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Saturday, August 16, 2014

Guardians of the Galaxy Review

The Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel's big gamble based on an obscure comic book of the same name about a group of misfits and outlaws that band together for various reasons to save the day.
Marvel does it again with Guardians of the Galaxy being one of their best and most accessible films to date. Director, James Gunn, gives us one of the most unique, entertaining, and hilarious adventures ever put to film. It is like a combination of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Mass Effect, and Firefly, packed full of 80s references, action, and absurdly lovable characters. Even if you have never seen a Marvel film, there is so little connection to the main universe that it does not matter, yet there are still plenty of Easter Eggs for the fans like myself.
Directed by: James Gunn
Genre: Comic Book, Action, Action Comedy, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Release Date: August 1, 2014
Running Time: 122 minutes
MMPA rating: PG-13

The Good: Lovable cast of characters, Pitch perfect humor, Subverts typical clichés, Surprising emotional depth, 80s movie references, 100% believable special effects, Jokes always hit the mark, Unique in every way, Stunning visual style, Impressive action sequences, Rocket and Groot often steal the show, Excellent performances across the board, Fun after credits scene, Fantastically quirky opening scene, Unrivaled licensed soundtrack, Endlessly entertaining, Great score, Quirky style and humor, Unforgettable quotes, Nearly perfect,
Plot: 10/10- Except for a brief 5 minute segment that provides some clunky exposition about the antagonist, Guardians of the Galaxy's pacing is absolutely perfect. It never slows down too much, nor is it ever too fast. The plot progresses without any hitches in logic or trying to be over complicated with its use of science fiction elements. Whenever you think you know what is going to happen next, the movie subverts the usual clichés in many often hilarious ways, almost like it was written by Joss Whedon! James Gunn's style is quirky, fun, and endlessly enjoyable. His style is in-your-face and unforgivingly his own, and that is my type of filmmaking!

Characterization: 10/10- In 122 minutes, we are introduced to five absurdly lovable characters that have pitch perfect chemistry. I cannot remember a better standalone ensemble film since The Lord of the Rings.
Instead of forcing character backstory through flashbacks or other mechanisms, each of the character's past troubles is organically integrated through character interaction and dialogue. *Possible Spoiler* In many ways, each character's backstory is very tragic and sad. *End Spoiler*
Each of the characters is introduced and is given ample development and backstory for the audience to genuinely care about them. There are some shockingly emotional moments throughout the film that add depth to make the film more than just a fun action comedy.
Chris Pratt knocks it out of the park as Peter Quill/Star Lord. He plays the likable, almost Han Solo like, rogue to perfection. His backstory and opening scene is surprisingly poignant, which makes connecting to the character easy for the audience. Zoe Saldana as Gamora sells the green makeup with a very fierce and strong performance that never delves into being sassy like so many others. Her noble warrior personality clashed humorously with Peter Quill's cocky rogue attitude brilliantly.
Thanks to the type of deadpan, stoic character that Drax is, wrestler, Dave Bautista, is actually fine in his role. Drax is one of the many hilarious parts of the film due to his misundering of Peter's metaphors and expressions, and his backstory is effectively portrayed.
Bradley Cooper as Rocket steals the show being both lovable and tough with excellent delivery that makes me forgot how much I wanted to hear Rocket with a cockney accent like the comic books. Out of all the characters, Rocket is the most compelling character of the group. Groot, despite only being able to say "I am Groot," is such a lovable character. He is able to convey a wide range of emotions through his expressions so that the audience understands what he is thinking. 
The main antagonist, Ronan the Accuser, is no Loki, but he is a solid antagonist for the film. He is a space psychopath that enjoys killing, and he has about as much motivation for doing what he does as the Joker. 
In many ways, Nebula, the secondary antagonist, is a more compelling character than Ronan with her character being given some depth. Her conflict, albeit minor to the overall plot, with Gamora added a surprisingly about weight to certain parts of the movie.

