Why I Saw It: At this point, if it's part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I'm going to see it.
Cast: Winning. That's the best description I've found for the cast. Chris Pratt is a leading man in all the best ways. He brings all the Andy Dwyer likability you could want to Peter Quill and absolutely pulls off all the physicality of the role. Zoe Saldana has made a career out of roles like Gamora. I can't say how this is greatly different from The Losers or Columbiana. Then again, it doesn't need to be different. Somehow, they pull off Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) in a way that doesn't make him a joke, which is an achievement in and of itself. Dave Bautista is more than just "the strong guy" as Drax. He reminds me of The Rock with less smirking. Vin Diesel voices Groot, who I'd say is the fan favorite coming out the the movie. Lee Pace and Karen Gillan are the chief villains and do well in limited time. There are several others, including John C. Reilly, Glen Close, and Michael Rooker who are good as well.
Plot: This is the story of five galactic criminals who find themselves teaming up to save the galaxy. We begin with Peter Quill on Earth in 1988, featuring a rather heartbreaking origin story, before he's picked up by a space ship. Jump to the present and Quill is retrieving some sort of orb. He ends up in a prison, along with Gamora (after the orb), Rocket and Groot (after Quill), and Drax (after revenge). They end up bound together to split the bounty for this orb, which has greater significance than originally presented, and because they share the same enemy: a Kree named Ronan. You can guess the beats from there. Marvel isn't concerned with breaking formula. The movie is more about maximizing the effectiveness of the talent involved. Without question, that's what is done. This is the funniest of the Marvel movies, which is a credit to Pratt being cast in the lead and how ridiculous the premise is.
Elephant in the Room: Where's the names we know? The risk of this movie was always going to be that it is so far away from what people know. In general, the closer to Earth the superhero is, the easier it is for people to digest. Guardians is about a group of heroes that no casual fans know of, played by non A-list (currently) actors, in places most of us haven't heard of. Two things in particular make this movie easier to digest: 1) The humor. The movie is very aware that it's a tough sell and constantly addresses that by poking fun at it. 2) The soundtrack. No Marvel movie has this distinctive of a soundtrack. Using songs mostly from the 70s that people are very familiar with makes it all a lot more accessible. Kind of reminds me of A Knight's Tale in that sense, but it's fit into the story here very well.
To Sum Things Up:
Guardians of the Galaxy is a charming movie.Great characters, funny, simple plot, plenty of action. There's really not much to pick at. Be prepared for a bit of a vocabulary lesson at times. As far as franchise starters go, this is about as good as you could ask for. I can't wait to see how this fits into the larger universe from here.
Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend
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