Guardians of the Galaxy

Reviews from the Dark Side presents
   Guardians of the Galaxy
Released 8/1/14

The penultimate chapter of Marvel Studios Phase Two project marches into theaters this week with the release of Guardians of the Galaxy.  Directed by James Gunn, this saga about a ragtag group of space adventurers was a bit of a stretch for Marvel and Disney.  These are not well-known characters from the Marvel Universe even for staunch comic book fans.  I have to admit the trailers for this film left me lukewarm, and I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  With Marvel Studios on such a high after The Winter Soldier earlier this year, this was a very dubious movie to release indeed.

For those of my readers who are sports inclined, have you ever heard of the term of "being in a major groove?"  That's how I would describe Marvel Studios at the moment.  Right now, only they could take a group of B-list, no, make that C-list or even D-list characters, and blow your mind with an incredible feature film.  No, I don't know how they did it with Guardians of the Galaxy, but, they did.  So, how do you make a coherent story about a Han Solo wannabe, an assassin, a revenge-driven psychopath, and two mercenary thugs uniting for a universe-saving cause?

After the death of his mother in 1988, a young Peter Quill is abducted from Earth for unknown reasons by a group of space pirates known as the Ravagers led by Yondu Udonta (Michael Rooker).  Twenty-six years later finds an adult Quill (Chris Pratt), now a master thief for hire (calling himself Star-Lord), on a mission to steal a mysterious orb on a hostile planet.  It's a theft that proves more than problematic for Quill as he is immediately intercepted by agents of the fanatical Kree terrorist, Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace).  Barely escaping Ronan's goons, Quill travels to the planet Xandar to sell the orb for a huge score.

On Xandar, Quill runs afoul of Gamora (Zoe Saldana), an assassin in the employ of Ronan, who was sent to retrieve the orb.  It turns out that Star-Lord's former abductor/mentor, Yondu, is not pleased with him either as Yondu was looking to cash in on the sale of the orb before his pupil stole it.  He expresses his displeasure by placing a bounty on Quill's head.  It's a bounty that two rough-and-tumble hunters can't resist.  Looking for their own score on Xandar, meaning perps with the highest prices on their heads, Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), a genetically engineered raccoon with an affinity for battle tactics and large guns, and Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), a seemingly simple-minded treelike alien who serves as Rocket's muscle, coincidentally discover Quill.  The ensuing melee lands Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket, and Groot in the maximum-security prison, the Kyln, after they are all apprehended by Xandar's resident police/military force, the Nova Corps.   It's in the Kyln that the four prisoners meet the tough and powerful Drax (Dave Bautista), an alien with a serious grudge against Ronan. 

So, why is this orb of the utmost importance?  The orb casing houses one of the all-powerful Infinity Stones, a coveted object by some very unsavory beings in the galaxy.  And, where there are Infinity Stones, you can bet the mad Titan, Thanos (not seen since the end credits of The Avengers), isn't far behind.  He and Ronan have formed a destructive alliance.  In exchange for finding the stone for Thanos, Ronan gets to use it for the destruction of Xandar.  The Accuser is not very keen on the uneasy treaty his native Kree have with the Xandarians.  To aid him in his quest, Thanos has loaned  his "daughters", Gamora and Nebula (Karen Gillan), two women the Titan has trained to be living weapons from a very young age.  Unknown to both power-mad villains, Gamora has her own agenda and reluctantly needs her new "team" to complete her objective. 

Marvel has always attempted to inject humor in their movie releases.  Guardians is a departure from the norm as it is as much a comedy as it is super hero adventure.  And, it's hilarious from beginning to end without being overly corny in its humor.  Seriously, there's a walking, talking sardonic raccoon.  The film obviously has the ability to laugh at itself. 

Lee Pace chews the scenery very well as Ronan.  He's a truly evil being who cares nothing about the destruction he leaves in his wake.  So, in other words, he's an excellent big bad.  Although as the true comic geek that I am anticipating what is to come, every villain is in some way going to feel like "filler" from Marvel Studios until Thanos is ready to fully grace us with his presence. 

There were very good performances all the way around.  Even WWE star, Dave Bautista, had his moment in the sun a few times.  And, of course, the vocal stylings of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel steal scenes more than once.  But, I have to give credit where it's due to Chris Pratt.  Honestly, I thought from the trailers he was going to be "Tony Stark lite", and I would find him more annoying on occasion than humorous.  When I'm wrong, I'm wrong.  Peter Quill is very much his own unique character and Pratt has a lot to do with that.  He's roguish and manipulative without ,as he so eloquently states it in the movie, being a total d!@&. 

There was one thing in Guardians of the Galaxy that struck me as a little odd, and I'm not entirely sure why this was done.  I think there was a lost opportunity to introduce the Nova Corps as a powerful intergalactic force.  The Novas are Marvel's equivalent to the Green Lantern Corps at DC.  Here, they are just sort of...ordinary. 

Watching Guardians of the Galaxy made me realize that I've been very generous to some movies this Summer that didn't come close to this one in terms of entertainment value.  I gave Amazing Spider-Man 2 a four-star review, and, while I think it's gotten a bit of a bad rap, it did admittedly have some warts.  X-Men:  Days of Future Past?  Good movie, but there are a few continuity issues there that will make your head explode.  Neither one holds a candle to GOTG.  And this is coming from one of the biggest Spider-Man fans on the planet Earth. Only The Winter Soldier edges it this year in terms of the super hero genre.  And, it doesn't edge it by a wide margin either.  I was thoroughly pleased by how much this film clicked on just about every cylinder possible. 

So with Marvel on the roll that it's on, it makes me even more eager to see them regain all of their properties.  I would love to see what they would do with Spider-Man and the X-Men after seeing what they've done with this little-known group.  Hopefully, they'll get the Fantastic Four back shortly (boy does that need a shot in the arm).  Marvel Studios has made me a believer.  Bring on Ant Man!!!  OK, I have to lay down now.

The Dark Lord of the Sith says:

****3/4 stars


Ratings Legend
Zero *= Don't waste your time. Pure dreck! Dreck is too good for this! Blind me please!
1 *= Fuggedaboutit!
2 *= Average, Mediocre, Nothing Special
3 *= Good viewing. Much better than a poke in the eye.
4 *= Great. Could possibly foot the price of a non-Matinee.
5 *= Pure eye candy. Hall of Fame material here.