*Directed by James Gunn
*Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Michael Rooker, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Benico del Toro
The Plot: A band of misfits must settle their differences and team up to defeat an unstoppable force from obtaining and using an artifact that can wipe out an entire race of any living being in the entire galaxy.
This movie was one that really caught me by surprise due to the fact that in Marvel's line-up I didn't think remotely that this film would ever be made nor have I ever heard of the Guardians of the Galaxy before. I'm not really big into comics and when a title such as this was floating around I definitely knew I wasn't into comics period. I'm familiar with typical characters introduced in the Marvel movies like Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America and whatnot yet I didn't know what to think of this property. Then all of a sudden the trailer is released by Marvel Studios and I was instantly excited to see what I was in for.
Science fiction and fantasy are my top 2 favorite genres of all time, so to see a Marvel movie in the vein of something like Star Wars or even the recent Star Trek films was something very exciting to see. I finally see the film opening night and I did really like it the first time around, but didn't love it to its fullest extent. However, for some reason it really stuck with me and I couldn't get what I saw out of my head. I had a strong urge to see it a second time, I, of course, did and I loved it even more and the more and more I watch it, this movie became probably one of my favorite movies of all time. I'm serious.
Guardians of the Galaxy reminds me why I love movies. The energy James Gunn was able to infuse in this film was incredible. The experience just doesn't stop and the characters that are introduced in this film are so lovable. Chris Pratt plays the lead hero in Peter Quill aka Star-Lord and he's basically a Han Solo/Indiana Jones type figure who probably felt the most human with a fabulous sense of humor. This guy's a heroic figure, but also has such a hilarious, charismatic personality that makes him such a joy to watch on screen.
Zoe Saldana as Gamora was an incredible badass heroine, who completely owns it in the action, but has a tragic past that one could really latch on to and feel sympathy towards. Rocket Raccoon voiced by Bradley Cooper was full of energy, Groot, a giant talking tree, voiced Vin Diesel was sweet, lovable, but vicious when he needed to be. Not to mention Dave Bautista as Drax who was another awesome side character and also has a tragic past that makes him sympathetic. He, too, has quirks of his own that make him another hilarious character to watch on screen, but soon acknowledges such quirks that make him even more hilarious.
Actually, he's not the only the hilarious entity in this movie, the entire film as a whole is really hysterical. This is probably one of the funniest comic book films I've ever seen. The dialogue is so cleverly written and once you start laughing at one joke the humor starts to escalate and you find yourself laughing even harder at the following joke. The humor by far is one of my favorite parts of this film and adds to the fun adventure. I love the film's sense of humor and the characters who have such great personality say these hilarious lines that hit, which goes to show there was enough to these characters. I've seen the movie at least 6 times now and I still laugh hard at every single joke because with such clever writing and delivery by such talented actors, this film doesn't lose steam for me.
Speaking of not losing steam, I mention the film is full of energy because of James Gunn's vision and due to such great directing and the look of this film it looks as perfect as any film could get. It doesn't get brought up in the conversation much, but I think the film looks absolutely wonderful in terms of its spectacle. The CGI/visual effects work that's put into this film looks incredible and very photo realistic as if it's part of this world. Nothing sticks out and it looks very believable on screen from the grand atmosphere of space, the metal detail on the various spacecrafts, the texture on Groot and even the fur on Rocket. Anything and everything generated from a computer looked flawless.
Also, to go along with the visual look the color scheme really leaps out as well. It's very vibrant and adds to the light-hearted fun of the film while also adding enough to the more serious moments as well. The spaceship aerial battle scenes could be seen as something too amped up like out of JJ Abrams's Star Trek movies, but really it adds to the fast energy of the movie and to go along with such amazingly detailed CGI and well-done cinematography, editing, and sound design, again, it calls for excellent direction. Even the regular action scenes involving our heroes fighting were very fun and exciting. The actors all committed to the action well and made for amazing character moments with what was emotionally at stake.
One of the aspects this film gets a bad wrap for is in it's villain Ronan the Accuser played by Lee Pace and even his assistant Nebula played by Karen Gillan. In regards to Ronan I get that he might not be the most layered villain and is lacking in that way, but the saving grace for me is that he's motivated and has such an ominous presence on screen that I feel him to be a very worthy villain on screen. The flack for Nebula is that she comes off as being in another movie. To me, I felt Gillan fit the deadpan character well in the best way possible and there needed to be a shift from our fun, loving characters with likable personality to the super serious villains that just want to get the job done. It just expands the type of personalities of characters in this galaxy. I really enjoyed seeing both of these performances and enjoyed the presence of these characters for what this film had to offer.
Also, Benico del Toro as The Collector was a lot of fun to finally see after seeing the character teased in Thor: The Dark World. He's a very quirky, knowledgable character with a lot of mystery, but still another great presence. Last, but certainly not least, seeing the big baddie himself Thanos on screen played by Josh Brolin was very exciting as well. Definitely not a character to be reckoned with and very intimidating and even though seeing him and also the introduction of the Infinity Stones in another scene, it felt like a tease, but this movie still maintained on focusing on its story. Thanos still served a purpose for this film due to his relation with Ronan and the Infinity Stones needed to be explained since the artifact of the Orb was up for questioning even though teasing Avengers: Infinity War.
Overall, Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the most entertaining, enticing comic book films I've ever seen and still remains to be my favorite film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I recognize there might be issues with its villain, but that's still an aspect I can overlook. I thought James Gunn's vision was incredible. The soundtrack even had meaning for the story. The song compilation is out of this world especially as a lover of classic rock. The score by Tyler Bates is even underrated and serves a purpose for the epic action scenes. I absolutely adore this film and because of the fun adventure and such a lovable band of characters, this has become one of my all time favorite films and in my top 3 favorite comic book films of all time.
Verdict: A+
There ya go! Very happy to have gone back and revisited a modern day classic in my eyes just in time for the sequel. Really hyped for this sequel and if it doesn't end up being up to par in quality with the first movie I'm still expecting a very fun time in the cinemas with this lovable band of a-holes. It's in my top 3 most anticipated of the year and I cannot wait to see what this sequel brings. Marvel couldn't have asked for a better talent in James Gunn. Be sure to check back next week for my spoiler-free and possibly a spoiler-filled post for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Cannot believe it's almost here. My goodness. Follow me on the social media links below:
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