Guardians of the Galaxy
Director and co-writer, James Gunn brilliantly put together an oddball cast for “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and ultimately they are what make the movie. All the characters have flaws and that is why you end up liking them.
Chris Pratt plays Peter Quill or as he would like to be known, ‘Starlord.’ The film starts out with Peter watching his mother die; one can only imagine that fueled him to be the brash, yet charming junker that he grows up to be.
Zoe Saldana is Gamora, the human—sorry, I mean alien– weapon. Gamora is the no-nonsense, straight-laced woman of the group. And in the comedy act, Saldana is splendid at it.
Dave Bautista, wrestling star, is Drax. Drax is dense and vengeful but ultimately endearing. He takes everything literally and when opposite of metaphor slinging Quill and Rocket it is hilarious. I’m not sure if Bautista was accidentally awkward, this being one of his first major acting projects, but the awkwardness works greatly to his character’s advantage.
Bradley Cooper voices Rocket, the genetically altered raccoon and brains of a bounty-hunting duo. What more can I say? He was great and an obvious hit.
Vin Diesel is Groot, the muscle in the bounty-hunting duo between him and Rocket. Between his limited vocabulary and gentleness, his character is refreshing especially when surrounded by the rest of the gunmen. Diesel fully delivers with great voice work and understanding of his character; the audience has a favorite new CGI character to look forward to.
These guardians definitely make the movie, and Gunn clearly knows it, but consequently the antagonists are not as developed. Lee Pace is the immediate bad guy, Ronan; though he is fully committed, he gets little time or depth in the film. Karen Gillan’s Nebula, Gamora’s sister, has a great look—props to the costume and design department—but that is about it. And other appearances by Thanos (Josh Brolin), The Collector (Benicio Del Torro), and Nova Prime (Glenn Close) just break up the movie, not tie it together.
That being said, it was a wonderful ride and one of Marvel’s best efforts to date.
A fun and solid eight stars out of ten.
