Guardians of the Galaxy In Theater Review

While not quite the perfect popcorn movie, Guardians is still a fun romp through Marvel Comics’ space settings. Featuring excellent special effects and an even better cast, heartfelt emotions are not neglected in favor of the many, many explosions. After all, how can one not like a movie with space pirates, deadly alien babes, rocket boots, and a talking raccoon who likes to shoot everything in sight?

Growing up in the 1970s, I was always attracted to the science fiction side of comic books, whether it be Green Lantern, Iron Man, or the lesser known Guardians of the Galaxy. So when I first heard a big budget movie was being made, I couldn’t wait. Then the other shoe dropped when the characters were announced as being from a more modern reboot.

With only one I liked, Rocket Raccoon, and two others I knew, Drax the Destroyer and Gamora, my expectations plummeted and interest waned. The original Starlord and Yondu were replaced with posers along with the addition of a scaled down ent. Yeah, that looked like a sure fire winner to me.

Once positive word of mouth reached me, I decided I’d see the flick after all. I’m glad I did.

Given how bad the last Star Wars trilogy was, there has been a dearth of space operas despite a resurgence in science fiction films. Guardians of the Galaxy fills the void and does it in sweet, yet crude style. Starting out with one of the most tear jerking scenes in any Marvel movie, it shifts gears quickly into comedy. That mix of emotional content with slapstick humor manages to work surprisingly well.

The main character is Peter Quill, aka Starlord, though nobody takes the codename seriously – if they remember it all. Reflecting his arrested development, that codename gives away his childish attitude which becomes a running theme in the story. A pirate, thief, and semi-successful ladies man, Quill finds his latest heist becoming far more complicated than he needs.

Fallout from it leads him to meeting/running away from a green skinned cybernetically enhanced assassin named Gamora in competition with a pair of bounty hunters consisting of a talking raccoon with a big gun and a walking tree man. Rocket is the result of experimentation that’s left him bitter and Groot… Well, Groot is Groot.

And that’s a good thing. See the movie and you will understand.

It doesn’t take long for the heist film to turn into a prison escape movie in order for the group to add another green skinned alien, Drax. A hulking and extremely literal warrior, he lives only for vengeance against the man who killed his family.

That man is also the main villain of the story, Ronan the Accuser. He’s a racial purity zealot who couches his threats in vaguely religious phrasing without any religion actually being espoused. Suffice it to say, he’s a big angry blue guy with an even bigger hammer chasing after the MacGuffin of the plot.

If you are aware of the story structure used for all blockbusters these days, it is employed for this film as well. Thankfully, there are some unexpected twists and turns here and there to make it slightly less predictable.

None of that makes the movie good. What made it entertaining was the interactions between and character developments for the band of broken people forced to team up to survive. All five of the main characters get their moments to shine and more importantly, feel like real people.

Rocket, Groot, and Drax should all become fan favorites as the movie is seen more. I predict it will do well on home video. In particular, Bautista the ex-professional wrestler, is incredible as Drax and something of a revelation in the role. He made that character my favorite despite my bias toward Rocket (I had his comic book miniseries back in the’80s) and the obvious appeal of the childlike Groot.

I do have some complaints about the film. The first is how crude it is at times. By crude, I mean language and low brow humor including a not terribly subtle reference to bodily fluids of a sexual nature. For that and the sometimes sadistic violence, I think it isn’t appropriate for younger children.

The other complaint is extreme comic book nerd in origin. The Nova Corps are not depicted with their ability to fly or shoot energy blasts. Instead they are essentially beat cops with drones and fancy fighter planes. None of the Lensmen or Green Lantern Corps feel that the original concept had was retained.

Warning! The traditional after credits scene is only for comic book diehards, especially those of us who were around in the the 1970s. I highly doubt it will apply to the sequel which was greenlit before the film was released in the States!

Along with the soundtrack made up of ‘70s pop and rock tunes (it is an actual plot point), I had flashbacks to the decade of polyester and disco since I felt the movie caught some of the atmosphere of the original Star Wars trilogy. A more comedic variation, but the melody is familiar.

I can’t wait to see this motley lot of antiheroes meet up with the Avengers down the road.