Guardians of the Galaxy is currently sitting at number one at the box office and has earned an astonishing $94 million so far. It’s also managing to do pretty good with critics. So what is it about Guardians that is earning it such accolades?
This is another comic book adaptation from Marvel. In Guardians, adventurer Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) finds himself the object of a universe wide bounty hunt, after he swipes a magic orb. Main bad guy Ronan (Lee Pace) has plans to control the universe with said orb and will stop at nothing to get it back. To escape Ronan, Quill teams up with Rocket (Bradley Cooper), a gun-toting raccoon, Groot (Vin Diesel), a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora (Zoe Saladana) and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer (David Baustida).
I was a little surprised that Disney chose to go with Guardians. While I might be familiar with the series, I doubt most non-comic readers are. These are not the familiar and comforting characters that spurned action figures and Saturday morning cartoons, so choosing to make a movie out of them seems like a big risk.
Luckily, it paid off. This is a movie that does not take itself too seriously. Quill, the main character, is a bit of a bumbling egotist who brings back shades of Hans Solo. One clever part to the movie is the ever present mix tape that Quill listens to on an old school Walkman, playing music that shouldn’t fit the scenes, but does. It’s possibly the strangest soundtrack I’ve ever heard, but it works.
Zoe Saldana as Gamora was a great choice, possibly because this is a woman who is used to wearing full body make-up. This time around she’s all green instead of all blue and she’s completely fantastic. Gamora wasn’t quite as dimensional as her role in Avatar, but she still manages to fit the part seamlessly.
I question why it was necessary to pay Vin Diesel’s likely astronomical price tag to play the part of Groot. Groot literally only says three words the entire movie. “I am Groot.” This is a guy who got $15 million for The Fast Five, so I’m curious as to how much it cost Guardians producers to get him to say the same three words over and over again.
The battle scenes are engaging and clever and no characters are really one dimensional, like you might find in other superhero movies. There is a lot going on, a ton of different locations, and a dizzying array of alliances and enemies, but all together it works.
You’ll find a lot more humor in Guardians than you will in most superhero movies. There are a few heart wrenching moments as well. The first scene in the movie starts with a cancer stricken mother, dying in a hospital bed. That scene might be a bit much for younger viewers, but the movie really picks up from there.
Disney took a huge risk with this movie and it paid off. If you’re sick of the same old superheroes, then Guardians of the Galaxy will give you something new. These obscure anti-heroes really shine when brought to the big screen and this is a movie that is absolutely worth the watch.
WE GAVE IT: 4.5 Stars: Official Movie Trailer and Movie Poster Below
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