Film: Guardians of the Galaxy
Chris Pratt is the sexy male lead as Peter Quill/Starlord, a sarcastic, slightly stupid individual with a bit of Tony Stark’s charm. Gamora is an equally sexy alien who is probably the most dangerous woman in the galaxy – in fact I’d love to see her go up against Black Widow for the right to that honour. Zoe Saldana is able to keep her tough as nails while also hinting at the wounded little girl inside. Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) will probably be the breakout star of the film, a totally crazy, gun-toting creature who is incredibly self-centred; although he does get to show his sensitive side at times. Groot is both his bodyguard and best friend, a simple minded tree person who can only say three words: “I”, “am” and “Groot” in that order; he’s loyal, incredibly strong but also as sweet as a puppy.
Vin Diesel is somehow able to effectively get across the right emotions with just those three words, making Groot a very endearing character. Drax is the traditional muscle of the group, wanting revenge for the murder of his family at the hands of Ronan, Dave Bautista bringing a clueless humour to the role amongst his more bloodthirsty tendencies. The team compliment each other perfectly, in essence they’re all big softies at heart, managing to rise above the Avengers in Space moniker people have unfairly thrown at them.
One of the things I found most impressive is that the film doesn’t become too bogged down in origin stories, briefly summing up character histories in short stretches of time rather than spending an entire film establishing who they are. While I’m sure more of the origins of certain characters will be explored in future films – in fact I’d bet on Rocket’s origin being part of the basis for the next film considering his success – it’s nice to have a first film of a series not get too lost in this aspect.
Squaring of against the awesome heroes, Ronan tries his hardest to be Darth Vader but falls a bit short. Lee Pace does a reasonably good job as the genocidal maniac, to the point where he’s essentially unrecognisable, and in fight scenes he seems unstoppable even before he gets hold of the film’s MacGuffin. Thanos appears briefly, although not quite as briefly as in Avengers Assemble, revealing himself to once again be the mastermind behind the whole film. Josh Brolin doesn’t seem to have a real feel for the character as of yet and he comes across a bit laughable – especially as three underlings of his turn against him over the course of the film.
The film’s 80s soundtrack is a bit strange yet expertly chosen, somehow fitting the setting well. In a way it’s a bit like the Guardians itself, it’s not the soundtrack you’d expect but it gets the job done with style. The use of Cherry Bomb as the team get ready to take on Ronan is a personal favourite of mine, setting the mood particularly well. The in-film explanation for the soundtrack is incredibly sweet, fitting nearly into the story.
The special effects are amazing, particularly through the creation of Groot and Rocket, both of whom look incredibly life-like with close attention being paid to even minor details. Space battles look epic, the final showdown against Ronan’s ship being the real stand out moment featuring some impressive dog fighting.
As a whole Guardians of the Galaxy is a quirky, fun adventure that is full of silly thrills, awkward humour and the dumbest heroes in the galaxy pulling together to save the day. I can’t wait for the already announced sequel.
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