Review 322: Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy has been one of the biggest surprises of the year and is by far Marvels funniest film.

Adapted from the Marvel Comics superhero team, Guardians of the Galaxy by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. In the far reaches of space, an American pilot named Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), finds himself, the object of a manhunt after stealing the orb coveted by the villainous Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace). 
In order to evade Ronan. Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of misfits including Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Batista), Groot (Vin Diesel) Rocket (Bradley Cooper). Quill then discovers the true power of the orb and the threat it poses to the cosmos.
He must rally his ragtag of rivals for a last, desperate stand - with the galaxy's fate in the balance.

For all intense and purposes, I should hate Guardians of the Galaxy, there are just so many things in this movie that I just can not stand in a superhero movie: the idiot/jerk who becomes the underdog hero (Pete Quill) the uneasy alliance he forms with a group of misfits (Gamora, Rocket, Drax and Groot), the arguments that will break them up and have them mopeing, the inclusion of comedy in a superhero epic. Normally Those are things I am really can’t stand in a superhero film.
But for some reason it really works here. I was Genuinely surprised how much I've enjoyed this movie, I normally find movies like Guardians of the Galaxy annoying and painfully unfunny but I actually had a rollicking good time --other In words: I came to mock and stayed to smile.

My guess as to why all these elements work here and not in other movies is because the characters are so well realised, each member of the Guardians of the Galaxy is flawed, each character has a brilliantly persona and such a beautifully defined backstory that it makes them easy to relate to.
So each character has a reason for why, he or she is doing what she's doing.
So when something happens and we see how it affects the characters.
Each scene is played earnestly and the emotion the character is feeling. They are not bad people at they're just a group of misfits who've just gotten caught up in the wrong crowd.
Because of this, the Guardians of the Galaxy is consisted of members, all of whom are inherently selfish for the most but they find that there's something worth fighting for that's bigger than themselves. When the come together all of them have these individual goals of what they want and later on they realise that they want to protect innocent people and Guard the Galaxy for that matter.

But if you actually peel away the bodywork, this film is actually a mini Avengers, with each hero filling the role of Earth's Mightiest Heroes and much like The Avengers each member of the Guardians comes from a different world and they all bend together to stop an intergalactic super villain year who plans to conquer a world. But I mean all of that in all the best ways and by that I mean this film knows what it wants to be, at no point is it pretentious, it's not trying to be anything it isn't. It knows what it is, it's a lighthearted space-romp with fun, kooky characters and its sense of fun and adventure is just irresistible.

In terms of comic book roots, Guardians of the Galaxy is very much based on the team that debuted quite recently in Annihilation: Conquest #6 in 2008 rather than the version that debuted in 1969, giving the film the appropriate modern but at the same time very funny, sarcastic and tongue-in-cheek humour that fits in perfectly with the already established MCU. 
Even though these characters have been around since the 60s and 70s, Marvel hasn't used them as much as their Earth-based heroes, hence they're partially blank slates, giving James Gunn and his cast plenty of room to fill in the blanks and put their own spin on them. 

Writer/director James Gunn's direction is precise, the cinematography is gorgeous, the special effects are dazzling, the score by Tyler Bates is brilliant, the production design is fantastic, the costumes are terrific, it's well paced, the action scenes are expertly staged, well choreographed and fun to watch, the sound effects are excellent, the make up is rich and beautifully detailed, the scenery is breathtaking, the comedy is well staged and the soundtrack is awesome, featuring so many great songs from the 70's and 80's including Hooked on a Feeling by Blue Swede, I'm Not in Love by 10cc, Come and Get Your Love by Redbone & Cherry Bomb by The Runaways.

The cast consists of a big ensemble of actors giving some great, heartfelt and grounded performances, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Batista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, Benicio Del Toro, John C. Reilly and Glenn Close all do exceptionally well.

Chris Pratt gives an excellent performance as Peter Quill/Star Lord, he's kind of like a cross between Han Solo and Marty McFly - which leads to some very fun moments.
His character and performance just reeks of confidence, each and every piece of dialogue that comes out of his mouth just oozes with charisma and it's just music to my ears.
He's had a bit of hard time as a kid (having lost his mum and being abducted by aliens) and has been told he needs to toughen up as he has a big heart so he's been living his whole life trying to pretend that he's tougher than he is when in fact he's sort of stunted at that moment when his mother died. He's a child at heart and he gets free reign to do whatever he wants, he has his own ship, get to eat whatever he wants. There are no rules really.
So now he flies around space, making out with loads of hot alien girls and being a bit of a jerk and a rouge. But at his core, there's an underlying sadness to him as there's something missing in his life: he misses his family, he misses community and he's in need of a purpose and through teaming up with these misfit aliens and forming the Guardians of the Galaxy, he finds that purpose.
Quill also serves as our audience surrogate into the cosmic side of the MCU, the story is told through his perspective, even thought it's not just his story, it's an ensemble, but we experience everything that happens from his POV. He even says things that we as audiences would say.

