Reel Review: Guardians of the Galaxy
Written by: Ben
It feels like it has been ages since Guardians of the Galaxy was announced and honestly it felt like a risky move then. Marvel has since re-solidified their position as an unstoppable juggernaut of a production company and the trailers for it just were amazing. The big question of course is did the risk of going with the more obscure space hero team over some of the more terrestrial heroes pay off for the bold move? I’m incredibly happy to be here today to tell you the answer.
The plot of the movie is that of a gang of solo running misfits, crooks and killers needing to come together. I main character is Peter ‘Star Lord’ Quill (Chris Pratt) who is a half human member of the Ravagers, a band of thieves. After escaping the forces of the vengeful villas Ronan (Lee Pace) with a mysterious orb they are after Ronan sends out Gamora (Zoe Saldana) the deadly adopted daughter of the warlord Thanos (Josh Brolin) to collect it from him on the planet Xandar. Due to the orb originally being the prize of the Ravager leader Yondu (Michael Rooker) a bounty is put on his head drawing in bounty hunters Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) leading to a three way fight and their eventual arrest. While imprisoned they grow closer as we learn Gamora wishes to only kill Ronan and Thanos and can offer wealth to the others for their help. The quartet also attract the violent and very literal Drax (Dave Bautista) and escape the prison to find fortune off the orb and end up having to deal with the threat of Ronan as he wishes to posses the orb and destroy the peaceful planet of Xandar.
The plot feels like a loving mix of Serenity and The Avengers as a band of self-serving anti-heroes find themselves together and the galaxy’s only hope. It is paced well getting us to connect mostly with Quill then giving us a short period of time with each of the others before combining them into a unit. The plot moves with their interactions well and they drive the story instead of feeling like the character moments are separate as so many lesser films are guilty of. I really found myself caught up in the plot at times and missing some small performances or great background bits that I can’t wait to get on my second viewing. There is just so much done with the characters and the story at any time without the truly important stuff being missed that it’s a joy to watch.
But you can’t overlook the characters at all as they all make the movie great as any team movie should. I’ve made it no secret that I think Chris Pratt is fantastic and when he was tied to the project I instantly got excited. From the first scene of him flying in like a an awesome space their badass then turns on 80’s pop and starts dancing through a destroyed city he is totally owning the role and setting the tone for the movie. Saldana as Gamora brings the icy cool killer early on and softens well showing her skill as an actress and being nicely dynamic while largely acting off the energetic Pratt. Cooper falls beautifully into the role of Rocket as despite knowing it’s him in general I wonder up forgetting that frequently as he took on the violent, gruff and sarcastic Rocket and bringing the CG character to life. It’s a little hard to speak to Diesel as Groot as he just has the one line and with different inflections and didn’t do the motion capture but he did well. Bautista does quite well as Drax, stellar in both the dialogue where he brings a lot of humor and the action that is generally his forte. Ronan and Yondu are the other characters of note but they also feel like smaller roles. Though it’s not to me saying they did poorly as Pace is villainous without being campy and brings good energy to the role. Between the two though Rooker is the best as he owns the role and seems to relish his time with the character and is a joy in all his scenes. There are many other smaller roles I could mention that are all quite good, but these are the primary cast and honestly I think they truly own it and make it.
I think a lot of the credit has to also go to the director here as it oozes the style and sensibilities of James Gunn. The right mix of characters and action with goofiness and heart is kind of his mainstay. It has some of the feel of my favorite of his films, Slither which was a campy horror movie with Nathan Fillion and I feel like he brought the characterization Fillion embodies to Star Lord here. I do have to say some fault can land on him too as at some points it feels like he wants to play up a joke and while the joke connects it also is a change from the scene we were just engrossed in. Its rarely an issue though but its worth mentioning in the end. Overall Gunn did great and I am happy that it was already announced that he’s attached for the sequel.
Rating: 4.5/5
Reelization:
Guardians of the Galaxy is a real joy from the start to the finish of the movie. The cast works great, the story is action packed and the action is top grade. It feels like it could be the Star Wars for this generation and if it wasn’t for Captain America: The Winter Soldier it would even be Marvel’s best. I can’t recommend seeing it enough, so go do it!
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