[Movie Review] Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Posted on August 1, 2014 by thegrandshuckett in Movie Reviews // 1 Comment

Director: James Gunn

Writers: James Gunn, Nichole Perlman, Dan Abnett (comic book), Andy Lanning (comic book)

Runtime: 122 min

Main Cast:

Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord
Zoe Saldana as Gamora
Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon (voice)
Vin Diesel as Groot (voice)
Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer
Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser
Karen Gillan as Nebula
Benicio Del Toro as Taneleer Tivan/The Collector
Djimon Hounsou as Korath the Pursuer
Michael Rooker as Yondu
Glenn Close as Nova Prime Rael

Review: by Anthony and Lee

As huge fans of Marvel, of course we were excited for their latest summer blockbuster. Guardians of the Galaxy marks Marvel's first deviation from portraying the more widely-known superheroes such as Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor, and we couldn't have been more thrilled to accompany them on their journey into the stars.

Guardians of the Galaxy was said to be Marvel’s most ambitious movie to date because it spent the majority of the movie off-planet like the Thor movies but without the big, house-hold names like Thor and Odin. It told the story of Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), preferably known as Star-Lord, who left Earth in 1988 armed only with a sweet mixtape and his wits. Years later, after he’s grown into a junker, an outlaw, a space pirate, and the subject of a large bounty, the movie showed him acquire some interesting cargo that was coveted by some dangerous people. Eager to collect either the large bounty on his head or the items in his possession, Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), Groot (Vin Diesel), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), and Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) came to meet his acquaintance. The rag tag group of misfits then had to overcome their differences in order to face a larger imminent threat not only to them but to the entire galaxy.

What We Liked:

As we’ve come to expect from Marvel Studios, the acting was very solid. If Chris Pratt wasn’t already a household name, Guardians of the Galaxy almost ensured it would be. His comedic timing and delivery, honed over his years starring as Andy Dwyer in NBC’s Parks and Recreation, was perfect in Guardians as Peter Quill. Aside from the comedy Pratt brought to this role, which again was awesome, he fully dedicated himself to being a leading action star. In preparation for the film, Pratt even lost a ton of weight becoming buff enough to be some sort of MMA fighter.

I (Anthony) also loved how many things from the comics were used for Star-Lord, such as his mask that allowed him to breathe in any space environment, his element gun, and his rocket thrusters. It felt like they plucked this comic book character directly out of the book and popped him on screen.

Chris Pratt gave a fantastic performance, so we hope that he has signed with Marvel for multiple movies as Star-Lord. Initially, we thought that Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista would be the weak links in the acting line-up because Zoe looked, in Leanne’s words, like a green Rihanna and we thought Dave Bautista was a dumb WWE wrestler who most likely couldn’t act. We were pleasantly surprised by their performances, however, especially by Baustista’s. Having read some Guardians of the Galaxy comics, I (Anthony) enjoyed some of the character traits added to Drax the Destroyer, like his people taking everything literally. It was hilarious seeing metaphors and “common sayings” go completely over his head.

The real stars and potentially our favorite characters, however, were Rocket Raccoon and Groot. They stole practically every scene they were in. Bradley Cooper (Rocket) and Vin Diesel (Groot) totally surprised us with how well their voices made these characters come to life. One would think that Groot’s ability to only say “I am Groot” would severely limit the range of the character. How much emotion could be pulled from that limited amount of speech? The answer is, apparently, plenty. It’s been done with Pokemon before, and Diesel has done it here. He was easily the most lovable character, but Bradley Cooper’s performance as Rocket Raccoon was just as good. He was loud, fast talking, cocky, and a genius when it came to making anything blow up. I (Anthony) enjoyed how both Groot and Rocket Raccoon’s personalities were pulled directly from the comics and portrayed perfectly by Diesel and Cooper.

Great acting, as we know from Public Enemies, cannot hold together a movie alone, so we were very pleased that the main story line was solid. We enjoyed how the character’s stories and development were weaved throughout the movie.

