Guardians of the Galaxy

Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel (voice), Bradley Cooper (voice), Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, John C. Reilly, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, Glenn Close, Benicio Del Toro, Gregg Henry, Josh Brolin (uncredited)
Directed by: James Gunn
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
2014

Times Seen:
Tim: 3

Summary: A group of criminals reluctantly team together to stop a madman (Lee Pace) from destroying the galaxy.

Review:

Tim: Prior to release, Guardians of the Galaxy was viewed as the riskiest Marvel property to date. Sure, Marvel could succeed by bringing fairly well known heroes to audiences, but how would they do with a barely known group? Plus, the movie is set in outer space, far away from Earth. Many called it a major gamble and expected Marvel to stumble. In hindsight, those fears seem absurd. Guardians of the Galaxy was the biggest movie of the summer and one of the best movies of 2014.

When is the last time you sat down to watch a new movie that happened to be a space opera? Hollywood doesn't make enough of these movies and audiences ate this one up. I'm sure Marvel will trip at some point, but it certainly didn't here. It proved that the Marvel Cinematic Universe can be more expansive and amazing than we ever expected. This movie has very few ties to the rest of the MCU, and yet, audiences loved it. This is a "superhero" movie that's really a space opera. It's amazing how many different genres Marvel can play in and maintain their same level of quality.

Director James Gunn did an outstanding job of introducing these characters to the world. I've never read a Guardians of the Galaxy comic, and from the trailer alone (and the 10-15 times I watched it), I at least knew some of the basics about each of the characters and felt fairly familiar with them. After seeing the movie, the characters stuck so well with me- Gunn does a great job of presenting them in a memorable manner. The characters are fun, exciting, and brought to life by the great cast.

I have to admit, I've never been a big fan of Chris Pratt. He just seemed goofy and not in a good way. However, he completely won me over with his performance here. He hits all the right notes as Peter Quill. He can be tough and pull off the action sequences, but his comedic timing is perfect and he delivers his lines incredibly. I loved his performance and hope to see him in this role for many films in the future. I like Zoe Saldana, but it felt like she was one of the weaker parts of the cast. Gamora wasn't as interesting or exciting as she needed to be. I was skeptical when they cast Dave Bautista as Drax, but he delivered a remarkable performance. He has some of the funniest lines of the entire film- I was wowed by him. Vin Diesel does a great job voicing Groot, and I still can't believe Bradley Cooper was Rocket (it sounds nothing like him). The casting was perfect for the Guardians.

The supporting cast is good, too. John C. Reilly has a few funny lines and adds to the film. Michael Rooker was a great choice as Yondu and I hope to see more of him in the future. I loved seeing Glenn Close as Nova Prime, but I wish she had more to do. Karen Gillan made a surprisingly good Nebula and it was fun seeing Djimon Hounsou in a villainous role. Lee Pace was a bit of a fangless antagonist, but his transformation was impressive. I liked seeing an unrecognizable Josh Brolin as Thanos. As a whole, the cast was quite remarkable.

The special effects are very strong and bring this whole galaxy quest to life. The script is great- this is one of the goofiest, funniest movies I have seen in a long, long time. The dialogue is hilarious, memorable, and quotable. I still laugh at the "That's a fake laugh!" scene. Bautista's delivery of "Nothing goes over my head. My reflexes are too fast. I would catch it." Is incredible. I watch a lot of movies and great movies aren't always fun. Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the most fun movies I've seen in years.

Now, as much as I loved the movie (and I did love it), it's not perfect. The Marvel movies are starting to feel a little formulaic, especially with weak villains that are always defeated in the end and aren't especially memorable. Add Ronan the Accuser to the weaker villain set. This movie needed a more formidable villain or at least ratcheting up the suspense and danger. The movie felt a little safe. I also have the say that the first time I saw the movie, the first 40 minutes or so were a little confusing. We're thrown so many different characters, locations, and motivations that my head was spinning. My second viewing really helped, but I do think the movie could have made everything a little easier to swallow. The climax of the film is hilarious (has a dance off ever culminated a movie like this before?) but it was a bit too silly and detracted from any suspense that might have been present.

While not perfect, Guardians of the Galaxy surpassed nearly all expectations. It was an incredible popcorn flick and probably the most fun I had at any movie this year. It's the only film in 2014 that I saw in theaters twice. It opens up an incredible new frontier for Marvel and I can't wait for the sequel.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 8


If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Avengers, Thor, Thor: The Dark World, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3