Guardians of the Galaxy Review

Synopsis
When Kree extremist Ronan the Accuser (Lee Price) threatens the planet Xandar, five misfits, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Rocket (Bradley Cooper (voice)), Groot (Vin Diesel (voice)), and Drax (Dave Bautista), must work together to prevent its destruction.

Review
I’m not sure what Marvel put in the Kool-Aid but I’m drinking it up. Guardians of the Galaxy is pure fun. On top of that, it tells a great story and looks beautiful. I have often praised Iron Man for being the model on how to properly make a superhero origin story, now I can say that Guardians of the Galaxy is the definitive example on how to create a superhero team origin.

Ever since The Avengers, Marvel movies have had a lighthearted feel to them. I am a big fan of this because it prevents them from going too dark, although they still may have serious moments. This tone also allows for some great humor. With comedic actors Chris Pratt and Bradley Cooper, Guardians is the funniest superhero movie since Iron Man 3. I don’t think there was one moment where I wasn’t smiling. Pratt is definitely the highlight of the film but I’d say Cooper is a strong second. Despite not having much screen time, John C. Reilly stole his scenes. He wasn’t overly heavy with the comedy but instead was more subtle, contrasting with his usual movie antics.

Currently, the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack is the best selling album in the United States, and for good reason. The music is a great mix of classic 1970s and 80s rock and pop songs. If I didn’t have most of the songs already I would probably go pick it up. Besides the music, there are many references to the 80s. My favorites being Quill calling Rocket “Ranger Rick” and Quill explaining to Gamora the plot of Foot Loose.

This is one of the most unique movies I have seen in awhile. I couldn’t help but feel like I was watching The Avengers but in a skewed, Thor setting. Not many movies have a gun-toting, talking raccoon who travels with a talking tree. Actually, I don’t think any others do. Being the Marvel fan that I am, I appreciate them dipping into their less popular franchises.

I absolutely enjoyed Rocket and Groot. The duo reminded me of R2-D2 and C-3PO from Star Wars (except this time the small one was the interpreter). Besides Rocket being one of the stand-out characters of the film, several of his scenes were made better by his interactions with Groot. To go with the rest of the film, they were fun and goofy with the right amount of action sprinkled in.

With the set-up Benicio Del Toro’s The Collector had in the mid-credits sequence in Thor: The Dark World, I expected him to have a more integral role in the story.  But the more I thought about it, I realized that he could become Marvel’s next Agent Coulson.  In the comics, he is very involved in the cosmic side of things, and he could do the same in the films.  He could act as the glue that binds several of the cosmic properties that are sure to appear over the next several years, showing up to offer explanations and add cohesiveness to the films.

If there was one thing I wished this movie did better, it would be to expand on the relationship between Gamora and her sister, Nebula (Karen Gillan). Guardians did well to build and showcase the rivalry between the adopted sisters, but didn’t do much more than that. There is large potential for stories based on their relationship, similar to Thor’s and Loki’s relationship, that I hope it’s picked up in future movies.

Marvel once again raises the bar on the superhero movie genre with Guardians of the Galaxy.  It’s playful tone, great action sequences, lovable characters, and beautiful special effects blend together perfectly to create one of definitive team origin movies to date.

Rating
5/5

Also check out my reviews for the other films in Marvel’s Phase 2: Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Ant-Man.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
James Gunn – Director / Writer
Nicole Perlman – Writer
Tyler Bates – Composer

Chris Pratt – Peter Quill
Zoe Saldana – Gamora
Dave Bautista – Drax
Bradley Cooper – Rocket (voice)
Vin Diesel – Groot (voice)
Lee Pace – Ronan
Michael Rooker – Yondu
Karen Gillan – Nebula
Djimon Hounsou – Korath
John C. Reilly – Corpsman Dey
Glenn Close – Nova Prime
Benicio Del Toro – The Collector

Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer #4

Official Synopsis: Brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits–Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon; Groot, a tree-like humanoid; the deadly and enigmatic Gamora; and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand–with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.

This trailer, just… wow.  Marvel definitely saved the best for last.  There is a lot of new footage, but it is mostly action sequences, which is perfectly fine with me.  I don’t know what to say it was so awesome.  Just watch it.  And if you already watched it, watch it again.  It’s that good.

