The film is about Peter Quill.
His mother died when he was still a young boy and he was kidnapped by space marauders,
taken from Earth to a far-off galaxy, growing up among them. Now, as an adult,
Quill is himself an outlaw bandit. His latest score is a mysterious orb. Finding
the orb, Quill quickly discovers that dangerous people are after its contents,
including an assassin named Gamora. She is working for Ronan the Accuser, a
powerful being who wants to rain genocide upon the peaceful Xandarians. As
Gamora and Quill fight over the Orb, bounty hunters Rocket and Groot also join
the mix, as they are after Quill to collect a bounty out on him. All four are
captured by the Xandarian police and put in prison. There they meet Drax the
Destroyer, a man who only seeks revenge for the murder of his family by Ronan.
In prison, an unlikely friendship forms between the five as they plot their
escape and agree that the orb must not fall into Ronan’s hands (Gamora,
secretly planning on betraying him the whole time).
Marvel started its cinematic
universe with a few decent superhero films (most notably Iron Man) but
nothing on par with the genre’s best; however, that has all changed. Phase II
has been fantastic – even the weakest film of Phase II (Thor:
The Dark World) is funny, action-packed, and very entertaining. Since the sheer
joyful gallivanting of The
Avengers and with its writer-director Joss
Whedon at their creative center, Marvel Studios has found a formula that
fits their brand perfectly – and they have been able to get the right people
(mostly) to work on their projects. These films are incredibly fun, but also
feature strong, likable characters and some emotional depth (to varying
degrees). Guardians of the Galaxy might be their best standalone adventure yet
(though, I could easily also say the same thing about Iron Man
3 or Captain
America: The Winter Soldier too, which speaks to the quality of Phase II).
There are a ton of things to
really like about Guardians of the Galaxy. It is in many ways a grand space
adventure in the vein of Star Wars,
mixing great characters with action and adventure in a visually spectacular/engrossing
sci-fi setting; but, Guardians of the Galaxy has one additional key element: it
is wonderfully funny and features superb witty dialog (making a comparison to Serenity
maybe a more accurate one – not that Star Wars does not also have its comedy moments).
The film’s sense of humor is juvenile to some extent, but also smart and
poignant (it is not crude and lazy like say Transformers). Writer-director
James Gunn does
a fabulous job putting everything together, creating the perfect tone.
Gunn embraces the weird, allowing
characters like Rocket and Groot to not only feel real but succeed as fan
favorites. All five of the Guardians feel developed with stories, wants, needs,
and emotions that the audience can recognize, take stock in, and care about. If
nothing else, Gunn introduces five new Marvel characters for the audience to
love, each with their own unique voice and persona (not simply just turning out
generic caricatures of classic sci-fi troupes). All five are great, which
allows the film in many ways to play like The Avengers (or the anti-Avengers) –
a group of individuals who come together as a team. These characters are not
heroes, however. They are not gods, super geniuses or morally incorruptible. They
are outcasts – a ragtag group of misfits, which in many ways makes them more
relatable. They do not set out to save the galaxy initially; they are in it for
personal gain, but they discover a special courage inside themselves – a morality
– and become heroes. It is a classic tale that we all know, like and want to
get behind. Gunn understands this, setting up the film to take full advantage
of its strongest assets.
Peter Quill is similar to Han
Solo in some ways and Luke Skywalker in other ways (much like Malcolm
Reynolds). He is an outlaw at heart, but there is something inside him that
aspires to greatness. Rocket and Groot are also similar to Han Solo and Chewbacca
(though, much more mischievous and rambunctious). Gamora, however, more
resembles Black Widow than any Star Wars characters. She is an assassin who
betrays her past to become a heroine. Drax is the muscle, but with a good heart
and extremely loyal. In these characters there is something for everyone –
classic sci-fi/western heroes, a strong female character, and characters who
generate tons of great comedic material.
Conversely, though, I would say
that Guardians of the Galaxy is a bit weak in terms of its villains, keeping it
from being truly great (or it is one of the things that holds it back – I will
get to the other main one later). Ronan the Accuser is a fairly bland genocidal
maniac. He has some flair, but he is mostly uninteresting. Far more interesting
is his chief assassin Nebula (have a similar background to Gamora, but choosing
a different path), but it seems as though she is being saved for a later film
to explore in a more meaningful way – here, she is just a badass but not much
more is revealed. The same goes for Thanos; he is being saved for another film
(Guardians of
the Galaxy 2 or The Avengers 3). Guardians of the Galaxy is made to focus
its attention on introducing the Guardians, that is its primary goal and
concern, and in this regard it does its job wonderfully, but again the villains
are a casualty of there being only so much screen time. There are a few good
side characters, however, most notably Yondu – Quill’s sort of adoptive father
figure and chief marauder.
What is maybe the film’s best
asset, in addition to its main characters, is its tone and pacing. Gunn has
created a film that is just plain entertaining and smile inducing. It is a
pleasure to watch, blending laughs with great action to a very satisfying
degree. The film is very tightly structured, always moving forward (which I think
is an important attribute of successful lighter-toned blockbusters). Gunn
devises all his scenes to support the tone – one of humor, adventure and sci-fi
aesthetics. The weak villains do not really matter in the end because Gunn
already has five other great characters and he keeps the plot moving and the
film very funny and entertaining (or at least, they do not seem to matter as
much, because the viewer is just having some much fun experiencing the film).
