Guardians of the Galaxy Review

Hooked on a feeling.

Film review by Isaac Handelman

In 2012, Marvel’s The Avengers compiled an outstanding ensemble cast of charismatic stars in immediately likable roles; it owed its success, in part, to the previous establishments of its many characters in their own solo outings. Guardians of the Galaxy received no such luxury, being tasked instead with introducing audiences to its band of cosmic heroes all at once. Luckily, James Gunn and company prove more than up to the task, as Guardians stands as one of Marvel’s finest outings ever.

Bizarre and otherworldly to their core, the Guardians of the Galaxy are comprised of interstellar thief Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), alien femme fatale Gamora (Zoe Saldana), vengeful brute Drax (Dave Bautista), and the out-of-left-field duo of Rocket Raccoon and a living tree named Groot (whose CGI incarnations are voiced by Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel, respectively).

The standouts of the lineup are Pratt’s good-natured leader Star-Lord, who stands apart from Marvel’s other leading men with his tendency to deflate tense situations with humor, to an even further (and much more whimsical) extent than Tony Stark, and, more surprisingly, Dave Bautista’s Drax the Destroyer, a character that perfectly suits the pro wrestler’s imposing physical presence while allowing him to show off his impressively spot-on comic timing. Viewers may be surprised as to whom their favorite team member is; every one of them has moments aplenty to shine -- even Groot, who proves Vin Diesel capable of delivering a memorable performance despite saying just four words over the course of the film’s duration.

The team is assembled efficiently but in a totally believable fashion. Circumstances unite the heroes in a way that manages not to feel overly coincidental; they’re brought together through a necessity to cooperate to survive, but they choose to stay together because of the bonds they build along the way. The “bonding arc” of the Guardians is executed wonderfully, and their close relationships and dependency on one another feels, by the end of the film, completely earned and genuine.

The only piece that feels hamstrung in is the romantic subplot between Star-Lord and Gamora, an all-too-common pitfall of blockbusters, and one of the few Hollywood cliches that Guardians falls victim to. However, the film’s reliance on (occasionally self-deprecating) humor softens this blow, especially at one point in particular when Star-Lord acknowledges the melodrama occurring onscreen.

Once the Guardians are dedicated to one another, the focus of the film shifts to the main conflict at hand: an evil Kree defector called Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) plans to utilize an ancient power source to wipe out the headquarters of the galactic peacekeepers called the Nova Corps. It seems odd that screenwriters Gunn and Nicole Perlman chose to position Ronan as the main villain when he’s undoubtedly the least interesting of the film’s three antagonistic presences.

Still, the galactic conflict is engaging if not revolutionary, and provides returning Marvel fans with plenty of fun, juicy pieces of setup for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and a handful of exciting action sequences that hold a few amusing twists of their own. Furthermore, Guardians’ steady stream of clever humor distracts from the staleness of the conflict. Many scenes are highlighted by enjoyably out-of-place 80s tunes, and the film never fails to surprise with how far it’s willing to extend its comic reach. Guardians constantly delights with this willingness to throw seriousness out the window in favor of good, old-fashioned fun. 

In fact, it's tough to imagine anyone not having a great time at the movies with this one.