-ending humor, the fantastic cast, the great characters brought to life from the pages, and some very exciting action, this film will definitely have a permanent rotation in my favorite movie list and I will be watching it repeatedly for a long time!