A Hilarious Paint by numbers Superhero movie!

Rating: 8/10 (15 September 2014)

One would argue that Hollywood is saturated with comic-book movies these days. I wouldn't complain though coz some of the best Hollywood blockbusters came to life from their comic book counterparts. The Dark Knight, Avengers, Sin City, 300 to name a few. But at the same time it does a tad bit tiring when studios like Marvel, Warner Bros and 21st Century Fox dishes out a dozen of these so called superhero movies with 'save the world from the bad guy' premise. Lets keep aside DC for the time being coz it gave us THE best superhero movie of all time, The Dark Knight. Yea, I am a DC fanboy, throw eggs at me, I don't care. Lets talk about Marvel who's on a winning streak since Iron Man, setting up their Phases flawlessly. The Avengers was no doubt, one of the best comic book movies ever made but you gotta agree, some of the Phase One movies that the studio churned out to fill in till the finale just felt like..wellfillers.
It bewildered me why Marvel was making a movie on some lesser known galactic superheroes while they could have easily pulled off a Nova Corps, Alpha Flight or an Excalibur movie, hell they could have even gone for X-Factor. While I am fairly positive the aforementioned still might be in the pipeline I frankly thought that Guardians Of The Galaxy would be a quick cashing in before the behemoth release, Avengers Age of Ultron. My skepticism hit the roof when I learnt that James Gunn was directing the movie. No offence, I like the guys' movies, be it the darkly comic, Super or the disgustingly humorous Slither but Gunn isn't what I would call fit for a superhero movie. Turned out I was wrong and his weird humor and direction earned him my respect and admiration for making an Awesome Anti-Avengers movie.
Thanks to no Worldwide release I had to wait out a week rummaging through the internet avoiding stumbling upon a Guardians of the Galaxy review/spoiler. But then again I wouldn't lie, storywise Guardians of the Galaxy is a paint by numbers save-the-world story and wouldn't have made a difference even if I had stumbled on some spoilers. But its those these dysfunctional crooks that make magic out of it. This group of outlaws comprising of Starlord, Gamora, Rocket, Groot and Drax is everything you've never expected in a superhero movie and when they team up, it works perfectly. Don't go in expecting an Avengers-esque movie coz you'll be let down coz Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers are tonally poles apart, almost. Thanks to James Gunn, the movie promises chuck loads of his signature humour and chockful of action. Amidst all the ruckus you'd almost forget the fact the antagonist is the least bit intimidating, oh yea that's flaw you are likely to look past.
I had not thought once, when I'd seen Chris Pratt getting his teeth bashed out by James McAvoy in Wanted, that he'd end up as a main lead in a major studios' production. Chris Pratt was just amazing as Peter Quill aka Star Lord, his comic prowess stood out till end. When I asked one of my friends if he'd liked to go for Guardians of The Galaxy he scoffed saying "I am not going for movie which has a talking squirrel", I sincerely sympathize with the fellow for addressing so, one of best characters in the movie, Rocket the Raccoon voiced by Bradley Cooper. Vin Diesels' Groot was adorable and having just 2 lines through out the movie didn't hurt at all, instead you'll saying it yourself post watching the movie. Zoe Saldana played Gamora and it would have helped to fill in her backstory just a bit more. While I initially questioned Dave Bautista's acting skills, I'd say he did his part well. Surprisingly the leads' packed the same kinda charm the Avengers had on its plate.
I tapped my foot every time those soundtracks kicked in. I have a thing for old school music and Guardians of The Galaxy's soundtrack is most definitely my cup of tea. It includes Blue Swede's Hooked On a Feeling which had been a favorite since the Ally McBeal days, plus Redbone's Come and Get Your Love, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terell's Ain't No Mountain High Enough, 10cc's I'm Not in Love are some of the frequent tracks in my usual playlist.
Marvel sure had balls to make a movie on these less notable heroes and an unconventional director and the fact it worked out well amuses me more. Guardians of The Galaxy might not be as epic as The Avengers, but its a surefire entertainer and no comic-book movie fan would say NO to it. I am sure this would have boosted Guardian of The Galaxy comics sales, not to mention filling up Kevin Feige's pockets, but as long as Marvel churns out movies like this, count me in.
PS: James Gunn's weird sense of humour came into play once again when the post credit sequence popped up, though take it with just a pinch of salt.