Zoe Saldana is wonderful as Gamora, she is essentially a character who is seeking redemption, even though she is very vicious, lethal rough and relentless, she has a good, compassionate side to her and she just wants to break away from her adoptive family and find a family - and I think she finds that in the Guardians of the Galaxy.

At first glance casting a wrestler like Dave Bautista as Drax might seem like a bit of a joke but the simple thing is he's actually good...  he's no Dustin Hoffman, but he's good, Drax has a lot of inner turmoil from loosing his family, but he's also very funny, he realises it, he comes from a race of aliens that are completely literal and has no understanding of metaphors - which leads to some of the films best laughs.

Vin Diesel doesn't really say much other than "I Am Groot" because his layerings are as hard as an oak and for that reason, every time he speaks, everything sounds like but his accomplice Rocket always understands him. They're relationship very akin to Wallace & Gromet. 
While most of the Guardians start out as theives and/or killers, Groot is the only one who's an honest kind soul. The unofficial conscious of the team. Though this doesn't mean he's not willing to throw down if his friends are threatened. 

And I honestly never thought I'd see the day when Bradley Cooper voices a Raccoon - but he voices one so well. He is just hysterical in this role, he has serious anger issues as well as being cynical, sarcastic and extremely aggressive. But underneath all that we see that Rocket has a hilariously sarcastic sense of humor and is actually a very good strategist. Cooper inspiration from Joe Pesci performance in Goodfellas just reads throughout the performance and the effects - which are honestly some of the convincing done for a Raccoon - which is saying alot. He's got loads of attitude, very foul mouthed and outspoken which leads to some of funniest moments in the movie.

Groot and Rocket compliment each other perfectly, where Groot is strong, Rocket is vulnerable, where Groot is kind, Rocket is rude etc. 

Lee Pace is outstanding as Ronan the Accuser, as MCU villains go he is pretty straightforward.
He's a Kree fanatic, a really sick, twisted guy with a twisted sense of what morality is; strength is virtue and weakness is sin and that is what he lives by and because of his beliefs that makes him quite scary and menacing - because they are real to him.
These beliefs also lead him to go on his vendetta against Xandar, a planet he believes should be destroyed by the Kree due to their history.
Cruel, ruthless, sadistic, psychotic, unsympathetic, unrelenting, genocidal, completely merciless but also proud and passionate like a leader should be, no one overrules the Accuser. 

Karen Gillen is so sinister and deadly as Nebula, Gamora's adopted sister and Ronan's lieutenant. 
She's very sadistic and evil but was as an audience think it's for a very valid reason. Both of them were raised to be assassins with Gamora being the most favoured of the two, so she holds a great deal of resentment and jealousy to her. Gillen seems to to relish particularly in Nebula's jealousy, which quite possibly the most interesting aspect of the character as it shows it can consume you and turn you bitter and ugly. Which makes her someone you don't want to mess with.
It's also worth noting that Gillen shaved her head for the role - now that is dedication.
She's almost a polar opposite to Gamora, whereas Gamora goes to the good side, Nebula is almost certainly consumed by the dark side and allies herself with Ronan to steal the orb,

Another noteworthy performance comes from Benicio del Toro as Taneleer Tivan/The Collector, his role is small, but it's extremely pivitol to films and the film and the rest of the Cinematic Universe.

John C. Reilly and Glenn Close are also extremely effective in smaller but important roles as Rhomann Dey & Irani Rael, a high ranking officer and leader of the Nova Corps respectively. Rael in particular, as the Corps leader, apart from being strong and stern in persona is completely committed to the cause and keen to protect the people of Xandar as well as uphold the peace treaty with Hala, the Kree homeworld. 

Peter Serafinowicz, Sean Gunn & Laura Haddock round out the films humungous cast with smaller but memorable performances with Haddock in a particular heartbreaking scene as Peter Quill's mother during the opening of the film which is both poignant and relatable.  

I Am Groot, 4/5.

The Anonymous Critic.