Guardians of the Galaxy is essentially The Avengers on crack. There's no Norse gods or cocky billionaires in an iron suit in this bunch, just a team of whacked-out misfits that were brought together by fate. This ragtag group of unlikely heroes are made up of human outlaw (Chris Pratt), a genetically-engineered, bounty-hunting racoon (Bradley Cooper), a lethal, green-skinned assassin (Zoe Saldana), a hyper-intelligent, but incredibly violent man who doesn't understand sarcasm (Dave Bautista) and a talking tree with a heart of gold (Vin Diesel). The plot involving the Guardians having to stop the villainous Ronan (Lee Pace) from blowing up an entire planet with a powerful and mysterious orb is just about the only thing about Guardians of the Galaxy that aligns with the typical Marvel film structure. The plot may not be groundbreaking, but at least its streamlined and not a muddled, overstuffed mess like the narrative in the last Marvel Studios effort, Captain America: Winter Solider, was.
Writer/director James Gunn was the perfect choice to handle the Guardians screen adaptation. Gunn delicately balances honoring the source material and creating a film that's accessible to a wide audience while also putting his own twisted stamp on it. Gunn made his name with offbeat work like Super and Slither, so it's great to see that he hasn't lost a bit of his signature dark wit now that he's gotten finally gotten a chance to make a high-profile film. Gunn also shows a high level of confidence behind the camera directing the action scenes, which are on a far-grander scale than anything else he's tackled in the past. Gunn gets close to the action and isn't afraid to get as intense and graphic as the PG-13 rating will allow, which is an interesting touch considering that most superhero films water down the violence to become more family-friendly. With this being his first foray into big-budget filmmaking, I only expect Gunn to get more even more comfortable behind the lens for the future installments of this series. The superhero genre needs more filmmakers like Gunn that are willing to shake things up without sacrificing any of the fun and entertainment value the genre is built around.
It goes without saying that the catalyst behind the success of Guardians of the Galaxy are the Guardians themselves. Each actor is perfectly cast in their part and makes a really strong impression with everyone besides Saldana- who frequently plays badasses in sc-fi and action films- playing a part that is out of their personal comfort zone. Pratt proves he can be a legitimate leading man and not just the chubby, funny dude in a scene-stealing bit role while Cooper turns in yet another strong performance as a wisecracking, gun-touting raccoon that is delightfully strange even by this movie's standards. The real surprise amongst the main cast is Bautista, who shows legitimate acting chops here for first time in his career. When Bautista first left the WWE to become an actor, he didn't seem like he had the it-factor that is required to succeed in Hollywood with non-memorable turns in The Man with the Iron Fists and Riddick. Here Bautista-in his first leading role- shows some great comedic timing and flashes of emotional depth, proving there is more to him than just an intimidating physical presence that only thrives in fight scenes. Guardians of the Galaxy is a breath of fresh air in the ever-expanding Marvel cannon. This film relies on the strength of its characters and a killer sense of humor, not just relentless action sequences, to drive the film. Guardians of the Galaxy is without question one of the best superhero movies ever made and is pretty easily the most complete and pure fun film Marvel has put out since the first Iron Man.
4.5/5 Stars
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