Guest Review of Guardians of the Galaxy

 

By Michael Rosenberger

 

August 8, 2014

 

Like the Hubble Constant, the Marvel Universe is constantly expanding. There are myriad Marvel properties to be translated into film. However, the decision to turn to the Guardians of the Galaxy was as unlikely as this group of heroes. When news first broke of this film there was a great disturbance in the force as millions of voices cried out in terror the likes of which that had not been heard since the destruction of Alderaan. When the trailer first dropped everyone figured that Marvel only had 12% of a plan in regard to how they were going to make this work. However, just like the people of Alderaan – the critics were suddenly silenced. 

 

Guardians of the Galaxy is everything a movie should be and not just a perfect template for a comic book film. The greatness begins with the cast and the direction. The film has an excellent cast – and that includes WWE’s own Dave Bautista who steals many scenes with impressive comedic timing. It is a testament to Gunn’s direction when he can make a typically wooden performer – like Bautista – shine in a major studio feature film. 

 

Chris Pratt takes the lead as Pete Quill aka Star Lord, a space pirate with a heart who steals an orb that just happens to contain an Infinity Stone. Since the Infinity Stone has the power to destroy the universe the forces of evil seek it out. Under the direction of Thanos – the Mad Titan – the stone is sought after by Gamora, Ronan the Accuser, Nebula and a variety of other zany and colorful characters that may be good, bad or a little bit of both. The remainder of the Guardians is Groot (Vin Diesel), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Drax the Destroyer (Bautista). The voiceover performance by Cooper was phenomenal as he was unrecognizable and sounded like a humanoid raccoon should. Saldana is an excellent action performer no matter what shade of blue or green she wears. Each of the Guardians is well developed and their individual motivations are relatable. The villains are underdeveloped and are presented in the typical “I am going to destroy the world BWAHAHAHAHA” fashion. This is over and done and it was an aspect of the film that was lacking. Villains should be complicated – not generic. 

 

Overall, this is nothing new in terms of plot as the comics depend upon a world in peril to exist. However, it is the emotion that makes this film a cut above the rest – even the beloved Avengers. Although Avengers is a great action movie with typical frenetic action sequences, it lacks the emotion of Guardians. 

 

The score and soundtrack to the film is one of the best in a long time. So many movies would be so much better with a well-developed score and soundtrack. Marketing departments pay attention to this, which is why trailers always appear so appealing. However, the music used in a trailer is often never heard in a film even though it was appropriately used in the first instance. Fortunately, this film delivered on the music and it paid off. 

 

The actions sequences were not as frenetic as the scenes in the Avengers. Often, characters like Iron Man and the Hulk move so quickly across the screen that the action becomes jumbled. However, when you have characters like Captain America and Drax, the action is more traditional and fluid. I may be old school, but one-on-one battles make for the best fight sequences and finales. 

 

Overall, Guardians delivers on all fronts and is a welcome addition to the Marvel Universe. Unfortunately, the post credits do not offer any insight into how they may fit into the universe as a whole, but the end of the film promises the Guardians will be back in a style similar to the end of the original Back to the Future. The actual post credit scene is a dud.