Chris’ review of Guardians of the Galaxy
Mandi and I recently went to see Guardians of the Galaxy, and we both enjoyed the film. Although my enthusiasm was slightly blunted by the flood of rave reviews that have poured in praising every aspect of the film.
Don’t get me wrong: it is good, but it’s not that good. In terms of the plot line, it’s not a revolutionary, epic story, but it is a comic book, full of action and humor, and for that it deserves high marks for entertainment.
Just don’t go in expecting to watch the superhero equivalent of The Lord of the Rings.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utZNQqV1tZE&feature=gp-n-y&google_comment_id=z13zvbu55zz5cbps4230gh1pkpfbt5d5i04[/youtube]
That said, we both recommend the film and would definitely see it again.
High marks include the character of Rocket Raccoon and his companion, the sentient tree-creature Groot, two of the most outlandish leading characters we’ve seen in a Marvel film.
From the concept alone, you might expect these two characters to clash horribly with the tone and setting of the film’s timeline. You see, Guardians of the Galaxy takes place in the same film universe as The Avengers, and during the same general time period, so bear in mind that you could easily see Rocket Raccoon chilling with Tony Stark at some point in the future.
But rather than coming across as an outlandish parody, the presentation of the characters, their personalities and development makes this seem perfectly plausible and not at all as ridiculous as it may sound.
In fact, if Rocket and Iron Man ever end up sharing screen-time in the future, the result is sure to nothing short of epic. Sound crazy? Watch Guardians of the Galaxy and it’ll make sense.
This relatively seamless integration with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is another high-point. You’ll see familiar characters if you’ve been keeping up with the rest of the films, and one in particular, Thanos (seen during the credits of The Avengers) makes a larger appearance and presents strong hints of things to come. We’re also introduced more directly to the concept of the Infinity Stones, which produces more foreshadowing.
The film is heavy on comedy, but it is not a parody by any means. The films themes and events are deep, dealing with betrayal, terrorism and genocide, but much like how Iron Man and Thor managed to keep humor flowing through the quirks of their main characters, Guardians of the Galaxy finds so much more humor through its misfit band of heroes.
Not superheroes by any means, they are losers, drifters and thieves who find themselves thrust together and caught up in a much larger conflict, and it is their personalities and inadequacies that make the movie fun and keep the laughs coming.
At its core the movie’s plot is nothing we haven’t already seen. It is heavy on foreshadowing future events that Marvel is sure to bring into play going forward, but the villain and his quest for domination is typical and hardly revolutionary at this point.
Regardless, the characters and the humor make it all worthwhile and carry the film.
And that is my recommendation
~Chris (Mandi’s husband)