Marvel’s
latest release hit the theaters this month, breaking almost every August
opening record there is, and is now set to overtake the Transformers as biggest
movie of the summer. The big question is
was it a success due to the roughly 40 different trailers released over the
past 6 months along with a massive marketing blitz, or was it deserving of its
win fall based solely on its own merits? Well, in my humble opinion, this is
simply the best all around movie so far this year. Is it the most original film, no? Is it the funniest, nope that’s Bad
Neighbors. The most gripping story line, not even close. But it has such a well balanced story, filled
with engaging characters, set in a beautiful universe and a script that knew
when to be serious and when to laugh at itself.
The
film follows Peter Quill (Chris Pratt, Parks and Recreation, Lego Movie) who is
abducted by aliens when he is a young boy and grows to be a space outlaw. He finds himself in over his head when he steals
an orb that is desired by Ronan (Lee Pace, the Hobbit). Ronan dispatches his assassin Gamora (Zoe
Saldana, Star Trek, Avatar) to hunt Quill down and retrieve the orb while the
bounty hunters he beat to the punch put a price on his head. The bounty attracts the attention of Rocket
(voiced by Bradley Cooper, The Hangover), a genetically modified raccoon, and
his partner, a living tree named Groot (Vin Diesel, Riddick). The three attempt to nab Quill but end up getting
all four of them arrested. In jail they
meet Drax (David Bautista, WWE), a rage fueled beast of a man who seeks revenge
on Ronan. Gamora reveals that she planned on betraying Ronan and selling the
Orb for a huge profit and will split it with them if they help her setting in
motion events that will pit them against a slew of enemies and finding them as
being the universes greatest hope for survival.
The
films strongest point is its balance between characters. Each of the Guardians
is given enough time to develop a bit of their back stories without really
overdoing it. While Quill is the presumed leader, the film doesn’t revolve
solely around him. You get to invest just as much time into the rest of the
Guardians and that gives you a better feel for the entire movie. All of the
characters have such strong personalities that if they had given Quill more
attention then there would have been lulls in the movie when the other
characters where being focused on.
The
pace of the story was superb. It starts
off fast and barely slows down keeping you engaged the entire way. The movie
introduces the audience to a whole new universe but does it in such a way that
it feels familiar without having to stop the story with plot points. The actors play off each other so well that
when there isn’t pop corn munching action on the screen the audience doesn’t lose
attention because they are too busy laughing. The soundtrack is a character all
its own. Quill is never without his trusty walkman jamming to classics and it
keeps the energy high.
It is
also very important to point out what this movie does for the Marvel
universe. While there are no current
plans to merge the Guardians with the Avengers (it’s totally gonna happen
though!) they do take place in the same universe and share the villain Thanos. This expands the Marvel universe immensely,
meaning we can expect to see a more constant release of movies, maybe even as
many as twice a year. Plus with a non Avengers franchise having success it
opens the doors for more lesser know Marvel heroes to finally get a chance in
the spotlight.
So if you haven’t seen it yet, this is defiantly a movie
that you want to put on your list and see before it leaves the theaters. And
bring friends because you will be quoting it for weeks!
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