TheAstoundingMan Reviews: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

72 hours later, I can safely say that Gunn not only gave us a team worth cheering for, but also delivered one of the most outstanding films (that's right, no adjective!) that I have seen this year.



Given how extensively it will be critiqued (with a side of nit-picking) in the next few months, I will spare you the details on the overall story. It's serviceable; 'nothing that we haven't seen before' is a phrase that is thrown around quite a bit when referring to action movies, and that is essentially the case with Guardians. Don't get me wrong, there are ways of making this formula engaging, and the Marvel Studios films mostly serve as proof of this, but it does hold the film back in some ways. There is your typical Three-Act structure, which will inevitably bring with it criticisms of one of those acts, and a general build up to a large battle involving a particular MacGuffin that threatens the universe (this is the fourth MCU film to have an infinity stone factor in to its central plot). What allows Guardians to succeed however, is the fact that the filmmakers rarely let this familiarity act as a shackle on their storytelling. They embrace it, poke fun at it, and then dive headfirst into the lore to create characters and worlds that expertly work to satisfy both the general audience, and those more familiar with the comics that inspired them.

And that's where one of the film's greatest strengths plays an integral role; without the deft balance of fast-paced drama with dry, self-deprecating comedy, the film could have easily become shipwrecked in 'Avengers Wannabe' territory. One only needs to look at Agents of Shield to see how this can create problems (especially in the eyes of fans), and it is with great relief that I say that Gunn has successfully set this team out on their own path. In terms of drama, the film hits all the right notes, even going so far as to feature some incredibly moving moments for some of the characters. As you would expect, Peter Quill is the centerpiece of the film, and the two wildcards Rocket and Groot are given plenty of opportunities to prove that they are more than animated comic relief. That isn't to say that Gamora and Drax are short-changed in the narrative; they are both given solid introductions, and David Bautista brings enough humour to the role to make the character memorable. The pair do seem rather underpowered when compared to their comic book counterparts, though given the stature of their opponents I wasn't entirely surprised. As was the case with Captain America, there will undoubtedly be plenty of opportunities for them to show off their skills in a later installment.

It would be naive to expect Marvel to tone down the level of comedy in a film of this nature. If you considered The Winter Soldier's approach to humour as an improvement over its predecessors however, you may find Guardians to be a little overbearing at times. Scenes that were otherwise crafted purely for their narrative or emotional impact bring on the laughs through either the dialogue or pratfalls (such as Pratt falling), yet for the most part, it really works. Inevitably, some will find this sort of levity incredibly grating. Beyond stating that I believe that it suited the tone of this film, if not that of the overall MCU, there isn't much I can do to reassure those that find this news unpleasant. The screening I attended had the audience in stitches (aside from some a-hole who snored through the final ten minutes), so it really can't be that much of a barrier to one's enjoyment of the film.



Much like The Avengers and The Winter Soldier, Guardians receives top marks for its ability to share its screen time amongst such a vast array of characters, many of which we are seeing for the very first time. As a whole, the cast really shines. Chris Pratt nailed it as Peter Quill, and if it wasn't for Bradley Cooper's outstanding performance, I would say that he stole the show. Given that Groot is only three (or is that four?) words away from being a mime, Vin Diesel injected each of his lines with enough feeling to deliver the laughs and the gut punches when it really mattered. Zoe Saldana is at her best in scenes with Chris Pratt or Karen Gillan, and does a great job at humanising such a morally ambiguous character, who shares more than a few similarities with Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow. As I said earlier, David Bautista mastered the comedic side of his character, but in the presence of such great talent his performance does falter at times.

Then there's the villains. While Lee Pace's Ronan is certainly no Malekith, nothing much is done to really set him apart either. Much like his earlier incarnation in the comics, Ronan suffers from a less than healthy case of jingoism, and takes sadistic pleasure in snuffing out any life that commits the injustice of not being Kree (I can only imagine what he would do if he knew about Agent Coulson). As far as motivations go, it's fairly simple, which makes his apparent death that much more frustrating. I thoroughly enjoyed Ronan's story in the Annihilation saga, and it's a shame that we may never see the character go on his rather twisted road to sort-of-heroism. At the end of the day, the films are their own entity; a more compelling villain however would have arguably made the Guardian's plight that much more entertaining, and perhaps added to the intensity of Drax's quest for vengeance.



As for the supporting characters, Michael Rooker leads the pack with his performance as Yondu. It's easy to see that Gunn wrote the role with the actor in mind, and while it can be difficult at times to separate the character and a blue Merle Dixon, he is definitely someone that I want to see more of in the future. Karen Gillan does a decent job as Nebula, but we don't see a whole lot of her outside of her very impressive fight with Gamora. The same goes for Benicio Del Toro as the Collector, who has such a fleeting appearance considering that he was our first introduction to this corner of the universe (not counting Thanos, of course). The Mad Titan himself had a rather impressive introduction here, but his appearance was a little more unnerving than it was terrifying, which seemed bizarre given how effective all the other CGI characters were in their roles. Rounding out the villains, Djimon Hounsou doesn't much resemble his comic counterpart, and his role isn't all that memorable outside of the much loved scene that he shares with Chris Pratt.

If anything could add credence to the argument that Guardians stands as the best Space Opera since the original Star Wars trilogy, it would most certainly be the film's set design and special effects. Not since The Lord of the Rings trilogy have I felt so immersed in such fully realised worlds; only on one occasion did the effects take me out of the film, and even then only for a few seconds. Every scene was brimming with detail and colour, a far cry from the desolate, post-apocalyptic wastelands that Hollywood seems to think we love more than life itself. Coupled with the inventive fist, knife, gun, and space battles, the film certainly warrants repeat viewings (and perhaps a few freeze frames) in order to fully appreciate how well they adapted these worlds to the screen. If I had any qualms with the setting, it would most likely be in the rather repetitive designs of the extras (including the Nova Corps). The brightly-coloured humanoids certainly fit the scenes they were in, but it just seemed like wasted potential, especially considering how much effort went into making these worlds look so convincingly real. As is the case with the Nova Corps however (you don't cast John C. Reilly and Glen Close for nothing, do you?), the success of this film only leaves me feeling excited for the possibilities in the future.



With all this talk of things that I would like to see improved upon in a sequel, you may get the impression that Guardians of the Galaxy was little more than a half-baked concept, tossed out by Marvel in order to generate interest in an expansion into their cosmic lore. While this theory has more than once made the rounds at ComicBookMovie in the past two years, the film that James Gunn has ultimately delivered has proven that that was anything but the case. James Gunn has dived headfirst into the treacherous sea of Comic Book mythos, and where other men (even the gorram director of Casino Royale for Pete's sake!) have drowned in their own filth, Gunn emerged on the back of a talking tree, with a raccoon on his shoulder and a silly helmet on his head, rowing to the beat of David Hasslehoff's greatest hits.

9/10

If you are on this website and still do not intend to check this film out in theatres, I'm afraid that we have nothing more to talk about.

Also: Don't bother with 3D. I normally wouldn't, but here in NZ it meant the difference between seeing it on the 1st, or waiting until the 7th, and that is not a choice. It was a nuisance more often than not, and I'm quite sure you won't need a pair of plastic glasses to get lost in the worlds they have created.

Also Also: WIth regards to the Kree, if this really is curtains for their two major players in this film, would Captain Mar-Vell and Wraith be characters you guys would want to seen on screen? The latter doesn't seem to get much love, but his origin was rather interesting I thought.