Excellent daft escapade

Rating: 9/10 (15 September 2015)

This movie made me laugh. Most modern Hollywood comedies leave me cold, Adam Sandler, Brat Pack drivel, for example. The reason I enjoyed this was that I liked the characters. The chemistry between the male and female leads was best when they were antagonistic, when he disgusted her. I didn't buy into the romantic aspect of their relationship. The last half hour of the movie was by far the weakest, but I guess that they had to provide some climactic fireworks. The movie worked best when the characters were plotting, bitching and scheming. Also the last half hour would have worked better if the villain was less so-so. I didn't yearn for the downfall of the big villain very much and his female side-kick was sweet rather than menacing. This deflated what should have been a suspenseful climax. The visual and spoken gags were the movie's strong point, which worked best when Rocket was around. Rocket was one of those characters I love. Just his facial expressions alone had me laughing. Without Rocket, the movie would have lost a couple of points. Quill was charismatic and seemingly effortlessly pulled off a tricky blend of foolish clown and heroic leader and straight man to Rocket.