A Disjointed but Entertaining Space Romp

Rating: 8/10 (8 August 2014)

Marvel films have crispness, like a newly opened can of tennis balls. GotG may be its freshest, leaning heavily on Whedon's Avengers to create a cowboy-space opera strongly hearkening "Firefly". The effects are impressive and humor is sidesplitting. Unfortunately, Gunn seems more concerned with being cool than coherent. For all its originality, GotG falls prey to the treaded and dreaded ground of melodrama and over-extended action sequences, made more apparent because of how good it is otherwise. Despite the sloppiness, the positives mostly win out.
The plot is extremely convoluted. Essentially there is a mysteriously powerful object that some bad people want, and a band of misfit anti-heroes must keep it from them. Fortunately the actual film experience is better than the story. Whenever our five heroes are together, it's truly magical. Pratt charms by delivering great dialogue, Saldana continues her queendom of scifi franchises (this, Avatar, Star Trek), and Batista is surprisingly hilarious. Most notably, Diesel and Cooper as Groot and Rocket have the kind of comedic chemistry we haven't seen in the Marvel universe yet. The team aspects are a blast, even if they are a bit unbelievably familial.
GotG is Marvel's first comedy, full of pop culture references, trope disassembling and a hilariously effective soundtrack. Its comedy is its jewel. However, when it falls into the rote destruction porn ending, indistinct action and short moments of sentimentality, I can't help but wish it would've kept its tongue more firmly in its cheek. Maybe I'm just suffering from blockbuster fatigue. At least GotG offers more than the normal summertime fare.