Guardians of the Galaxy:
In 1988, a young boy named Peter Jason Quill, who just lost his mother to cancer, is abducted from Earth by a group of alien outlaws called the Ravagers. Raised by their rugged leader Yondu, he becomes the "legendary outlaw 'Star-Lord'". After stealing an ancient orb from an alien temple on a desolate planet, he is chased down by soldiers from the Kree culture, the Ravagers (whom he has betrayed and left), and a green alien assassin by the name of Gamora, who is sent by the galactic being Thanos. However, after being arrested, he must team with Gamora, a witty bounty hunter/genetic experiment gone wrong named Rocket (who is a talking raccoon), Rocket's bodyguard and enforcer Groot (a humanoid tree creature), and a crazed alien trying to avenge his family named Drax, in order to escape prison and save the galaxy and keep the orb from falling into the wrong hands. In particular, the hands of the genocidal Kree warrior named Ronan, "the Accuser", who is enraged by the Kree's peace treaty with the planet of Xandar, and wants to wipe out all of the planet's inhabitants and culture.
This movie was surprisingly good, and part of that is due to it's great ensemble cast: Chris Pratt is charismatic and funny in the role of the arrogant and "infamous" Star-Lord. More known for comedy, this role proves that Pratt can do action movies just as well. Zoe Saldana is good in the role of the skilled assassin Gamora. Dave Bautista is excellent in the role of bad-ass/crazy sort-of comic relief Drax. But the stars of the show are, without a doubt, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper as Groot and Rocket, respectively. Groot is lovable and provides some laughs, and Cooper is funny and crazy in the role of the raccoon. Lee Pace is Ronan, and is one of the few Marvel villains lately that isn't a huge disappointment. I'm not saying he's really great or outstanding, he's still just another action villain (which is a shame, as Ronan is a cool comic book character), but unlike Red Skull in Captain America and Malekith in Thor: The Dark World, Ronan actually presents a big threat and doesn't just get killed by some stupid explosion after a 30-second fight scene. Karen Gillan (Doctor Who, Oculus) is the supporting villainess Nebula, Gamora's foster sister and one of Thanos' cyborg assassin "daughters". Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer) plays Yondu, Star-Lord's sort-of-father figure and space pirate. Rooker brings his charm and coolness, but the flaw with his character is that he's basically just a blue-skinned Merle (Rooker's Walking Dead character), he's not another new or different. Djimon Hounsou (In America, Blood Diamond, How to Train Your Dragon 2) appears as Korath, one of Ronan's best soldiers and trackers. John C. Reilly and Glenn Close have minor parts as Xandar officials Rhomann Dey and Irani Rael, respectively. Benicio del Toro is excellent as the effeminate, eccentric, and slightly unhinged Collector, but he's pretty much wasted. Josh Brolin has a minor part as Thanos, the cold-hearted galactic conqueror. Alexis Denisof reprises his part from Avengers as The Other, Thanos' representative. Ophelia Lovibond has a small part as The Collector's servant girl Carina. Ralph Ineson (Game of Thrones, Spooks) cameos as a Ravager, Nathan Fillion has a cameo as a space prison inmate, Stan "The Man" Lee as a Xandarian playboy, Lloyd Kaufman (infamous B-movie director) as another prisoner, Rob Zombie as a Ravager navigator, and the film's composer Tyler Bates (a frequent collaborator of Zombie and Zack Snyder) as a Ravager pilot.
Speaking of the film's score, that's one of the few problems with the movie. Although the soundtrack (filled with 70's classics) is awesome, the original music is sort of bland and forgettable. That's not to insult Bates, but that's just a problem facing many blockbuster films today.
The only other major complaint is the humor. Now, the humor's great and there's nothing wrong with it, but this is a problem facing the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever since Disney took over: never knowing when enough was enough. These movies tend to get so hung up on having a good time that they don't know when to just take themselves seriously and stop being so self-aware. This was a problem in The Avengers, too. Both are fun and enjoyable action movies, but both have jokes in the middle of action scenes and dramatic moments, which is kind of inappropriate.
Other than those two things, and the occasional logical flaw (which is prevalent in most blockbuster movies) and cliche, there's not too much wrong with this movie. The acting all around is pretty good for a summer movie (especially one coming out in the usually dull month of August). The action sequences are fun and colorful, with lots of cool sci-fi weapons and gadgets to keep things interesting. Speaking of which, the special effects and makeup are amazing, and although there's not a huge variety of weird creatures, when one does pop-up, they look really cool and unique, so I gotta give props to the design team. The CG looks great and is used only when it really needs to be, which is something I respect a lot.
James Gunn (Slither, Super) does a great job directing. This surprised me, as he's mostly known for B-movies and comedies. He and his brother Sean Gunn have cameos in the film. His screenplay with Nicole Perlman is full of wit and originality. At first I thought Rooker was cast because of The Walking Dead's bloated popularity, and while this is probably a huge factor as well, it's also probably because Rooker starred in Gunn's film Slither. But, back on point, Gunn does a great job for a first-time blockbuster director.
Guardians of the Galaxy has some flaws, but overall it's a fun summer movie and it broadens the scope of the already vast Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's flashy, fast-paced, and funny, and has some great action sequences and an awesome soundtrack. What else could you really ask for? 3.5/5 stars.
(Spoilers Below Poster)
(Image: Wikipedia)Spoiler Segment:
In the always great end-credits sequence, The Collector sits, depressed, as his vast collection has been destroyed when his home/museum is blown up by an Infinity Star (which the orb was holding the whole time). He is sitting there, when a Russian cosmonaut dog named Cosmo (played by animal performer Fred the Dog) runs up and starts licking his face. Suddenly, a voice starts mocking him from off-screen. He looks to see one of his living collectibles, Howard the Duck (voiced by Seth Green of Austin Powers, Idle Hands, Family Guy, and Robot Chicken fame), sitting on the remains of his glass case, drinking. Is this just a little Easter egg? Or are we goign to see Howard get his own movie, or maybe a role in another project? (Which will hopefully be better than the 1986 flop Howard the Duck.) Only time will tell...
(End of Spoilers)
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