Very Satisfying!

Rating: 8/10 (15 August 2014)

In a culture where the majority of films are nothing more than a cacophony of violent scenes riding on a loosely woven wanna-be story slapped together for the entertainment of adolescent hoodlums, Guardians of the Galaxy is a refreshing anomaly!
The flick does have plenty of action, a film-industry stipend which neither I nor my family and friends are fond of, but the action scenes are bearable because there is sufficient plot to hold one's interest, and characters that are endearing – even the cantankerous and wooden ones.
Galaxy is visually enjoyable and the story is endearing right from the start. The cast is superb, especially the very charismatic main character, Peter Quill, played by Chris Pratt.
What I like most of all is that this movie is FUNNY! A lot of movie reviews make claims about how funny the movie is, which invariably guarantees that you won't laugh at all. But this one does deliver some clever one-liners that I, and evidently the audience at large, found humorous.
A couple of surprises at the end (I don't think these are spoilers because I don't give away any of the story): I saw some names in the credits, of known actors, that you would never have guessed were in the film . . also, stay in your seats through the credits. When I noticed that nobody got up out of their seats I decided to stay put too. I can't say the pay-off was worth it to me, but maybe it's worth it to you.
There aren't half stars in the menu, or I would have given this an eight and a half instead of an eight. I can't give it a 9 or 10 because I reserve that for films such as epics, and my favorite favorites. Nevertheless, I can honestly say that this is one of the better ones to have come along in a while, and that I look forward to the next Guardians adventure!