Guardians of the Galaxy

My Marvel antenna has gone up this month and while I didn't go out on opening weekend, I really did want to see the latest addition to Marvel Cinematic Universe because I love anything Marvel related.  What was even better was that I loved the cast that was chosen because it was so varied but had potential.  My mum thought this was a spoof of the Marvel films and I can see why because of the trailer but after much insistence that they were part of the Marvel world, she became curious to see what it was all about.  So my sister treated me and my mum to a trip to the cinema so we could see the latest superhero film out, an interest all three of us share.

Guardians of the Galaxy is the latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe directed by James Gunn; it is the tenth instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is based on the team of the same name from Marvel.  A brand new cast was brought in to play the ragtag team who are meant to save the galaxy and other alien characters in this universe.  The stars include Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreations, The Lego Movie), Zoe Saldana (Star Trek, Avatar), Dave Bautista (Riddick, The Man with the Iron Fists), Vin Diesel (The Fast and the Furious series, The Iron Giant), and Bradley Cooper (The Hangover series, Silver Linings Playbook) as the Guardians and the supporting cast include Lee Pace (The Hobbit series, Pushing Daisies), Michael Rooker (Jumper, The Walking Dead), Karen Gillan (Doctor Who, Oculus), Djimon Hounsou (How to Train Your Dragon 2, The Island), John C. Reilly (Wreck-It Ralph, Step Brothers), Glenn Close (Tarzan, Dangerous Liaisons), and Benicio del Toro (Sin City, Snatch.).  Del Toro is the only cast member to return, having appeared at the end of Thor: The Dark World in one of the credit scenes,

Rating: 10

Recommended To: Anyone; Marvel lovers

Favourite Characters: Peter Quill; Groot

Favourite Part: Gamora: I know who you are, Peter Quill, and I will not succumb to your pelvic sorcery.

Good Points: The chemistry between the main five; all of the Guardians were endearing in their own way; the special effects; the comedic elements; refreshing to have a new batch of characters

Bad Points: Gamora and Nebula relationship wasn't really explored

Guardians of the Galaxy opens in 1988, as young Peter Quill (Wyatt Oleff) is sat in a hospital waiting room as his mother is unfortunately dying of cancer.  Moments before she passes, she gives Peter a small gift which he keeps wrapped until the end of the film.  Following his mother's death, young Peter runs outside to grieve in his own way when he is abducted by the Ravagers, led by Yondu, who take Peter in and train him as one of their own.  We then skip to 26 years later, Peter Quill (now Pratt) is out on his own, stealing an orb, when he is confronted by Korath (Hounsou) who works for Ronan the Accuser (Pace), a Kree who wants the orb for himself.  Fortunately, Quill escapes with the orb but takes it for himself and his boss issues a bounty on him; at the same time, Gamora (Saldana) is sent by Ronan after the orb.  When Quill arrives on Xander to sell the orb, Gamora attacks Quill and relieves him of the orb, leading to a fight breaking out between the two through a square in Xander.  Responding to Yondu's bounty on Quill, Rocket (Cooper) and Groot (Diesel) try to capture Quill in the middle of his fight with Gamora; all of this commotion draws the attention of the Nova Corps who arrest the four of them and take them to Kyln.  Inside Kyln, Drax (Bautista), a powerful inmate, tries to kill Gamora because Ronan murdered his family; Quill intervenes, saying Gamora can lead Drax to Ronan for direct revenge.  However, not wanting Ronan to get control of the orb, Gamora has betrayed Ronan as she knows he will use it to destroy planets but she does have someone who is willing to buy the orb, the Collector (del Toro).  With this in mind, the five inmates work together to escape and their adventure together ensues.

The relationship between the main cast was a wonderful part of this film as it should be because it seemed realistic and was one of the main focusses of the script.  This was because you could see the way the relationships between the group were heading and the trust being built up between each of the Guardians.  What made the entire dynamic work was how realistic it was, even though it was set in space and a member of the team was a giant walking tree, because it didn't start out well, seen as everyone attacks Peter Quill within seconds of making content with him for different reasons.  Slowly you see this new bunch of characters become a team, with a great amount of trust in one another, which was developed over the film, because they have helped one another in some way.  The pinnacle of their trust comes in the form of the Guardians' final stance against Ronan and their team name is used for the first time officially.  While it's similar to the final battle in The Avengers, it takes a little longer to get to the point and in a way, it's a more satisfying to see as they feel destined to work together while the Avengers are known to work independently more so than as a team.

In their own special way, all of the Guardians were endearing; a lot of what makes them endearing was their back stories because they were tragic for different reasons.  Rocket was tortured to become who he is; Drax lost his family; Gamora was forced into a life she didn't want; and Peter lost his mum to cancer and was taken from his home.  These tragic pasts shape them and fuel their need to fight for the galaxy and allows a connection to be formed with the characters and the audience.

