By GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
An unknown group of heroes would hit the big screen and become one of the most popular movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and still one of my favorites today.
Synopsis
A group of intergalactic criminals must pull together to stop a fanatical warrior with plans to purge the universe.
Review
Guardians of the Galaxy originally released in 2014, as the first movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to take place completely outside of Earth. Written and Directed by James Gunn, the film brought together a band of unlikely heroes with a very impressive cast from the start. The film stars the likes of Chris Pratt as Peter Quill, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, and Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser. Also joining as side characters in the film are Michael Rooker as Yondu, Karen Gillan as Nebula, and Benicio del Toro as The Collector. This film introduces a lot of the concepts of space travel, the nova core, and finally explains the infinity stones that have been present in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since Captain Marvel the First Avenger. This movie is packed with a lot of new themes, characters, and plotlines that are wrapped in this very fun movie that turned the Guardians of the Galaxy into a household name.
Guardians of the Galaxy starts by introducing us to Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, who has stolen an orb for which its contents are unknown. After escaping, he goes to Xandar to sell the orb, but the buyer is no longer interested when he learns that a person named Ronan is after the same orb. He gets into a fight and meets Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot before they are all arrested for various crimes they are wanted for, and brought to a prison where they meet Drax. The group plan an escape and decide to find a new buyer for the orb. While Peter, Gamora, Rocket, and Groot care about selling the orb and making their profit, Drax is more interested in using the orb to get Ronan’s attention so he can kill him. Once they find out what the orb really is though, the groups is conflicted on what to do. With them having the orb they are being chased by Ronan who wants the infinity stone it contains for himself, and the group also has to run from Yondu the leader of a group of Ravagers who want the orb for its value on the open market.
The best part of Guardians of the Galaxy is the different characters and their personalities. The entire team is made up of conflicting personalities and as such they conflict throughout the movie. Watching the extremely smart Rocket talk down to the others for not understanding what he does, or when people have some doubt in him. Drax taking everything everyone says literally and exactly how they say it. Gamora being obsessed with her goals, and not caring for anyone else in her pursuit of them. Groot going along with whatever is happening at that moment. Then finally, Star Lord who views himself as the best, and is very cocky about it in every way. These characters come together in ways that seem realistic, there is no disbelief in their characters, arcs, or actions based on how they act throughout the film. This is most evident when they find out that the orb they are trying to sell is an infinity stone. Gamora only cares about getting it out of Ronan’s reach, while Rocket is more worried about getting him and Groot as far away from the stone as possible, and Peter Quill wants to still sell it to whoever has the most coin. While this is going on, Drax has used the stone as a way to call Ronan to their location so he can fight him. Even in dire situations, and against all odds these characters never stop being who they are, and they don’t blend together. Actions in the film can easily be deciphered on who it was doing it, and they don’t go back on their personalities due to events happening around them. Groot always acts as a protector to everyone, rocket always cares about getting out of a situation, Drax is always ready to fight.
The story in of itself isn’t anything spectacular, but the places and world building done makes the movie entertaining (especially with the given cast). Every city or planet they visit is brought to life by the environment and the aliens around them. Every scene is like the Mos Eisley cantina from Star Wars, vibrant and brought to life telling the story of what kind of people are there just through the atmosphere. It is an absolutely beautiful movie, and with its bright color scheme and usage of many different species of aliens culminating together this movie feels very far apart from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It does share one aspect with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in that the villain ends up getting the short end of the stick when it comes to development. Ronan the Accuser is a daunting enemy, as he has an entire army and runs an empire called the Kree. They are a ruthless group of people, who have peace treaties with other empires, but Ronan care not for them and want to only be the strongest. He is a powerful enemy for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it’s a shame that he is given little screen time, and then he is killed off like every Marvel villain before him. It would have been nice to get more out of him, but hopefully the Kree can appear at some point again in future Marvel films as a bigger villain.
Closing Thoughts
Guardians of the Galaxy is not the perfect movie, but it is very close. Minus the lack of the villain’s presence throughout the film except for the end battle, and a plot that is a little weak in areas, the movie has everything else to be desired. The cast is perfect, the characters are fun and entertaining, the worlds they explore are jaw dropping at times, and come to life at every step. Then there is the best part of the movie, the soundtrack which brings a great collection of songs from the 70’s and late 60’s. There is little to complain about and a lot to like about Guardians of the Galaxy, and even after watching it for what I can only assume is my 20th time by now, it still holds up. While it has little to do with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe I highly recommend going back and watching it again. For anyone just trying to do a clean run through of the bare minimum in preparation for Endgame, this one can be skipped.
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