Even the inclusion of the supporting characters such as Yondu and the Nova Corps were great, and there were dozens of easter eggs and nods to the comics for the book readers.

It’s no secret that Marvel has their solo movies and television shows, like Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., lay smaller pieces of the larger plot that’s picked up and continued in the bigger team up movies like Avengers. Armed with this knowledge, we were contemplating where Guardians would fit and how exactly this crazy space story would be used to further the overall story. Luckily, we didn’t have to wonder for long, and now we’re even more excited for the next Marvel solo movie and the next Avengers. While it is important that a movie have strong overall storyline, the finer points of the movie really made it shine.

One of those finer points was certainly the comedy. This action movie about a legendary space outlaw pirate, two psychopathic killers, and a pair of hired thugs was still a gut busting comedy at the same time. Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill led the comedic charge, never taking himself too serious and often using comedy to disarm his enemies. Not to be too outdone, Drax was hilarious to laugh at and Rocket Raccoon had his own weird sense of humor that was great. John C. Reilly in the Nova Corps was also hilarious playing off of Chris Pratt and was even funnier when paired with the straight-laced Glenn Close (Nova Prime).

Having great characters and comedic elements would usually be enough, but the comedy and depth of the characters stood upon the relationships between the different characters, and they were very well-developed. There was every type of typical relationship you could think of: the romance (Star-Lord & Gamora), the best friends (Rocket Raccoon & Groot), and the begrudging buddy cop duos (Gamora & Drax, and Drax & Rocket Raccoon).

Of course, with the movie taking place in space and two of the major characters being entirely CG, the special effects had to be great, and the CGI crew responsible for bringing Rocket Raccoon and Groot to the screen did a fantastic job. They never looked stale or flat. Groot even had individual twigs, branches, moss, and whatnot constantly growing and moving throughout his body. They not only looked real, but the way they interacted with the environment and the other actors was great.

The good special effects didn’t stop with Groot and Rocket, thankfully. There were multiple space battles and spaceship chases that looked awesome as well. We also liked the different models of the spaceships used by the space pirates and Nova Corp, and seeing inside and outside of Star-Lord’s ship was really cool.

Finally, we loved the soundtrack. From the first song played, it set the mood of the entire film, a little laid back, funny, not taking itself too serious, and just there to have a good time. Go buy the soundtrack from Amazon here:

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What We Didn’t Like:

We can only think of a few things that we didn’t like about the movie, and they’re quite insignificant to us and do not ruin the entire movie.

The biggest complaint isn’t even really a complaint at all. I (Lee) was unfamiliar with the characters because I had never read any of the comics, and I think the same could be said for most of the movies audience. Because of this, I didn’t feel as immediately captivated or excited by it as with the other Marvel movies. I was just getting to know the characters, and I wasn’t sure how things would play out. Thus, it didn’t really get interesting until they made me care, which took longer than I may have wanted. By the end, however, I loved the characters. I knew my favorites, and I had my hopes for the upcoming films.

Also, because the ’80s soundtrack was so prevalent throughout the marketing, all the teaser videos and multiple trailers, we were listening for “Spirit in the Sky” but never heard it. it was a huge disappointment, but we’re sure most viewers didn’t even notice its absence.

Another thing we noticed was the profanity throughout the movie. While we’re no stranger to such language, Guardians is rated PG-13, and some parents may be in for a surprise with the frequent and casual use of curse words.

Also, the director of the film, James Gunn, decided to withhold the after the credits teaser that is practically standard for the Marvel movies these days from the early screening audiences. The teaser will be shown with the film after it opens worldwide on August 1, 2014. We could understand if he wanted to prevent any major spoilers to leak that would ruin excitement because there are so many news leaks these days, but we were a little sad when that little bit extra wasn’t there.

Summary

Guardians of the Galaxy was everything we hoped it would be, and a little bit more. It told a great story, filled with humor, and set up for the upcoming Marvel movies in a very, very interesting way. Whether you’re a comic book fan of the Guardians or not, you’ll enjoy this movie.

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