Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014): Light years from Earth, 26 years after being abducted Peter Quill finds himself the prime target of a manhunt after discovering an orb wanted by Ronan the Accuser.

Man, where do I even begin? Well, first off, this movie is freaking amazing. From spot-on acting to fantastically-timed-but-not-overwhelming comedy to a soundtrack selection that rivals that of a Martin Scorsese movie, Guardians of the Galaxy provides everything the Marvel universe needed to mix up its already successful movie-making formula. While it is not a perfect movie by any means, it does provide a tremendous amount of enjoyment from start to finish.

So, first off, the acting. Chris Pratt is having himself a year! From being the lead in The Lego Movie to leading Guardians of the Galaxy, Pratt is padding his already spectacular resume with this movie. He is charming, charismatic, and witty at just the right moments, and just overall spectacular. Bradley Cooper puts in an equally spectacular performance as Rocket, as were it not for the credit he’s given at the start of the film I would have never guessed it was him. Sadly Zoe Saldana and David Bautista get pushed to the backseat somewhat, as they simply just cannot keep up with the talent that Pratt and Cooper bring to the table, but that's ok! Cooper and Pratt more than make up for it. Also let's take a moment to think about Vin Diesel's role in this. Ok moving on. The rest of the movie was also fantastic, however. I’d say the best word to describe Guardians of the Galaxy is unique. There are many different ideas in this movie that we simply haven’t seen in previous Marvel movies. The biggest example in my opinion is the soundtrack. In previous Marvel movies we may get a song or two but mostly it would be orchestral themes. In Guardians there is a fantastic and well thought out 70’s soundtrack underneath the movie. Some of the music was used with fantastic and hilarious results. Oh ya, this movie is hilarious. Fortunately it is not overwhelmingly hilarious. Guardians of the Galaxy has managed to find a thin middle ground that movies like Transformers have repeatedly tried and failed to hit: it was funny but not to the point that you lost site of what was going on. This impressive feat is what makes Guardians of the Galaxy my favorite Marvel movie outside of The Avengers.

Sadly though, it is far from perfect. Apart from the huge gaps of logic and the incredibly lax rules of space, (that scene was far and away my least favorite scene of the movie. You know what scene I'm talking about if you've seen it and to say anything would lead to major spoilers) and the movie was also too long. While it was only just over two hours long, putting it at about average length for a Marvel movie, there was a lot of fluff to make it such, particularly towards the end. There were a lot of plot points that were tied up that, frankly, I didn’t care about enough to wish to see tied up. And the end had a Man of Steel-style last fight, where you think oh! Here’s the last fight! And then no! It’s not! And then whoa there’s another one! And another! The movie just kept going on and on. But still, that said it was still an excellent film, on that I would not mind seeing again and again.

The Critique: another fantastic addition to the Marvel cinematic universe. Avengers 2 cannot come soon enough.

The Recommendation: even if you’re just watching The Avengers in these movies, give this one a shot. If you’re only going to see one summer blockbuster, see this one. A must-see to anyone who likes to have fun at the movies. Really just an overall must-see. Go see it! NOW. IF YOU DON'T SEE IT I'LL- oh. Sorry about that. Got a little carried away there. Where were we? Right.

Rewatchability: High

The Verdict: 9/10 Awesome 



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