Guardians of the Galaxy (’14 review)

4 outta 5

Even though Guardians of the Galaxy has the Marvel label, it’s not a superhero film.  If the Marvel adaptations are to endure they need to branch out, so each of the “Phase 2” Marvel movies have dabbled in genre swapping. Now Guardians almost entirely disbands superhero tropes for an outer-space fantasy action movie.  It has the feel of the original Star Wars; a giant universe peeking at the edges as it focuses on a rag-tag group of heroes.  This is an incredibly fun movie that may have a few flaws but it’s so darned entertaining you don’t mind.   

Abducted from Earth as a child, Peter Quill aka Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) is an intergalactic pirate who has acquired an orb that his boss, Yondu (Micheal Rooker) wants.  Also wanting the orb is the menacing commander of the Kree, Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) so he sends the Gamora (Zoe Saldana) to retrieve it.   Quill is also being chased by the intelligent raccoon mercenary, Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), and his sidekick / houseplant / muscle, Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel).  Everyone ends up incarcerated by the Nova Corps and one of the prisoners, Drax, (Dave Bautista) is looking very dangerous, but they have to put their differences aside to survive.   On their trail is Ronan and his henchwoman Nebula (Karen Gillan) and if they get the orb it could mean doom for the galaxy.

The movie has a fantastic pace; in many action movies the good guys are simply reacting to the bad guys but here the heroes move the story along.  Every member of the crew has distinct personalities and bounce off each other. There is a lot of zippy dialogue with some of the funniest exchanges between Rocket and Groot.  By the end, each proclamation of “I am Groot” (the only words Groot can say) has subtle layers of meaning.  This is a true ensemble picture so you get to know each member of the crew who become an unlikely family. 

Even though it’s set in outer space, the movie fits into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.   The orb everyone is looking for is connected to the nasty Thanos (Josh Brolin), last seen in Avengers.  Even if all he does is kinda float in a space-chair, it’s fun to see Thanos speak as Brolin’s baritone voice adds mucho menace.  Eagle-eyed geeks will also notice the creepy mask dude Loki chatted with in Avengers, and mask dude has a great exit.  There is a scene where The Collector (Benicio Del Toro) explains how the orb ties in to the red mist from Thor: The Dark World and the blue cube from Avengers.   This makes Guardians a critical piece of the universe puzzle for Marvel fans but doesn’t overwhelm the narrative.  

Glenn Close is in Guardians briefly as a very serious leader of the Nova Corps; interesting casting choice but a tad jarring.  Maybe she heard that Robert Redford was in Winter Solider and decided to get in but she’s nowhere near as memorable as Redford was.  Where the movie stumbles is that the bad guys are wallpaper.  Nebula looks badass (the makeup job is astounding) and Gillan’s performance is moody but the character doesn’t do much aside from one gritty fight with Gamora.  Ronan cuts a menacing Darth Sidious type figure however all he mostly does is holler.   Rooker is nifty as Quill’s boss / father figure and he has an interesting quirk where his whistling controls a flying arrow but he’s basically playing Merle from “The Walking Dead” in outer space.

There’s fun stuff in the finale as each character gets an individual moment to shine.  While it sometimes gets a tad overtly frantic that’s part of the movie’s gonzo charm.  Also, there are not many summer blockbusters that involve the lead character dancing to distract the main antagonist, which is why this is so interesting.  The climax involves literal hand-holding by the characters which doesn’t make narrative sense but works emotionally.   One emotional misstep is opening the movie with a heavy scene of kid Quill seeing his mom dying but instead of adding resonance to Quill’s journey it seems like a bummer opening that never quite pays off properly. 

Director James Gunn (Super) infuses Guardians with the visual flair of an indie filmmaker that stands out from other generic sci-fi movies.  As epic as the film is, Gunn finds time for funky, fun beats in the chaos and makes excellent usage of ‘70s pop songs.  Some of the best stuff is when the crew is in prison and by locking the scope of the film down Gunn delivers multiple unique beats.   The production design is really slick and the FX a mix of practical and CGI effects.  As with all things Marvel, there is yet another post-credits scene which has a trippy cameo for extremely savvy comic-book viewers.

Guardians of the Galaxy is a huge movie that doesn’t feel like any other entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  A fantastic space epic overflowing with colourful characters and dozens of awesome sequences, it is certainly worth looking at if you want to see something original.