It's an Okay Addition to the MCU

Rating: 7/10 (6 May 2017)

This is quite an experimental film coming from Marvel. There are risks, but there are also safe spots. I thought a lot of the comedy hit for comedic reaction, but a lot of it screwed with the tone of the film and continuity of the Marvel universe. I don't think it's a bad thing to 2x the comedy up for Guardians of the Galaxy, but Gunn needs to know how to put them in the right spot so he doesn't create a chain of uneven continuity errors. There were parts near the end that should've been taken more seriously instead it was very insulting. There are a group of villains that are forced to be there that Gunn should've just shown for 2 minutes and move on with one main villain. They do end up having a purpose by the end, but they are just a plot device to be used for the next film. I feel like Marvel should've made the decision to make this a complete standalone instead of teasing for the next. The main villain is a bit better developed, but really too over the top and just completely silly. I like the character development throughout the film even though two of them did nothing. I feel the worst development out of all of them is Drax. They do keep some serious aspects of him, but he's quite uneven and becomes an almost different character. At times, he was so over the top that he ended up being comic relief throughout. Like, actually trying to be funny. The humor isn't bad, it's not completely cringeworthy like the other previous Marvel films, but it's just becomes a mess for the narrative. The visual effects are good, but there are several parts where the visual concepts just look bad. There is not much use of the 8K camera, but when there is, the dynamic range is incredible. Hopefully, Disney decides to adapt to a full length 8K Marvel film in the future.
Overall, this was a fun movie even though being deeply flawed. I give it a 6.7/10.