All that said, however, I think
that Guardians of the Galaxy does lack emotional depth. Gunn does a fantastic
job with almost every aspect of the film, but nothing really resonates on a
deeper emotional level. There are big emotions and tragedy in the lives of all
the Guardians, but it all feels a bit superficial because the tone is
incredibly fun and energetic. Even seeing Quill’s mother die in the opening
scene does not seem to have its full intended impact – probably because he
seems to have completely moved on emotionally the next time we see him. The loss
of his mother does not feel like a defining character trait, even though it
probably should be or was intended to be. We want to see the Guardians win the
day, not because we care about them on an emotional level, but because we like
them and they are a lot of fun, which is again much more superficial. The great
films connect with their audiences on an emotional level. The death of Luke
Skywalker’s family (his aunt and uncle and earlier his father) at the hands of
the Empire (and Darth Vader) has a real palpable impact both on him and the
audience. There is nothing that meaningful in this film, leaving it as
something that plays more as pure entertainment than as a full cinematic
experience, engaging its audience on many levels. Marvel has their formula down
for making fantastically entertaining films, but they still struggle with
deeper emotional resonance (though, I would argue there are moments that work
well in The Avengers, Iron Man 3 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier,
engaging their audience in a more impactful manner). As fun as Guardians of the
Galaxy is, it is still not quite on the same level as the uppermost films in
the genre (both superhero and entertainment-oriented sci-fi). I say this having
thoroughly enjoyed the film.
Yes, Guardians of the Galaxy may
have been a seemingly huge risk for Marvel because it is a bit weirder than
their past films and deals in unlikely heroes; but due to James Gunn’s clear
love of and vision for the characters and world, the film is marvelously
entertaining and incredibly fun. I am not sure if it is the best Marvel Studios
film so far – it very well might be – but it certainly solidifies that with
Phase II Marvel Studios is on top of the superhero genre right now, churning
out great stories and characters that are very funny, thrilling, and
adventurous. I, for one, cannot wait to see what is next (Avengers: Age of
Ultron looks like it is going to be amazing).
Technical,
aesthetic & acting achievements: James Gunn deals in superb and dark
comedy, writing and directing films like Slither
and Super,
but Guardians of the Galaxy is by far his best effort to date. It exemplifies
his great subversive wit (but it is not nearly as dark as his past work). I am
even more interested to see what he will do with Guardians of the Galaxy 2, now
that the cumbersome origin story is over with (unlike with most cinema,
superhero sequels are often better as they allow filmmakers to tell more
complete stories with already established characters).
In the review portion of this, I
completely skipped over just how great the film looks aesthetically.
Cinematographer Ben
Davis and production designer Charles Wood
(who are both working on Age of Ultron by the way) do excellent work creating a
world that is gritty and realistic yet grand and full of brilliant sci-fi
awesomeness (much like The Collector’s showroom). Davis lights the film to be
appropriately dark and ominous in moments/places and bright and clean in
others, giving the visuals a nice dichotomy, juxtaposing the villainy of Ronan
against the innocence/morality of Xandar. Wood’s sets and design are rich with
detail and depth. Ronan’s ship, The Collector’s showroom (again), the Xandarian
prison, and especially the interior of Quill’s ship (the Milano) are fantastic.
Tyler Bates
provides a good score that matches the tone well, but it is the film’s
soundtrack that takes center stage musically. The mix of great 1970s pop songs
seems to perfectly capture the spirit of the film and its characters.
The cast is tremendous and perfectly
suited to their roles and the overall tone. Peter
Serafinowicz, Benicio Del Toro,
John C. Reilly,
and Djimon
Hounsou are all great in small supporting roles. Karen Gillan
is fantastic as Nebula with almost a frolicsomely evil menace (I hope there is
much more of her in the future). Michael Rooker
is one of the James Gunn troupe who make appearances in the film (others
include Sean
Gunn, Greg
Henry, and Nathan
Fillion). Rooker is great as space pirate Yondu, a role that is right in
his wheelhouse. Lee
Pace brings a lot of Shakespearian energy to Ronan, always gravely monologing;
it works well. Bradley
Cooper voices Rocket (who was played live for the actors during filming by
Sean Gunn), the character who might just steal the film. Cooper has a manic
energy – jubilantly rude and playful, yet with a heart (in there somewhere). Vin Diesel
voices Groot, who may very well be the film’s best character. (Like with his
voice role in The
Iron Giant) Diesel does a lot with very little, displaying a vicious
loyalty to his friends. Dave Bautista
is good as Drax, definitely displaying the physicality, but also Bautista shows
a knack for comedy too, playing a warrior who takes everything literally. Zoe Saldana
does everything well in this. She certainly has the physicality to make a
convincing assassin as Gamora, but she also displays a sympathetic heart,
allowing the audience to believe that she would fight to save the galaxy
despite her past allegiances. It is also nice to see that she is not just relegated
to ‘romantic interest’. Chris Pratt
was always going to make a great Han Solo type as Peter Quill. He has brilliant
comedic timing and delivery, but also the confidence and swagger that typify
the archetype.
Summary
& score: Guardians of the Galaxy is the sci-fi saga general moviegoers
have been waiting for since Star Wars’ original trilogy ended in 1983 (or for
those who found Firefly/Serenity:
it is the sci-fi saga fans have been waiting for since Fox cancelled Firefly). It
is spectacularly fun. 8/10
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