Guardians of the Galaxy premiered in theaters on Aug. 1/Used under Creative Commons License
Guardians of the Galaxy, directed and partially written by James Gunn (Super, Dawn of the Dead) is not your typical Marvel movie riddled with CGI filled battle scenes, explosions, and cities crumbling before our very eyes.
It’s 1988: Peter Quill’s mother is lying on her deathbed with family surrounding her. Enraged and saddened, Peter runs outside and is swallowed up by an aircraft best explained as a UFO. That’s most of the backstory we get, because the next time we see Quill is 26 years later on a deserted island in search of a mysterious orb.
There are five “losers” fated with the task of protecting a silver, strange orb that no one seems to be able to explain. Among the five are Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), who would rather be referred to as Star-lord, the beautiful green Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (World Champion Wrestler fighter Dave Bautista), Groot (Vin Diesel), and Rocket (Bradley Cooper). They are most commonly known as the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Humor is wonderfully consistent throughout the movie. Even for a WCW fighter who may be the least experienced in acting, Bautista’s delivers his lines with ease. Perhaps the most comical part of the movie takes place when the five are in prison. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but it may or may not involve a prosthetic leg.
The rest of the movie continues with the same random and witty humor, but it does not divert from the story. Eventually, the five band together and risk their lives to keep the orb protected. When it comes to the climactic battle scene, we see the familiar explosions and special effects as with the other Marvel movies; however, it seems more mesmerizing than most typical super hero battle scenes. The editing is well-done, and there are no poorly written lines in those frightful moments that leave you rolling your eyes and wanting to get on with the next part. You might find yourself first crying, and then laughing by the end of it.
From the consistent humor throughout the film to the paralyzing moments where you have no idea how the five are going to make it out alive, Guardians of the Galaxy exceeds all expectations. Every member of the cast becomes their character, letting us forget that it is Bradley Cooper’s voice coming out of a sassy raccoon’s mouth. James Gunn approached this movie without being directly influenced by all the other Marvel classics. Finally, after being disappointed with the quickly put together Thor and Captain America for The Avengers, it is obvious that a lot of time was spent on the story, cast, and film of this movie, leaving us yearning for more.
Rated PG-13
Running time: 121 minutes
IMDB rating: 8.6/10
My rating: 3.5/5