Guardians of the Galaxy rockets into theaters August 1, 2014.  Directed by James Gunn, it stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Baurista, the voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Benicio Del Toro, John C. Reilly, Peter Serafinowicz, and Glenn Close.

My Christmas in July Blogathon is at the end of the month, read this post if you would like to participate.

Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer #2

Official Synopsis: Brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits–Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon; Groot, a tree-like humanoid; the deadly and enigmatic Gamora; and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand–with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.

After the character introductions of the last trailer, the second Guardians of the Galaxy focuses on the story and how the team comes together.  I must say, I am completely sold on this movie.  The cast is top notch, the effects look awesome, and if the humor that is here runs through the entire movie, it’s going to be hilarious.

It’s funny to see how stuck in the past Peter Quill is.  Blue Suede’s Hooked on a feeling, Norman Greenbaum’s Spirit in the Sky, the tape deck Groot inspects, all throw backs to a different era.  And it’s awesome.  Speaking of Quill, his mask is pretty sweet.  I like to see how his gear works.  We get to hear the voices of Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper as Groot and Rocket.  Ronan the Accuser also gets a few good close ups.  Most of the cast gets a brief shot or two, so if you go through the trailer slowly, you can get good looks at everyone.

Guardians of the Galaxy rockets into theaters August 1, 2014.  Directed by James Gunn, it stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Baurista, the voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Benicio Del Toro, John C. Reilly, Peter Serafinowicz, and Glenn Close.

Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer

Official Synopsis: Brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits–Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon; Groot, a tree-like humanoid; the deadly and enigmatic Gamora; and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand–with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.

At this point you are either with Marvel or you’re not.  Ever since The Avengers all their movies have shared a similar tone that I have really dug, but I know some people who don’t like it.  It looks like Guardians of the Galaxy is keeping with the convention of the other Phase 2 movies.  In just over two minutes, the trailer gives a pretty good feel of the movie.  Normally there is one character that is used as comic relief, but with a talking raccoon, a tree that only says his name (“Groot”), and Chris Pratt, it looks like most of the cast will have some comedic elements to them.

Guardians of the Galaxy is one of Marvel’s more obscure properties so it’s great that this first trailer is used to just introduce the Guardians (There have actually been two incarnations of the team over the years but the movie team is the modern version).  The second trailer will probably show more of the story and hopefully more of the Nova Corp. (pretty much galactic police) than just John C. Reilly and Peter Serafinowicz.  I forgot that Reilly was cast in this movie and I am very interested to see how he does since the role is different from other movies I have seen him in.  But Marvel has made some surprise casting choices before that have turned out great, so I’m pretty excited.  CinemaBlend made a list of a 5 things you may have missed in the trailer.

Guardians of the Galaxy, directed by James Gunn, will be in theaters August 1, 2014.  It stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Baurista, the voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Benicio Del Toro, John C. Reilly, Peter Serafinowicz, and Glenn Close.

Lightning Review: The Losers

Synopsis
When a special-ops group is double-crossed, they go after the rogue CIA agent Max (Jason Patric) who left them out to dry. Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Jensen (Chris Evans), Roque (Idris Elba), Pooch (Columbus Short), and Cougar (Óscar Jaenada) meet Aisha (Zoe Saldana), who offers to help the team get revenge, but she has her own reasons for going after Max.

Review
With a strong cast, The Losers had great potential, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite meet all the expectations.  The strongest component of The Losers is the dialog between the characters and the way they played off each other, especially in one-on-one situations. Evans’ was the comedic backbone of the cast, just like when he played Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four, and his performance was the best of the film. I was a little let down by Elba’s performance. Normally he is a pretty strong actor, even in his supporting roles, but it just wasn’t there this time around. They tried to make Patric’s villain comical, but Patric didn’t have the chops to pull it off. However, he did have a funny jab at the cliché where the villain nods his head and the henchmen seems to know exactly what he wants. The Losers is a fun movie that has a strong comedic foundation with Evans, but the rest of the cast can’t stand with him, hindering what could have been an awesome action comedy.

Rating
3/5