Guardians of the Galaxy is written and directed by James Gunn and stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista featuring the vocal talent of Bradley Cooper as Rocket and Vin Diesel as Groot. A wise man once said " Great movies are like great people, they don't always make the best first impressions". This statement was proved to me when I first saw The Avengers. I didn't really get the hype the first time I saw that film and after several viewings I grew more fond and I consider it as one of my favourite films of all time. Guardians of the Galaxy is no different.
Walking out of my first viewing of Guardians of the Galaxy I felt quite disappointed and confused as to what the fuss was about. I did enjoy the film but did not see the film as one of Marvel's best or anywhere near the years best. One of my biggest problems was that it felt too much like Thor. I do enjoy the Thor movies however I think they are average despite the improvements of the second film. Another problem was not the films fault, but my own. I went into this film expecting an amazing film which is unfair as all films should be treated the same, even if the trailers were great or if it was critically acclaimed. I told myself the next time I see the film I will go in with next to no expectations going in....and boy did it pay off!
Guardians of the Galaxy is the most fun I have had watching a film all year and proves Marvel know exactly what they are doing with their properties. James Gunn did a great job in balancing the typical action we grow to expect from the MCU and his quirky style he showed from his earlier projects. James Gunn was actually a fan of the Guardians comics before he was given the job of directing this film, and you can really tell he is a fan of the comics because he got the character in this film spot on.
Chris Pratt is the lead character in this film and he plays Peter Quill, also known as Star Lord. I can't even tell if he is acting or just being himself because his performance comes across as so natural. You can tell he is having so much fun in every scene he is and makes him a great protagonist that you can root for and his co-stars are no different. The first time I saw this film I thought Batista's performance as Drax was quite stale and plain. Then something occured to me. Batista isn't the strongest actor, but they worked with what they had. The 2nd time seeing Guardians i found Drax to be one of the funniest characters in the whole film! I love Batista's line delivery in this film, he was a great comedic presence and fit the role very well and had some of the funniest moments in the movie. Another guardian I wasn't sure on was Groot. Groot was the Hulk of this movie, and he also had some of the best lines in the movie, despite the fact he can only say "I am Groot". His character was all about comedic timing and every time he was on screen, I was having a lot of fun. Vin Diesel didn't have much to do acting wise but it was pretty cool knowing Vin Diesel was in a recording studio repeatedly saying the same 3 words in different ways each time. The weakest Guardian was Gamora. I think this was due to the writing rather than Saldana, because she actually gave a good performance. The problem with her character was that she wasn't as funny as the other Guardians. She was still a good member of the group, but no-ones favourite guardian for sure. I have purposely left one Guardian out, and that's Rocket Raccoon. I left the best till last! Rocket was not only the most funny, interesting and clever but believe it or not, he was the most fleshed out and the character I cared about the most! There is one scene in particular where I felt genuine sympathy for a talking raccoon! Bradley Cooper was great in the role but to be honest, you can't really tell it's him!
The villain of this movie at first seemed like a very generic bad guy but the second viewing really showed me how intimidating Ronan is. He really had a presence that made you know the Guardians were in for a fight, and there are 5 of them.....There is one character I found especially weak and that was Nebula. She was the least developed and it seemed she had a story of her own and instead of showing us that they just let her prance around with Ronan, not really doing anything important at all. The stand out protagonist in this film is Yondu, played by Michael Rooker. I love Yondu. He was a villain that the audience could enjoy watching yet hate his guts at the same time. One minute you are absolutely terrified over his arrow that he controls using a whistle, the next you are gut-busting over a joke he made.
The characters are the movie's biggest strength but the film looks stunning. The scenes where they are venturing through the galaxy are very well done and the special effects team should be very proud of themselves for creating a stunning film. However it's the set designs of this film that makes it so gorgeous to look at. I still love looking at CGI images but looking at the real thing is what film is about and what it's always been about. The detail they put in to the sets they made is ridiculous and you can tell Gunn has a passion for this movie and his sets show how much he loves and respects these characters.
Guardians of the Galaxy is a film that is alot of fun for all ages and just a great time at the movies! I'm going to give it a 9 out of 10. Not a perfect film but it reminds us why we go to the movies, to have a good time! Also the soundtrack for this movie is so catchy! Gives it a 70's vibe which is really cool for a movie in modern times!
Review by Lucas Savvas
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