Breaking Down Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy is probably the best movie of this year … so far.

(if you don’t consider the last 45 minutes of Godzilla)

I’m not saying that it will definitely be the best movie of the year when considering the Oscars or anything like that. I’m just saying that it is the only movie that has made going to the theater worth every penny. Granted I’ve not seen Planet of the Apes yet, and people keep telling me that it was amazing, so there’s that. (I’ll probably try and get a viewing of that in this weekend with my Mom – shout out to the best mom ever – HI MOM!) I’d say that this review might be spoiler free, but really, if you’ve seen most of the trailers, and understand how comic books work, then not much that I will write about will ruin anything. So I guess that’s kind of your warning…?

PLOT

Again, watch the trailer and the plot is all there – kind of. I guess for those of you who don’t want to watch it – I’ll sum it up for you. Five would be criminal characters are thrown together unwillingly only to work together as a team for the greater good. Not enough? Ok, how about I also mention that the object that they originally team up for is something of great value and they aren’t the only ones who want it. (aka: the bad guys of the film) Still not enough? Well, perhaps you should watch the trailer then.

PROS
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Chris Pratt

beefcake

This guy makes the movie. I’m not sure what has happened in the course of 4 years or so, but Chris is making quite the name for himself. He’s done stuff in the past that is ok, and he’s been in a recurring role on shows like Parks and Recreation but nothing has really stood out. Then he did the voice for the main character in the LEGO movie. All of a sudden, thanks to being portrayed as a little yellow construction worker toy thing, this actor has new life. Such life in fact that he’s even going to be in the upcoming Jurassic Park movie. What makes Chris good is that he’s got a real regular guy look that I think makes most of his characters relatable. His charm and whit shine in Guardians and so does his acting. Combine all of it together and he makes for a perfect casting choice for Star Lord. (aka: Peter Quill) I was even surprised that not only can he be funny, but he can play the serious action hero if need be. Such an excellent casting choice and one that I hope doesn’t sway people from seeing the film.

Comedy

Guardians of the Galaxy is a comic that uses comedy all the time. Yes, I’ve read the comic, I know the characters and I am somewhat familiar with the overall story and scope of everyone involved. Have I read all of them? No. You don’t need to read all the issues of Guardians of the Galaxy to get the humor that is there. I think I relate to Guardians better than some because the humor used is dry and sarcastic in nature. If you’re looking for slapstick comedy (aka: Dumb & Dumber) then you’re not going to get it. What you will get is great banter between Star Lord and Rocket that provides for most of the laughs. There are still even more laughs given by other characters of the film that are subtle and not overly laid out that make the jokes all that more poignant and funny.

(There are so many funny moments in the movie that I don’t want to give them away, but some are so clever that they are hilarious only to those who will pick up on them – meaning the kiddos in the audience won’t get it)

Groot

he’s so gosh darn loveable

I’m sure that many of you are aware by now that Vin Diesel was the voice behind Groot. What you might not know is that he has also been the voice behind another animated hero, the Iron Giant. Vin is quite modest about his acting chops and never seems to gloat about being a fantastic voice actor but he is. I’m here to let you know that Vin gives every ounce of character that drives Groot with his voice and does so with only ONE LINE! Again, this is something that if you read comics you know going in – but Groot, well he doesn’t say much. In fact he’s only able to utter one line over and over again in the film – “I am Groot”. While that line might seem simple, mundane, and pointless to you – there’s so much more behind it than you know. If you don’t smile just one time when Groot utters those words then you have no heart. Groot is quite possibly my favorite character from the movie and that’s pretty impressive considering he’s basically mute. There is so much depth created with his eyes that I found myself wanting to know more about him and wished that he would’ve had even more screen time than he did. (which was ample)

Staying true to the source material

tell me that mask isn’t awesome

This, while not being too important to probably 80% of the people who saw or are going to see Guardians of the Galaxy, was important to me. I hoped that they would keep the characters grounded in what had already been established in the comics and wouldn’t stray too far from how they are portrayed in the comics. I was not let down at all. Though there were some creative liberties taken in order to introduce the characters and some of the plots for the film – overall everything was kept in tact. To do that with such an “unknown” comic series is something I that I found to be quite impressive. I mean think about it, if no one knows the story going in anyways then you don’t owe the viewers anything by trying to stay true to the original material. Yet, Gunn did and this is my formal thank you to him for that.

Music
(Paul already gave us this … but I’ll just state it again … soundtrack = killer)

Awesome Mix Vol. 1

Nuff said.

CONS
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zoe saldana

She just doesn’t do it for me. She was fantastic for Avatar but horrible as Gamora – in my humble opinion. There were far better leading ladies out there that I would’ve rather watched.

useless big name actors

For some odd reason there were actors thrown into the film for roles that I would’ve almost considered “throw-away” characters. Such as Glenn Close, John C. Reilly, and Benicio Del Toro. Those are some pretty big acting talents if you ask me and all were given roles that were otherwise meaningless in the grand scheme of the movie. We see Glenn about 4 times total, John about 6 times but with only a few discarded lines, and Benicio’s talent was just wasted entirely. He plays the Collector, who is a huge player when we’re talking Guardians of the Galaxy comics. In the film, the Collector is just a person who helps our heroes go from one plot point to another. Just another bump on the story log which I found to be a let down. Perhaps they will define his roll a bit more with Guardians of the Galaxy 2?

no big tie in

For those keeping track, Guardians has finally taken the Marvel world into other galaxies and expanded the overall universe. You would think that since there could be some really fun overlap of films in the future that they would try and tie in something right? Well, they don’t. Not even with the end credits scene. Why not Marvel? What gives?! With the Avengers 2 coming up, and the little end credit scene we received from Captain America 2, I’d say that there was plenty of room for you to give us a little something! For shame.

(by the way, don’t waste your time staying for the end credits scene on this film, it’s not worth it AT ALL…)

WRAP IT UP
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Guardians of the Galaxy is a hit for Marvel. It provides a great summer blockbuster and this year’s best movie thus far with ease. It’s fun for fans of comics, for fans of action adventure films, and for people that are just looking to be entertained. There aren’t any big twists and turns, nothing that is going to rack your brain. It’s just a very entertaining movie that I hope a lot of people get a chance to see on the big screen. There really isn’t anything overly terrible about the movie that I can really be upset about. I’d even make the argument that it’s easily a better movie than the Avengers. So there.

FINAL RATING: 9/10

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Hey guys & gals, my name is Lucas Tetrault and if you like this post or any of the others I’ve done – please feel free to venture over to my Blog and take a gander at some other stuff I write about. I promise I don’t intend to waste your time.

I work as a Creative Director and spend time away from my job with my wife and son, writing for Unreality, and trying to be creative with my own personal projects.