MPAA Rating: PG-13/Genre: Superhero/Stars: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Sean Gunn, Alexis Denisof, Ophelia Lovibond, Peter Serafinowicz, Gregg Henry, Laura Haddock, Melia Kreiling, Christopher Fairbank, Mikaela Hoover, Emmett J. Scanlan, Alexis Rodney, Tom Proctor, Spencer Wilding, James Gunn, Stan Lee, Lloyd Kaufman, Tyler Bates, Wyatt Oleff; Voices of: Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Nathan Fillion, Rob Zombie, Seth Green/Runtime: 121 minutes
I think it is safe to say that, before the year of 2014, if you had to asked people to name their favorite superhero you’d probably get a wide variety of answers with some of the more popular ones for DC being “Batman” and “Superman” and for Marvel it would probably consist of “Spider-Man” and the “X-Men” respectively. Yet, out of 100 people, I think it’s a fairly easy bet to make that, if you were lucky, you might (key word there) get at most 5 people who would say “The Guardians of the Galaxy”. Of course, this is hardly a surprise since not a lot of people really knew about this team let alone who its members that made up its line up were. Then, as part of their blossoming cinematic universe which had received quite the huge boost in confidence 2 years prior with the incredible success of their Avengers team-up film, we saw that Marvel made the rather unique creative choice and decided that this by and large unknown team would be given the big-screen treatment as part of Phase 2. A team that, among the roster the film would bring to life, included a talking tree and a snarky raccoon and whose human leader would be portrayed by the wonderfully goofy yet more than slightly fluffy guy who played Andy Dwyer on the hit show Parks and Rec. Suffice it to say that the word “worried” was definitely an understatement for a lot of people who had come to really love the work being done by the MCU up to that point in time (myself included). Of course, with a solid nine years having come and gone since then, I really do find myself wondering why in the world we as movie goers worried as much as we did back then. Sure, this review might have the benefit of hindsight, but truth be told dear reader it doesn’t matter because this slice of cinema was awesome when it came out and it’s still just as awesome now. To be sure, there are a few miniscule issues scattered throughout this slice of cinema’s 121-minute (including credits) runtime, but with the aid of genuinely superheroic work done on both sides of the camera there is no denying that the first Guardians of the Galaxy is a wonderful entry in the MCU to say nothing of an entry in the realm of superhero cinema done right.
The plot is as follows: Starting off in the long-ago year of 1988, Guardians of the Galaxy gets its intergalactic saga underway by introducing us to a young boy by the name of Peter Quill on what is easily one of the worst days in anyone’s life. Why that is the case I won’t tell you, but what I will tell you is that as heartbreaking as his day has been, we see that things soon take a turn for the sci-fi when the young man finds himself unceremoniously being abducted by aliens (and you thought YOUR Mondays were rough). Cut to 26 years later and we see that the now-adult Quill is working as a scavenger for the group of aliens that took him, known as the Ravagers, and their leader Yondu Udonta. It is this job incidentally that soon gets Peter in a spot of trouble when, on a planet known as Morag, he discovers a mysterious orb only to soon be ambushed by operatives working for an extraterrestrial radical by the name of Ronan who desires the orb himself for…reasons. Yet despite getting away with the orb, and in one piece to boot, we see that Peter decides not to take it back to Yondu, but instead to take off with it and make some money for himself. A choice that doesn’t sit well with Yondu who swiftly puts out a price on his head all while Ronan sends out an infamous assassin known as Gamora to find and bring him the orb. As a result, it is whilst on the planet Xandar that Gamora intercepts Quill and soon a fight breaks out between the two for the orb. A fight that also brings in a modified racoon named Rocket and his giant tree-like accomplice Groot who are there to collect the bounty for Quill, but which also results in something else. Namely the quartet being rounded up by the Xandarian police force and swiftly placed in an infamous space prison known as the Kyln. However, when our quartet learn both just what exactly lies inside the orb as well as the extreme-level threat that it presents to not just one planet, but the galaxy in its entirety, we see that they, along with an extraterrestrial warrior by the name of Drax the Destroyer, must (however reluctantly) band together as an unlikely team to do whatever they can to keep Ronan from both finding as well as using the contents of the orb no matter what the cost….
Now right off the bat it should be noted that, despite their debut all the way back in an issue of Marvel Super-Heroes from 1969, the titular team at the heart of this slice of superheroic cinema has not exactly possessed what many would deem as a fairly steady comic book run. As a result, this team was for a long time viewed as a fairly unknown property in the overall Marvel comics universe with the only commonality existing between each group that has wielded the team name being that they all different celestial organisms with questionable morals who wind up transforming into heroes. Of course, just like the titular team, we see that Marvel was willing to engage the services of someone outside the main Hollywood stream to bring this movie to life in the form of one James Gunn. A man who, before this film, was more known for his ventures into the realms of scriptwriting (including the scripts for 2002’s Scooby-Doo and 2004’s Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed) and helming schlocky yet delightful films like the horror-comedy Slither back in 2006 respectively and not so much as a mainstream success in the vein of someone like Steven Spielberg. Perhaps this is why it feels quite wonderfully appropriate that the final script for this slice of cinema operates more like the B-movie world’s answer to The Avengers. Sure, it might look like a blockbuster superhero film and yes it might have some of the plot points as a blockbuster superhero film, but it also possesses a wild child attitude and distinct sense of humor that make this a genuine original. We also see that because this group didn’t exactly have the name recognition in the comic world that The Avengers, X-Men, or even Justice League possess, this then enabled Gunn and his co-writer on this slice of cinema to really make the most of this expanding universe full of all kinds of beings (with particular regard to the jaw-dropping effects work done to bring Rocket and Groot to life), weaponry, vessels (especially Quill’s ship the Milano), locales, combat beats, and rules/allegiances that seem to delight in changing on a whim respectively. As a result, we see that the scribes on this film have managed to put so much into this slice of cinema that it seems like not a single minute goes by without something new to (pardon the pun) marvel at and it is all brilliantly brought to life with on-point skill by the highly gifted efforts of both the production design as well as the cinematography team respectively. Even with that in mind though, perhaps the most intriguing element on the work done behind the camera is the absolutely phenomenal soundtrack. Indeed, due to its arguably main character being a product of Earth in the 60s/70s (and making the choice to keep himself linked to the planet and the family he lost through the music of those eras), this film makes the brilliant choice to have its soundtrack be comprised of such classics as “Cherry Bomb” from The Runaways and Come and Get Your Love by Redbone all the way to Ooh Child from the Five Stairsteps and Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell respectively. Suffice it to say that not only will the soundtrack leave you most assuredly dancing in your seat at some point during the runtime, but each and every song fits perfectly with whatever is occurring on screen during the time it is being played. Thus, I think it is a fairly safe statement to make that when it comes to the work being done behind the camera, this slice of cinema is one that proves to be downright magnificent in every sense of the word.
