‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Review: Another big win for Marvel, Chris Pratt, Rocket Raccoon shine

Marvel Studios appears to do no wrong as Guardians of the Galaxy proves even unknown character, a ton more comedy and a talking raccoon can all work. The film is fast paced, packed with laughs and action, and still delivers enough “heart” to have the audience care about the new cast of characters played by Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista with the voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel.

Directed by James Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy brings some of Marvel’s obscure characters to the big screen. Peter Quill aka Star-Lord (Pratt) is a human mercenary with a bad attitude and 1970’s mix tape venturing after a mysterious orb which contains an Infinity Stone. Thanos, the villain revealed at the end of The Avengers, is also after the stone which sets up a clash with a psychpath named Ronan the Accuser, played by Pushing Daisies star Lee Pace.

Quill is also evading Yondu, (Walking Dead’s Micheal Rooker), a blue alien with a redneck attitude and a deadly whistle, which puts him in crosshairs of Gamora (Saldana) and ultimately the duo of Rocket and Groot. Once the chaos lands them all in a galactic prison, Bautista’s Drax the Destroyer is added to the mix and the team is ultimately formed through reluctant partnerships.

There is no need for a heavy plot, just a band of anti-heroes unified to stop the bad guy. Gunn has exceeded all expectations of pulling off the introduction of this many characters, keeping the science fiction worlds believeable and the action entertaining.

Pick a favorite character: Rocket is hysterical, Groot is a lovable giant, Bautista’s lack of humor is hysterical at times and that 70’s music keeps you toe tapping. Doctor Who star Karen Gillan plays Gamora’s foil Nebula, but seemed underutilized in the film. There are some good scenes, but great for her. The Nova Corps was presented about as well as can be expected – I am no fan of the comic book versions, but the Guardians are the stars.

Other “non-spoliers”:

• Fans get a great look at Thanos in his “floating chair” and Josh Brolin is perfect
• The CGI is fantastic and will make fans more excited a new Star Wars film
• Guardians moves the overall arc towards Avengers, but only slightly
• Benicio Del Toro as The Collector seemed like a waste of the great actor, but he may be back

Expect a big opening and a ton of fun unraveling all of the Easter Eggs each time you watch it again!

Guardians of the Galaxy receives 4 out of 5 stars

Fans of the Marvel films will love this latest entry. Be warned that the younger fans may come away with a few more cuss words to crack jokes, but you’ll be hard pressed to not laugh out loud.

Need more details on each character – check out this ARTICLE for full character descriptions

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