‘The Guardians of the Galaxy’ has been one of the most hyped and buzzed about Marvel movies in recent memories. Not so much just for the ‘Avengers’ style team dynamic, but also that this is Marvel’s riskiest endeavor to date. Since Marvel doesn’t own the film rights to their two flagship comic titles, The Fantastic Four and The X-Men, Marvel has quickly run out of primary characters with a general public awareness. In fact, they are tapping a moderately if not lower successful comic series that only started in its’ current form during the last decade. Hardly a pedigree upon which to build a franchise. In addition, ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy’ isn’t a super-hero film per se, it falls more under the Space-Western genre and those have become as rare as actual Westerns in recent years. To make executives more nervous, Marvel, once again, picked a quirky (some say unknown) Director, James Gunn, known primarily for low-budget genre films. However this could have turned out, I admire greatly that a big corporate machine like Disney/Marvel took a chance instead of going cookie cutter. The film is a welcome addition to the Marvel Universe and takes us down a more comedic path than previously angst ridden and dark super-hero films. Combine that with one of the hippest retro soundtracks ever attached to a movie and Marvel has a blockbuster on their hands…in August (slow movie month) no less. I will say that this film isn’t as accessible to mass audiences as other super-hero movies which are more Earth based. Once the prologue ends, it is a non-stop outer space roller coaster ride. If you are someone who doesn’t like Space Westerns then this might not be for you, but Director James Gunn does a phenomenal job bringing every cliché in the book together and presenting them in a fresh way.
Chris Pratt takes on the lead role of Peter Quill aka Star-Lord (a lofty name which no one except him seems willing to use). Chris Pratt is best known for his goofy sit -com role on ‘Parks and Recreation’, but this film launches him into the leading man category. Pratt channels and combines the roguish, yet comedic qualities of Harrison Ford’s Han Solo and Indiana Jones and gives us a scoundrel to root for. Quill is charming, handsome, funny, and did I say roguish? Despite his cavalier antics, he can handle himself in a fight and he would be the first one you would want to help you out of a jam.
After being snatched from Earth as a boy, Peter Quill spends his time as a treasure hunter/salvager. When he recovers a mysterious orb on one of his adventures, he brings the attention of several baddies he would rather not be noticed by. The beautiful green skinned assassin Gamora (played stunningly gorgeous by Zoe Saldanna) is sent to retrieve the orb from Quill as he tries to pawn it on the planet of Xandar. In addition, bounty hunters, most notably a grumpy cyberneticly enhanced raccoon named Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and 7 foot Groot, a walking tree (played tri-syllbalically by Vin Diesel) are trying to catch Quill in order to collect the price on his head. During all the commotion, they are captured and thrown into a maximum security prison where they find their final member, Drax the Destroyer (played surprisingly able by former WWE wrestler Dave Bautista). Drax has lost his wife and daughter and his sole mission is revenge on Ronan, the being responsible.
Some may roll their eyes at the thought of a talking raccoon and a walking tree being characters, but the CGI in this is flawless and they become the highlight if not breakout characters of the movie. The friendship between Rocket and Groot is something that we empathetically feel and even though Groot can only say three words; “I am Groot’, Vin Diesel does a great job instilling emotional context in the performance. No easy task and a tribute to the CGI team. The anti-heroes reluctantly team up to break out of prison and once they find out the true plans for the orb by Ronan, a generic omnipotent villain for which Marvel is known, they decide to work together in order to save the galaxy. Giddyup!
The genius of Marvel is that every character they create, no matter what the genre, exists in the same universe. Everything is interconnected and if you have been following the films over the last several years, you will see the cross overs and connections. Glimpses of everything from the Teserac to the Mad Titan Thanos are seen if not explored. Also, more than any film to date, there are more Easter eggs for the comic geek than all other films combined. Races like the Kree or the Xandarian’s Nova Corps to The Celestials and even the beginnings of the Infinity Gauntlet are all in here for the über nerds like myself. Just take a look at The Collector’s menagerie during its’ brief screen time and you will see things that will occupy you for hours. However; the further genius of Marvel is that you don’t have to know about these things to still enjoy the film. The layman can get on this roller coaster and still enjoy the ride, while the fanboys scream the loudest at the hints of things to come.
As most people know, all these films build on one another. Up until now, it has all been earth bound. It will be interesting to see how Marvel integrates this cosmic story line with the more terrestrial Avengers. They do it all the time in comic books, so why not in film. There is no dead weight in this film as each of the characters is fleshed out and as we learn about them we come to care about them as individuals. Despite the bickering, they begin to care for each other as well. As I stated before, not only is James Gunn not afraid of using clichés he embraces them. The film makes fun of itself through the use of clichés whether it’s the ‘we-are-all-in’ rousing motivational speech or the cheesy ‘all-is-lost-before-victory’ climax. The villain Ronan definitely doesn’t give a Loki class performance, but Lee Pace does what he is supposed to do and that is look omnipotent and pissed off.
While I don’t think this is the best film Marvel has put out, it definitely is a fun and worthwhile ride. A star is born with Chris Pratt. Zoe Saldanna proves she is stunning as either a blue or green alien and we actually cheer on a talking raccoon. A tree that can only say three words touches our heart and Drax the Destroyer kicks ass even when he’s getting his kicked as well. Even if you aren’t a comic fan, go see it just for the sheer popcorn fun and visual wonderment. As always in super-hero films, stay for the post credit scene and you will see that even Marvel has a sense of humor about itself. If you don’t understand it, ask your favorite comic nerd to explain it. It’s hilarious.
I give this film ***1/2 stars to of four
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