Action: 10/10- Guardians of the Galaxy's action runs the gamut from sci-fi shootouts, to close-quarters-combat, to exhilarating space battles. The film's action is able to set itself apart from other comic book films with the heavy science fiction elements with cool weapons and stunning visual effects.
Acting: 10/10- Considering how out there the entire film is, the cast nails it making the strange new universe believable. Thoughts on main cast are under Characterization. Michael Rooker and John C. Reilly are a lot of fun as humorous side characters, and Glenn Close does not do a lot in the film, but what she does is good. The rest of the cast all do a top notch job without a weak performance among the cast.

Special effects: 10/10- Wow, Guardians of the Galaxy's special effects are some of the best that I have ever seen! 
The two main CGI characters, Rocket and Groot, are the most believable ones since Gollum in the Lord of the Rings. They are believable and you never feel for a moment that these guys are just computer generated characters. You can see the emotion on the characters' expressions! With almost everything in the film taking place on distant planets, the set design and special effects are very unique and inspired. A lot of risks were taken with the visual aesthetic, and they all worked! Seriously, every single frame is full of visually interesting. Not for a second is anything about the film boring or dull.

Soundtrack: 10/10- Hands down, Guardians of the Galaxy has the best use of licensed music in any film. As a fan of 70s and 80s music, James Gunn's use of various songs like "Hooked on a Feeling" perfectly compliments the film. Tyler Bates' score, which was composed before filming the movie so that James Gunn could film to the music, is top notch with music that fits every scene perfectly.
Humor: 10/10- Guardians of the Galaxy's humor is 100% spot on. Not only it is the funniest action comedy, it is one of the funniest movies that I have ever seen, yet the story can still be taken seriously. Never before have I seen humor in an action comedy hit the mark every single time! 
Of course, humor is subjective, but the bevy of 80s movie and pop culture references are positively hysterical! Even though I was not born in the 80s, I love 80s movies, so I got most of the references ranging from Ninja Turtles to Raiders of the Lost Ark. All of the humor is clever, smart, and is integrated perfectly into the film. As soon as you think something typical and clichéd is about to happen, something hilarious happens that subverts the cliché.

Entertainment Value: 10/10- A 10 on Entertainment Value is massively under cutting it. This summer has been packed with entertaining modern classics, and none have been more entertaining than Guardians of the Galaxy. I am going to buy this film, and I am going to watch over and over again. 

Overall: 10/10- Guardians of the Galaxy is bold and audacious filmmaking at its finest with James Gunn's complete disregard of typical genre conventions that care more about making a unique film than a generic crowd pleaser, yet it surely does please. Guardians of the Galaxy is like a cult classic with lovable quirky characters and endlessly quotable dialogue, except with box office success and a big budget; what more could you ask for?!

Closing comments: "Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga, I'm hooked on a feeling. I'm high on believing. That Guardians of the Galaxy is the best movie of the year!"

Recommended for: Everyone, Comedy fans, Action fans, Sci-Fi fans, Action Comedy fans, Marvel fans, Comic Book fans,

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22 comments:

  1. Wow, it sounds like an amazing film! :D I've been hearing quite a few good things about the film and I'm glad to hear that it subverts annoying cliches and balances the comedy and seriousness well. Hopefully I can see it at some point! :)

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  2. That was a fun review to read James! I completely agree.

    And the more that I think about it, I think that we will really see how timeless Guardians of the Galaxy is over the next couple decades, especially if it gets some good sequels.

    I'm right there with you. For me, it's been the best movie of the year so far.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it!

      Agreed! Guardians is going to hold up brilliantly, especially if the sequels are great.

      -James

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  3. I can tell you had fun writing this review! I'm glad you enjoyed it this much! While just a little bit of the humor didn't hit the mark for me, it was still a fantastic film and I think it's an instant classic! I do have a question--what did you think of the two after credit scenes? (asking now because I don't think I'll be well enough to Skype for a while yet. :() The first one I thought was okay--more Disney-esque than Marvel but it was cute and it worked--but I didn't get the second one at all...

    ~Jamie

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    1. Yes I did! *Major Spoilers* That character in the after credits scene is Howard the Duck. He was actually the first Marvel hero to make a big screen appearance. George Lucas made the movie, and it was considered one of the worst movies ever. Hope you get well soon!