I have my special effects nerd head on again but I loved the special effects in this film because they fit seamlessly into the film and didn't draw too much attention to them unless it was needed for a key part of the story.  A wonderful example of this is the altered background present when they were on Xander as most of the film was shot in Shepperton Studios and the background placed on the back plate for the green screen for these scenes appeared to be a digitally altered London, with the London Eye and the Gherkin standing out, which made it feel familiar but new as well.  My absolute favourite moment, digitally, was the climatic fight between the Guardians and Ronan because it was visually fantastic and displayed the full power and potential that comes from this ragtag team.

The comedic elements that were present throughout this script really made the film stand out to me, not just as a summer blockbuster but also as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; it has its own unique style and feels like another branch of the superhero/comic book genre.  While all of The Avengers films are getting darker, this brought a breath of fresh air and fun back to lift the mood of the entire set of films.  Even hours later, maybe even days, I will be laughing and snickering at something that happened in this film because while it looks silly, it's cleverly done and now I am going to look into James Gunn's other films.

Bringing this new set of characters and expanding out into the galaxy was refreshing to see because we've already gotten to know the others in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series as they head into sequels and such.  Now we get to know these new characters that aren't exactly like the other Marvel Cinematic Universe characters with a different style of operating.  Having everything set in a new world allows us to think past the Avengers too as they protect the Earth and the Guardians go out and guard the entire galaxy.

There are many reasons why I loved the character of Peter Quill; he had this great scene of humour which is needed for the comic book hero I personally think, he isn't stupid - he does everything he can to protect himself as well as others in dire situations, he cares for his team members, and will even go to the extreme of sacrificing himself for the others.  all of these personality traits add up to a hero in my eyes as it's a formula the Marvel Cinematic Universe has perfected and then each actor adds their own spin to the characters.  Chris Pratt was perfect for this film because of his comedic timing as well as exceptional performance in the darker moments.  Pratt beat my expectations in this role too because I was only expecting him to be goofing around as he is known as Andy Dwyer in Parks and Recreation which is a comedy series; however, when called upon, Pratt was able to break out an emotional performance which in turn overwhelmed me for a few moments - and reminded me of his days as Bright Abbott in Everwood years ago - as they were sweet and made Quill endearing as a character.

How is it possible to fall in love with a talking tree that says primarily three words throughout the entire film?  People look at you (or they did me) like you're nuts when you say that Groot was one of your favourite characters in Guardians of the Galaxy but everybody understands after they've seen the film.  He is completely sweet without a bad bone in his body, he is just protective of Rocket in the beginning and the others later one and does anything he can to help without meaning to cause any trouble for his friends.  If I were to recommend this film on one part alone, it would be because of Groot.

Honestly, I loved this film so much I really had to think about what I thought was bad about it or what I didn't like; personally, the downside for was that Gamora and Nebula's relationship wasn't explored fully and could have been spoken about or played on more as it wasn't particularly believable.  It would have also shown more insight into Thanos and what he was like towards them as he is such a key part to both women's stories.  Perhaps they will go on to explore this aspect in a later film starring the Guardians because I feel it is important to Gamora's character.

Gamora: I know who you are, Peter Quill, and I will not succumb to your pelvic sorcery.

The straight (wo)man to Quill's funny man, Gamora tends to be the more serious out of the team but this time, she made me laugh as she put a stop to Quill hitting on her.  Obviously this is the intention of the scene but I am glad of it because I personally don't think it's necessary to have a love story in every film, I don't mind an allusion to the chemistry between characters as shown in this scene because it's funny to see a playboy-like character being shot down so aggressively by this feisty, interesting woman.

As I've said, I'd recommend this film on Groot alone but there were multiple reasons why this is possibly my favourite Marvel film excluding the Captain America ones.  The comedic elements lightened the mood of not only this film but the Marvel Cinematic Universe its self as the Avengers films are getting a bit intense; and the Guardians themselves melded together well in the end and from the very beginning, you could see that they were going to be this great team.  Much like how I loved Groot, Peter Quill stood out for me and Chris Pratt has stepped into the role well, joining the ranks of Marvel's leading men; it was like this role was written for him as Quill goofed around just like Pratt does in interviews and such but then could be serious in the next moment, showing Pratt's range.  Sorry Cap but Quill may now be my hero.  The only thing that could have been improved on for me was Gamora and Nebula's relationship as it wasn't explored enough I thought as it's only mentioned that they are "sisters"; exploring their relationship could have given more insight into Thanos, a villain who is just waiting to be brought in.  Like with most Marvel films, stay until the end of the credits if you want because there is a scene featuring a random character from the Marvel universe but it isn't integral to the main story, it's just a fun scene to make you laugh.  The effects and cast are wonderful, Gunn has delivered well and I can't wait to see how the Guardians are going to progress in the sequel and possibly into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and I would highly recommend you go out and see this film.  As a side note because I didn't want to put too much in the review, the music was a great choice for this film and has been stuck in my head since I left the cinema or even when I first saw the trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy; it all makes sense why it's this particular music at the end as well and was a great thing to add to the story and gave a bit of background to Quill.

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