"I have part...of a plan"
After producing several films based on established names such as Iron Man, Captain America, Thor & Hulk, Marvel decided to take a huge gamble on producing a film based on a lessar-known property; Guardians of the Galaxy. And it was a gamble that paid off incredibly well.
Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is a human abducted from Earth as a young boy in the late 1980's. Now grown up in the far reaches of the galaxy, Quill, now known as Star Lord, searches for treasures to sell as part of a group known as Ravagers, led by his father figure Yondu. He comes across an object which being sought after by Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace). Quill ends up imprisoned alongside assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana), vengeful maniac Drax (Dave Bautista), raccoon-like Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and living tree Groot (Vin Diesel), who all join together to stop Ronan from destroying the galaxy.
The story begins very dark as Peter's mother passes away and seconds later he is abducted by aliens. But throughout the film, their is a healthy balance of humour and seriousness. The story is paced very well with all important information explained in the first 30 minutes, giving plenty time to build and produce a great journey to follow and a great climax to finish. I never felt bored as there was always something enjoyable. Whether it was character interaction, action, exposition or just watching a performance, I was always hooked on a feeling. (See what I did there?).
The acting is brilliant. Chris Pratt is a great leading man with bags of charisma and humour along with a Han Solo like vibe to the character of Star Lord. Gamora is portrayed very well by Zoe Saldana. She is funny and can definately kick butt in her great fight scenes. Drax is one of the best characters in the whole film, played by Dave Bautista in his breakthrough role. Very funny and enjoyable to watch on screen. Rocket is the best character in the film. Bradley Cooper does a wonderful job of giving a great personaoity to Rocket, a tough as nails creature willing to fight for his life. Very witty and provides many great lines. Groot is a wonderful character who is very adorable. Good hearted and can seriously fight for his friends. Amazing how Groot can display much emotion with only a three word vocabulary. The friendship between Rocket and Groot is a definite highlight, providing many funny scenes.
The villains include Ronan the Accuser, played by Lee Pace. He does a good job. Menacing, threatening and seemingly unstoppable, Ronan has all the makings of a great super villain baring a weak personality. Nebupa & Korath are enjoyable to watch in their brief roles. The Collector was really fun to watch, even for the few short minutes he has on-screen. Benicio Del Toro add great eccentricity and elegance to the Collector. Michaels Rooker plays Yondu, a very interesting character to watch on-screen. Other supporting haracters played theor roles very well. Only a brief scene in person and later briefly in a hologram, I was in awe when Thanos finally appears. First appearing briefly in the first credits scene in Avengers, Thanos is brought to life by Josh Brolin, who did great voice work. Thanos will definately be the most anticipated story development for future films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
James Gunn has created a very unique looking film for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He brings great direction to the many great action scenes and always manages to keep viewers focused on something going on. The visuals are brilliant for the characters, action and locations, which are beautiful to look at. The space ships look mighty impressive, especially the design of Ronan's Dark Aster.
There are great references of 80's culture, which Peter Quill grew up with. They keep me reminded that the Marvel Universe is all conected and vast in size. It also shows me that Quill never forgets where he came from no matter how long he been away, hopefully setting up a comeback in a future film. There is great humour in the characters interaction, which is what really makes this film that good. Each character has a different past and different experiences and together, we get enyable dialogue and great enjoyment. The characters are great to watch together during the different stages of knowing each other. Of course, the post-credit scene has become a staple of Marvel films and this one is unique in which it doesn't take the route past films take. They would have a scene whoch sets up or teases a future film. This one merely is a scene played for laughs. But it is a very funny scene, especially for fans of the obscure Marvel characters. For me, it was nice to see a certain character make his big-screen comeback.
In closing, Guardians of the Galaxy was very enjoyable to watch and experience. This film provides an incredible look at another part of the Marvel Universe which no doubt will all come together in a future ensemble film. This film is proof that literally anytning can be put on film as long as it is executed well. I was doubtful when this film was first announced, mostly because I've never heard of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Anything is possible and more chances can be taken in future films, such as introducing lessar-known characters. The overall story being told throughtout these films since Phase 1 began gives plenty of guessing of where the films will go from here. The overarching details, specifically the Infinity Stones, all connect these Marvel film into a giant puzzle which grows piece by piece with every film released. The future of Marvel films is going to be exciting.
An incredible chapter into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, giving us wonderful characters, an engaging story and amazing action sequences, Guardians of the Galaxy is the unexpected comic book film hit which no one expected to happen.
★★★★★
