Finally, at long last, Guardians of the Galaxy hits cinemas around the world. Being one of Marvel's largest gambles, possibly the largest, fans have speculated as to whether Marvel could pull this one off. Well, fortunately, the news is good. I would definitely consider this the sci-fi action movie of the summer.
When outlaw Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) finds himself accidentally embroiled in a hunt for a mysterious orb wanted by a violent and dangerous foe; he finds himself surrounded by a crowd of extremely strange allies. Amongst these are an assassin named Gamora (Zoe Saldana), a talking raccoon, and a sentient tree. Dave Bautista co stars alongside Pratt and Saldana, and Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel provide the voices of Rocket Raccoon and Groot, respectively. The villain of the film, Ronan the Accuser, is played by Lee Pace, known most recently for his role as Thranduil in "The Hobbit". Although you'd never recognise him behind all of the make-up and prosthetics.
Whilst watching Guardians of the Galaxy, it becomes apparent that this is not the same as all the other Marvel films. For one, it includes no superheroes with astonishing powers. Just a few strange and extraordinary people/aliens that get caught up in the fighting. It is also set mostly on other planets. Only the first five minutes include any scenes set on Earth. This gives the film a completely different feeling to other films made by Marvel. It feels almost like a cross between a Marvel superhero film and Star Wars. And it works extremely well. Fans of the "Star Wars" films, you will love this. Guardians of the Galaxy is also more humorous than some of the other Marvel films. It's not dead serious all of the time. But it does take itself seriously, so trust me when I say that it's not entirely comedic, which the trailer may have led you to believe. There are also plenty of action packed and emotional scenes mixed in with the comedy.
One of the things that impressed me about "Guardians of the Galaxy" was the amount of character development that occurred throughout the film. Pretty much all of the characters had their backstories revealed at some point in the film. And all of the characters where believable; it is easy to sympathise with them, and feel for them. The story is also fairly complex, and keeps you interested throughout. There is never a dull moment when watching "Guardians of the Galaxy".
The acting in the film is also fabulous. Especially Chris Pratt, who plays the lead role of Peter Quill (also known as "Star Lord") with seeming ease, and makes the film that little bit more spectacular. Pratt proves to be an extremely versatile actor. He portrays all of the different parts of Peter Quill's personality amazingly, from the opportunistic outlaw that he begins as, to the hero that he is forced to become. One negative point of this film is the disappointingly small role of Benicio Del Toro as "The Collector". For any of you Marvel fans that stayed for the post-credits scene of "Thor: The Dark World", you will have seen this character before. I found that the post-credits scene made out that The Collector was going to be a major villain in this film, or at least an important character. However, Del Toro gets about fifteen minutes of screen time, maybe a little bit less.
The only thing that lets the film down (slightly) is the villain, Ronan the Accuser. Pace manages to be slightly menacing, but in the end, this villain proves to be rather bland, with no backstory. Just the typical madman that seeks either world domination, or the destruction of the universe. The goal of Ronan the Accuser happens to be the latter. Despite the slightly disappointing villain, Guardians of the Galaxy is an amazing and fabulous family action film. Possibly the film of the summer, I would highly recommend this to all sci-fi and Marvel fans. This is an astonishing and unmissable film.
Glorious special effects, superb acting, action packed from beginning to end, and funny to boot. Guardians of the Galaxy is a must watch.
