"Guardians of the Galaxy" Review

Title: Guardians of the Galaxy

Directed by: James Gunn

Screenplay by: James Gunn and Nicole Perlman

Year: 2014


Guardians of the Galaxy is yet another one of my most anticipated films of 2014. Truth be told, I did not exactly know who they were until a few months ago when a friend informed me. I began doing some research on this Marvel property and I became immediately intrigued. The trailers were very well done and made the wait for its release nearly unbearable. Finally, the film came out and I immediately went to go see it. Did Guardians of the Galaxy live up to my expectations or was it instead a disappointment?

Peter Quill is introduced as a young boy whose mother is dying of cancer. As soon as she dies, Peter runs out of the hospital only to be abducted by an alien space craft. Fast forward 26 years and a powerful enemy threatens the galaxy. A team of five criminals stands in the way, consisting of "a thief, two thugs, an assassin, and a maniac."

The strongest feature of this film is the casting and the characters. Every actor fits into their character as easily as a hand fits into a glove. Chris Pratt owns his role as Peter Quill or, Star-Lord. Pratt makes Peter Quill come to life. The character of Peter Quill is also very surprising. He is not simply the wisecracker that the trailers portrayed him as. His character has actual emotional depth that pulls on the heart strings of the audience in an effective and unexpected manner. If I could best describe Peter Quill, it would be a blend between Han Solo and Indiana Jones. Zoe Saldana is very good as Gamora, the "assassin" of the team. She shares a great chemistry with Pratt, which goes a long way. Gamora has a very interesting backstory that ties her to the villain in an intriguing way, as does Dave Bautista's character of Drax. I will say that Bautista's performance was the most surprising of the cast. I wouldn't have expected him to be as good as he was but his performance really paid off. Vin Diesel as Groot is a simple performance, not having to do much but that is to be expected. Diesel must repeat the same exact line throughout the film yet the manner in which he says it changes based on the situation and this little touch goes far. In addition, Groot caught the audience by surprise on an emotional level. Without saying much, he plays an important part at the end of the film that results in a tearjerking scene. Finally, there is Rocket Raccoon, or simply Rocket. As fantastic as all the characters are, I have to admit that Rocket steals every scene he is in with his wisecracks and jokes. Bradley Cooper voices this furry creature and this is casting perfection. Cooper makes Rocket such a great character that we don't hear Cooper's voice or see a computer generated raccoon. We see Rocket Raccoon. And, I know I'm repeating myself, Rocket's character has surprising depth. All in all, there is not a single weak link in this cast, which is vital to the film's success.

Every single member of the team has an interesting backstory. These are not simple stereotypical characters, but rather fleshed out ones. This was a very risky move on Marvel's part because, whereas the members of the Avengers each had individual films to themselves for the audience to get to know them, the five members of the Guardians of the Galaxy are all introduced in this single film. Not only that, but the characters from The Guardians of the Galaxy comics are not as well known to the general public. And credit where credit is due, because this film pulls off this Herculean task with incredible ease. We learn more about each of these characters gradually throughout the movie and it never feels forced or like we are being spoon fed exposition. There is a natural flow that never breaks, not once.

Now, I already hinted at the comedy of this film. Guardians of the Galaxy might as well be considered a comedy. Every single joke in this movie works and leaves me laughing in stitches. Easily the funniest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Guardians of the Galaxy balances its action-adventure and sic-fi elements with comedy flawlessly. This movie is, quite simply, hysterical. I'd go so far as to say that it is one of the funniest films of the year so far. And every character has their comedic moments and not one of them feels forced. This movie find pleasure in making fun of some of the "big important moments" seen in many films of the same genre.

The visual effects are staggeringly spectacular. The galaxy really comes to life as a result and it immediately sucks you in from the start. The various alien races, planets, space ships, everything is just a marvel to behold. The visual effects work on Groot and Rocket is flawless.  This is a beautiful film, which is made possible partly because of James Gunn's excellent direction. Gunn has crafted a very well realized and unique world (or galaxy in this case) for this film. This is especially apparent in 3D, which looks marvelous for this movie. He also hides deeper meanings within his direction, which is very easy to miss in a blockbuster such as this. For instance, at the very beginning of the film, Peter begins to dance in an abandoned alien structure. The camera pulls back and he becomes a small, almost unidentifiable figure at the bottom of the screen while the rest of the screen is showing the alien building. After a few moments, the title of the film Guardians of the Galaxy comes up and it takes up the entire screen. It symbolizes how even someone so seemingly insignificant or unimportant as Peter Quill can become something so large and so important to so many people. James Gunn knows what he is doing.

One of the most amazing things about this movie is its soundtrack. In reality, Guardians of the Galaxy has two soundtracks: the composition and the "Awesome Mix Vol. 1". The score by Tyler Bates is incredibly good. Bates captures the emotion of each scene successfully with his music and he introduces a very catchy theme to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is probably my favorite film score of the year so far. Then there is the second soundtrack, essentially a playlist of songs from the 60's and 70's. The trailers had "Spirit in the Sky" and "Hooked on a Feeling" playing in the background for example. It would seem strange to hear these songs play in such a film as this (a sci-fi, super hero, action adventure), but it works brilliantly. These classics add such a personality and uniqueness to the film that makes it seem so different from other movies of the same genres.

Now, this film has a few very minor issues, very minor. Firstly, the villains. Ronan (Lee Pace) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) are great villains and they certainly have an intimidating presence and prove to be legitimate threats. Lee Pace is fantastic as Ronan the Accusser and Karen Gillan is excellent as Nebula. Thanos, though briefly seen, is clearly the "major" villain, however, we won't be seeing him as the main one for a while. The issue lies in the backstory of these two villains. Some of Ronan and Nebula's background is told within the script but it just seems rather thin, especially in Ronan's case. They are by no means bad villains, in fact, they're great, but perhaps a bit underdeveloped. Another small issue is the resolution of Peter Quill's story with his mother. Allow me to explain:

*SPOILERS AHEAD* Near the end of the movie, Quill gets a hold of the infinity stone but he cannot contain all its power within his body. Gamora offers to help by holding his hand. Her prompting him to hold her hand triggers a flashback in Peter's mind to when his mother asked for the same thing. This moment literally comes from nowhere and seems a bit out of place and tacked on. HOWEVER, I must say that the emotion did work very well. Yes, the moment detracted just a bit from the team's current situation, but the emotions hit hard and hit successfully.

*SPOILER FREE* Guardians of the Galaxy is not what I expected it to be in terms of the story it told. It took a few unexpected turns that caught me by surprise. I must say that the trailers might have given a bit too much away but nothing detrimental to the enjoyment of the film, and Guardians of the Galaxy is a very, very enjoyable film. Marvel successfully introduced five new characters to their Cinematic Universe in a single film as opposed to their individual-film formula from the past. The screenplay is nothing short of magnificent, incorporating comedy, drama, action-adventure, and science fiction elements in a flawless blend. The cast is perfect, as are the characters they portray. The visual effects are stunning and the music is unforgettable and gives the movie a unique and distinct feel. The world of the film is beautifully realized and the direction by James Gunn is great. A few little niggles are not enough to bring this film down. Guardians of the Galaxy is not a good film, it's a great one, a fantastic one. It's like a western set in space, and it feels so fresh as a result. It's a blast from start to finish and it leaves you both satisfied and wanting more. This is one of Marvel's best works, on par with Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Iron Man 3. One of the best films of the year so far, it earns my highest recommendation.

Grade: A