Of course, I think it is also safe to say that the other big element that helps this slice of cinema succeed on the level that it is able to would be the work done by the fantastic cast of players in front of the camera as well. This starts with Chris Pratt in the role of Peter Quill/Star-Lord and honestly he does an incredible job here. Indeed not only does Pratt make the wonderful comedic talents that he had been brilliantly displaying in Parks and Rec operate to full effect here, but he also does a grand job at displaying both an delightful degree of charisma as well as heartfelt soul that make this guy, maturity at times aside, someone who is easy to root for. I also dug the work done here by Zoe Saldana in the role of Gamora. Indeed Saldana manages to do a great job at playing a character that at first seems like the stereotypical hardened warrior woman, but who little by little shows that there is more to her than that and by the end proves to be quite the wonderful addition to the team’s roster. Perhaps the most unexpected delight though for me was the work done here by Dave Bautista in the role of Drax. Yes I must admit that I didn’t quite know what to think of his casting, but now I don’t know of anyone else who could have played it better than Bautista. Indeed he does a wonderful job at combining a ruthless ferocity, a wonderful degree of pathos, the naiveness of a child, and a brilliant comedic style in the body of a vengeance-seeking warrior he manages to become easily one of the standout performances of the entire movie. Of course, the biggest surprise isn’t even the work done here by either Bautista or Pratt. Rather, it’s the work done by the two actors whose vocal talents are the only thing about them that physically makes its way into the movie. This starts with Bradley Cooper who is downright dynamic in the role of Rocket Racoon. Yes Cooper does a great job at playing this character with a very on-point degree of snarkiness and fiery temperament, but he also does equally as wonderful in the moments where you see Rocket’s cocky veneer start to slip and he divulges things about himself that actually make you not only hold back tears to an extent, but also care about him as a character. Working in perfect tandem with him in that department is Vin Diesel providing his distinct baritone voice to the role of Groot. Yes he may only say three words the whole movie, but this is a character that by the end of it will not only find ways to warm your heart and make you laugh and smile, but also make you shed a ferocious amount of tears as well. Finally, I think this section would be completely lacking if I didn’t mention the spot-on performance given here by the highly underrated Michael Rooker as Peter’s paternal frenemy of sorts Yondu. Indeed not only is this yet another wonderful example of spot-on casting, but Rooker also does a great job at making this guy someone who is more than capable of caring under the right circumstances yet is also by no means someone you want to cross especially when he starts to whistle (as showcased in a truly incredible action beat against a group of Ronan’s men). Suffice it to say that when you also factor in fantastic efforts from such talents as Lee Pace (who is convincing albeit one-note to an extent as main antagonist Ronan), Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, the always delightful John C. Reilly, the iconic Glenn Close, and even a delightfully odd extended cameo from Benicio del Toro I think it can easily be said that whilst there may be some issues with this slice of cinema the work done by this film’s immensely talented cast of players is certainly not one of them.
All in all is the first Guardians of the Galaxy a perfect slice of cinema by any stretch of the imagination? As much as I hate to say it, that is sadly not the case. With that in mind though, does that mean the opposite is true and this is a terrible movie that should be avoided at all costs? Honestly I would definitely not say that either. Indeed it might be one of the, at the time of its release, biggest gambles that the MCU had decided to take up to that point in time, but there is no denying that the 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy was, and still is, an absolute home run in every sense of the word. More than that, this is a slice of superhero cinema that manages to be a complete and utter joy from beginning to end complete with a vibrance, aura of passion and fun, plus a delightfully on point sarcastic sense of humor that, when combined together, manages to result in one heck of a cinematic sci-fi adventure. Yes there are some issues to be found should you really wish to look for them and I am sure there are those of you who will not wish to give this the time of day because you’re either a DC fan, you take issue with how this slice of cinema presents a talking tree, the only talking raccoon you’ll ever care about is Ranger Rick, or all of the above. Even with those possibilities in mind however, there is no denying that with the aid of phenomenal work behind the camera and top-tier work in front of the camera by a truly well-chosen and immensely talented cast of players, Guardians of the Galaxy is more than just a gutsy and incredibly well-made sci-fi comic book movie. Rather, it’s also the kind of cinematic take on a given property, however known to the rest of the world, that is sure to serve as a blueprint for other maverick film helmers wishing to make their mark in the land of movie magic on how to do just that. Oh and it also happens to be both one of the best that the back half of the year 2014 sought fit to give audiences to say nothing of a genuinely great slice of cinema as well. Make of that dear reader what thou will. On a scale of 1-5 I give Guardians of the Galaxy “2014” a solid 4 out of 5.
