Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) Review

"We are Groot."
-Groot



After being abducted by aliens when he was kid, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) has essentially become a space outlaw and goes by the name Star-Lord.  Quill discovers a mysterious orb and quickly realizes many dangerous forces also want to get their hands on it.  After being thrown in prison, Quill teams up with two bounty hunters, an assassin, and a ferocious warrior, all of whom are at least somewhat unstable, in order to escape prison, make some money, discover the truth about the orb, and, just maybe, save the galaxy.


What Works:

Cards on the table; Guardians of the Galaxy is my favorite film in the MCU.  It's a film no one realized they wanted, but once we got it, we realized just how special it is.  Coming on the heals of the amazing Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy is a radically different film in every way, shape, and form.  It marches to the beat of its own drum and I love it for that.

The cast is truly amazing.  Chris Pratt is an incredibly charismatic guy and he absolutely nails his performance.  He's funny, but roguish and also has some real heart.  His backstory with his mom is well handled and very emotional.

Dave Bautista is the unexpected standout of the cast.  He's incredibly funny and has some of the best dialogue of the film.  Drax is such a genuine character and he brings sincerity and authenticity to the film.  I was expecting just another brute from this guy, but he's so much more that that.

Rocket Racoon is my spirit animal.  I cannot understate how much I love this character.  I feel the same level of joy when he gets his hands on the gun while in the prison.   Bradley Cooper brings this character to life with an amazing voice performance.  Rocket is probably my favorite character in the MCU and this is my favorite of his appearances.

Vin Diesel plays a talking tree named Groot.  He says five words in the whole film.  That's insane.  It's amazing that this happened and it still boggles my mind.  Somehow, Diesel manages to say a whole lot by saying very little and it's impressive.

The action scenes are a lot of fun.  The keep-a-way foot chase on Xandar is a lot of fun and does a good job of showing us who the various characters are.  The 3rd act attack is nothing short of epic and while there is a lot going on, it's never disorienting or confusing.

While Ronan (Lee Pace) isn't a super memorable villain, he's a great foil for the wacky antics of the Guardians.  He's such a dark character, but his reactions to Quill challenging him to a dance off are simply incredible.

Finally, this movie has a lot of heart and humor at the same time.  We get heart-felt, emotional moments, but the film also makes fun of these moments.  Most of the time, a joke ends the emotional or dramatic scenes, which works, but that also makes the fully dramatic scenes even more effective because we don't get the comic relief.  We're so used to the joke that when it doesn't come, it's all the more powerful.


What Sucks:

I got nothing for you.


Verdict:

Guardians of the Galaxy does absolutely everything right.  The acting, writing, directing, humor, and action are all outstanding.  Marvel did something radically different with this film and it works more than anyone could have expected.  It's my favorite movie in the MCU and has absolutely got it going on.

 10/10: Amazing   



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