      -James

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  4. Guardians of the Galaxy, unfortunately, isn't my best film of the year...but it is in the Top Ten (if not Top Five). Despite my initial doubts it proved my fears wrong and I enjoyed it.

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    1. I'm curious, what is your best film of the year? For me, it is a tie between Guardians, Winter Soldier, and Days of Future Past.

      -James

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    2. So far, at Num. 5: Maleficent, Num. 4: Guardians of the Galaxy, Num. 3: Belle, Num. 2: X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Num. 1: The Grand Budapest Hotel.

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    3. I have only seen Guardians and X-Men, so I can't say a lot about the others, but I should probably check them all out at some point.

      -James

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  5. Glad to hear you loved it, I've had a second viewing and I have to tell you it's just as good as the first time!

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    1. Can't wait to see it for a second time myself. Thanks Daniel!

      -James

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  6. Awesome review James! I could watch that second group of gifs for a very long time. :P I can't remember a specific reference to Raiders of the Lost Ark, but I was reminded of it at the beginning -- was there a specific reference or was that it?

    Chris Pratt plays the cocky semi-serious hero like he's never done anything else! *spoilers* And Rocket's drunken emotional outburst was shockingly realistic, wasn't it? I thought Nebula was more compelling than Ronan too, (he was mostly just epic) so I'm very glad that she'll apparently be back. (I heard she'll be showing up in a different Marvel movie next too.) Still trying to wrap my mind around the idea that that was Karen Gillan...

    I loved all the characters, so I kinda wish we'd gotten more detailed looks into their origin stories, but at the same time I agree with what you said -- how the back stories are integrated so naturally that it was really the perfect way to do it. Still, I'm looking forward to their further development in the next film that is WAY too far away. Star-Lord is my favorite superhero now, and I keep just listening to the soundtrack over and over... The awesomeness of this movie makes me very happy. :D

    Maybe you should start rating the Entertainment Value on an 11 scale -- apparently this movie redefined what an entertaining movie is!

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    1. Thank you Sarah! Me too! :) Peter said something like, "It is like the Ark of the Convent and the Maltese Falcon all wrapped into one!"

      Agreed! Pratt killed it! *Spoilers* I know! That scene with Rocket was so powerful. Really, I wonder what movie Nebula will appear in. Maybe it will be the Inhumans movie.

      Same here, I cannot wait to see more of the characters, but that is because they were so lovable, rather than being underdeveloped. Agreed, that soundtrack is just awesome! :D I can't stop listening to it either.

      You are right! I should have given it an 11/10!

      -James

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    2. Ah, right, I remember that bit now. Thanks!

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  7. While I won't get to see the movie (we've been busy moving), hopefully I catch it when it comes out to DVD. I'm glad you enjoyed the movie! All the reviews I've read have been positive and all seem to say the same thing: it's a great movie (well, I've seen some with some negative parts, but it seems to land on 'great'). While I haven't been able to avoid every spoiler (I have been trying though), I did see a clip that they released of *Spoilers* Baby Groot. I have a theory as to what happened to make Groot turn Pint Sized or whatever, but I'm not a hundred percent sure (I'm mainly just using what I've read and accidentally stumbled across on Tumblr), but the clip was adorable and hilarious! *End Spoilers* Peter Quill sounds like an interesting character, though, and I think he could end up as a favorite character!
    Awesome review, James!
    -Tegan

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    1. That's too bad, since it is so good. :/ Hope you enjoy it when you do get to see it! The movie definitely lives up to the hype. Thanks Tegan!

      -James

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  8. Far Out, it sounds like a very special movie

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  9. I've heard some very good things about this and I'm glad that the gamble Marvel took, by using such a lesser known team, worked out so well for them. I can't really catch movies in the theater these days so I'll have to wait to see it, but it does seem pretty good.
    Highly recommended Kiwi fruit Green & Gold information

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  10. Hi James I finaly got to see it on the small screen. In retrospect having seen the movie this is one of your best reviews ever.

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One rule: No strong profanity. If you want to link to one of your posts, please do; I am always interested in other reviews and such.

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