Movies: Guardians of the Galaxy

*

Score:  **** out of ***** (A-)

Long Story Short:  Flush with success from The Avengers and its solo outings, Marvel turns in a whole new direction with Guardians of the Galaxy.  More a space-based sci-fi adventure than a super hero film, Guardians features five unlikely team members led by the hilarious, charismatic rising star Chris Pratt.  Featuring humor and a less serious tone, Guardians is a nice change of pace and just a blast.  Highly recommended.


It's been a busier summer, in several ways, than I anticipated, including movie going.  I'm on pace now to get near a record number of theater trips this year.  Each summer seems to have one flop; Lucy seemed to be the one last week, and I hope it's the only one.  August promises still a few more films, including Guardians.  When I first heard about this, I was a little skeptical but also excited to see Chris Pratt (Parks & Rec) starring.  Once the great reviews started pouring in, it was a no-brainer to go see.  Guardians of the Galaxy was directed by James Gunn (Thor 2) and stars Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, et. al.

In the 1980s, young Peter Quill visits his dying mother, then is literally transported away from his troubles by an alien spacecraft.  Twenty odd years later, Quill (Pratt) is an interstellar smuggler.  He manages to find a small orb on a desolate planet, taking it just before another group closes in on him.  When Quill does not return the orb to his employer, Yondu, a bounty is placed on him.  While visiting the benevolent galactic center known as Xandar, Quill runs into both bounty hunters as well as a powerful assassin from the other group trying to get the orb.

The whole group gets sent to space prison - Quill, assassin Gamora (Saldana), mutant raccoon Rocket (Cooper) and his sidekick talking tree Groot (Vin Diesel).  Each with very different motivations, they decide to team up in order to profit from the orb - but there is another powerful force in the galaxy with sinister plans for that strange object.

Guardians of the Galaxy has one hell of an oddball cast - but it works brilliantly.  The casting of Chris Pratt as Quill (or "Star Lord") is particularly good.  I've only seen him in supporting roles before but, as many other reviewers have pointed out, his lead performance here shows that he's a natural.  The smuggler aspect recalls Han Solo, as does Pratt's charisma and great humor, but Quill replaces sarcasm and pessimism with goofiness and optimism.  If anything, I wish he was an even bigger presence.  The second biggest role is shared by Rocket and Gamora.  Starting with Rocket, I probably would not have guessed that Cooper provided the vocal work if I didn't know going in, although there is some familiarity.  Rocket has inherited Solo's aforementioned sarcasm and pessimism, all coiled up in a small, ingenious, underestimate-me-at-your-peril package.  In his biting (no pun intended) remarks, Rocket is also the second funniest character.

Gamora, played by Saldana, is positioned as a cliche, enemy-turned-lover for Quill, but fortunately it doesn't go that way.  Saldana seems to enjoy these sci-fi films (Avatar, Star Trek) and she does feel very much at ease in the made up world.  She may not present as big a threat as the talk indicates, but she also doesn't melt into a puddle of compassion for Quill or anyone else.  Room for growth in a sequel.  Groot (Vin Diesel) is, to continue the Star Wars parallel, sort of a Chewbacca, speaking little/unintelligibly but carrying a big stick (pun intended).  He's a minor but welcome presence, and even helps bring some emotion to the story.  Finally, the fifth Guardian is Drax, a warrior out for revenge since the bad guys killed his family (pre-movie).  Played by wrestler Dave Baustista, the acting is fairly awkward - but luckily, that's what his (very literal-minded) character is like.

If you go into Guardians of the Galaxy expecting an Avengers-like experience, you'll be disappointed - think more (again!) Star Wars.  Well, maybe think somewhere between Star Wars and Spaceballs.  Or just think sci-fi action comedy.  At any rate, far and away the strength of the film lies on the comedy side, which bleeds into a group dynamic as strong or stronger than any fantasy in years.  Pratt, again, is the perfect actor to lead the way.  He is simply a funny guy, and his goofiness (not silliness; there's a difference there somehow) rubs off on the whole film in a great way.  Rocket is an ideal counterpart, balancing Quill with his sarcasm and pessimism.  Really, everybody else just follows their comedic lead.  The icing on the cake is a very well chosen collection of classic rock tunes.  In addition, the quintet is a great mixture of personalities and provides great potential (to Marvel's delight) for sequels.  Well, as long as Drax remains a background character (I cannot seem him in a lead role at all), I look forward to more.

Admittedly, Guardians is a little weaker on the sci-fi and plot side of things.  The bad guys are pretty generic and cliche, as is their scheme.  Even a separate, semi-helpful, semi-bad group (led smartly by Walking Dead's Merle) is not the most original idea.  However, the action itself is pretty good; sure, there's some generic stuff but also some really well done scenes (particularly when the Guardians first meet on Xandar).  And the visuals are cohesive and interesting, if a bit cartoonish.

***

Perhaps this is not the most original thing for me to say, but Guardians of the Galaxy is a surprise hit for Marvel.  The surprise, though, is really that a big movie studio would take a chance on essentially unknown characters in the unforgiving (especially in film) space environment.  Crucially, it looks like audiences are supporting Marvel's high-quality, brand new franchise effort.  As much as I enjoy established characters and franchises, it's critical that film studios take more "chances" like these on non-100% guaranteed blockbusters (aka something new).  Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a perfect example of just how stale and unimpressive even some of the best franchises can get if they are overused and/or not given enough variety.  Fortunately, the Guardians have already established a rock solid foundation in both tone and variety of characters.  This first entry may have been a bit lazy with the plot and enemies, but that's easy to fix in later films.  And it also packs more than enough comedy and just plain fun to warrant a trip to the theater.  If this appeals to you, please go see it - so we don't end up with just Spider-Man #453 in ten years!!!



* "Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Poster #2".  IMP Awards http://www.impawards.com/2014/guardians_of_the_galaxy_ver2.html