Marvelous Recognition

Rating: 10/10 (4 August 2014)

Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the least known comic books of Marvel. The only reason why the whole world, aside of the fans of the source material, are going to see this because it's a Marvel production, but we should all admit that apart from the comic geek world, nobody knew who Rocket Racoon and Groot were before the film was announced, nobody heard of Starlord before Chris Pratt was attached to the project, and most people hardly knew what it is actually about. While many are still seeking for a Doctor Strange or an Ant-Man movie, we should first get to know something that haven't got enough attention before. And wondrously, these filmmakers introduce this mythology with huge love not only to its own, but also to the fantasy/adventure genre and its old classic form, which easily delivers the sheer fun. But even in the realm of explosions and zany worlds, the best parts of the journey ended up being the scenes with the characters interacting and often to engage a set of great humor and drama. That is already too much to ask for a ridiculously fun blockbuster.
It is certainly a space adventure, it already offers a lot of strange alien designs and intergalactic action, but the big stuff aren't the only highlight of the movie. The film would mostly focus on its characters, nearly all of them may be aliens, but their pathos and personalities are down-to-earth. How the team was formed is the same way how The Avengers did. They aren't nice to each other, but they had to get along so they may save the world... or galaxy. But here their motivations are either for revenge or money instead of heroic pride. How they introduced themselves may be a little too over explained through their conversations. The exposition is so relied on the dialogue, but what keeps it from being exhausting is when those talks lead to a naturally clever punchline. The film is just best when the heroes are developing their sudden friendship, turning themselves from cold hearted thugs into a likable band of misfits. The film also has a big love for the seventies music, and it smartly uses it for Peter Quill's last earthly thing he'll ever possess in his otherworldly life.
These parts with the characters make the action the secondary appeal of the film, but that doesn't always mean it's a bad thing. This is basically going back to the past blockbusters when rooting for the characters was more important than trying to advance the technical/style abilities. But then, it doesn't have any problem with the action, except sometimes the space battles can be hard to follow but again whenever there's a humor in it, the consistency goes back on track. It's simple fun, sometimes nostalgic piece of adventure that doesn't have to be over-serious to be outright compelling, but it also does have some drama, while it doesn't entirely embraces its sadness, it at least gives some hints behind the characters and manifests the heart and brutality of their backstories eventually. The actors are excellent indeed as they give plenty of shining and charismatic personalities to their awesome characters.
The plot may not be too sharp or its villains may not be so memorable, but Guardians of the Galaxy still reaches its goal of lovingly introduces its universe to the ones who've never heard of it. Since everyone is aware that superhero movies are made for the mass more than its fans (let's have to be honest about this), this idea may not always be taken seriously, especially when comic book movies have gone to its dark and gritty era and yet this one offers us stuff like a talking tree and a gunslinging raccoon, but here it is: Guardians of the Galaxy, the movie that isn't meant to exist ending up being one of the greatest films that Marvel ever produced since Iron Man. Is it a bold choice for them? Probably, but it's really not hard having self-awareness. The triumph of the film is reliving the classic, somewhat campy space opera and marking its characters as its real deal, even when they are not as familiar as many of Marvel's heroes. In the end, it's just pure fun, the flaws are there but at some point it doesn't matter. Every moment of the film has the excitement and laugh that anyone would seek for a blockbuster, taking place in a fascinating new world that we are yet to fully explore.