I am Groot. I am Groot; I, am Groot. I am…Groot? I am Groot!!!
…On second thought, my review might go better if I actually use the English language.
Guardians of the Galaxy was an intriguingly strange directional choice for Marvel; a decision many people (including myself) were unsure of succeeding (either critically, financially, or both). Seems Marvel was banking on their logo to attract mass audiences, and judging from the box office profits it worked exponentially well. Financial success aside, does Guardians of the Galaxy reach the quality levels of The Avengers, or does it possess the same “riveting” direction as Transformers: Age of Extinction? From a personal view, Guardians was neither amazing nor disgusting, but instead a comedic, enjoyable, and successful introduction to a group of strange heroes I had never heard of before.
Our film begins with a young Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) visiting his terminally ill mother…who is dying from cancer…as he squanders his last chance to hold her hand before she dies…..I’M SORRY, I was under the impression that Guardians of the Galaxy was a superhero-comedy film!? Well shortly (and rather abruptly) after, Peter gets abducted by space pirates who (instead of eating him) train him as one of their own; cut to 26 years later, and Peter is now a treasure hunter under the not-so-recognizable alias of Star-Lord. Trouble strikes when Peter discovers a mystic orb wanted by the powerful Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace), a blood-crazed fanatic working under the planet-destroying Thanos. Soon imprisoned and with more than he can chew, Peter forms a partnership with the most unlikely of allies: Gamora (Zoe Saldana) the adopted, green-skinned daughter of Thanos, Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), a powerful warrior out for revenge against Ronan, Rocket (Bradley Cooper) the genetically engineered raccoon bounty hunter, and Groot (Vin Diesel), a tree-like alien. All five join forces, unbeknownst to them (yet obvious to the audience) that they will soon become heroes known as the Guardians of the Galaxy!
Guardians of the Galaxy succeeds thanks to three major aspects: its well-paced action, bizarrely unique heroes, and very funny sense of humor. Action-wise, Guardians holds solid with enough satisfying battles scenes, each with its own unique setting and characters (how could you not enjoy seeing a maniac Raccoon with a machine gun!) It’s noteworthy to point the film’s solid balancing of action and plot, seeing how Guardians not only introduces five main heroes at once (each with their own backstories), but also an entire galaxy of planets (also with their own backstories); especially when remembering how catastrophic the 2005 Fantastic Four (with only four main heroes and one Earth) handled balancing its setup and action.
It should be noted however that the five Guardians are well indeed anti-heroes; meaning they’re both brutal and kill their enemies without hesitation, even ones that may not deserved it (prison guards for example). For those that dislike superheroes who kill, Guardians may not be the best film for you; yet the Guardians are not devoid of empathy or morality, primarily killing only those that get in their way. To those that aren't enemies, the Guardians can show a surprising amount of compassion and kindness, to the point where they become willing to risk death in order to save a planet. Plus, unlike some red-caped super-lunatic, they actually take action in preventing the destruction of cities (along with its people) while fighting the enemy.
The humor aspect of Guardians is its high point; a mixture of witty comedy that borders on superhero parody without making the plot too ridiculous to not be taken seriously. The five Guardians not only possess unique designs, but also humorous quirks for which to better define their characters. Peter’s knowledge and love of American culture (particularly the 80s) creates rather bizarre situations in Guardian’s sci-fi setting; his love for pop music, references to things no one else understands (referring to the orb as a “Maltese Falcon” MacGuffin) and use of storytelling are given enough alien eyebrow raises to lift a bridge. In one scene Peter describes Footloose as a story where a hero named Kevin Bacon comes to save a city of people “with sticks up their butts” through dance; naturally this goes right over the head of Gamora, who literally assumes someone cruelly jammed sticks up the people’s butts.
Speaking of taking things literally, Drax comes from a race of aliens that take everything exactly as it’s said! Hilarity ensures; such as when Peter performs a slash across the neck motion to symbolize what Drax wishes to do to Ronan, only for a confused Drax to ask why he’d slide his thumb across Ronan’s throat. By far my favorite scene involves all five of them discussing Peter’s “plan” to take down Ronan; the characters (and therefore the actors) work fluently off one-another, tossing jokes, jabs, and witty statements back and forth in succession. Even when the scene takes a more serious turn, Rocket manages to throw in a few good laughs: “See I’m standing; we’re all standing now. Just a bunch of idiots standing in a circle.” The humor not only helps further define the Guardians (along with being, well, really funny), but also keeps the plot feeling fresh while adding a fun combination alongside its action and at times drama.
Similar to most Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films, one of Guardians main issues is its predictability. The five characters are obviously going to settle their differences to become friends, but that’s simply the icing on the cake when it came to correctly guessing outcomes. Peter’s about to be killed by the space pirates! Of course he convinces them to join through greed. An important character is killed off!? Of course that character isn't truly dead. The pirates demand the orb! Of course Peter switches it with a decoy. What makes Guardian’s predictability problematic (as oppose to The Winter Soldier) is that without the film’s saving grace comedy, the film finds itself with a fairly standard plot.
Now to be fair, Guardians is first and foremost a setup movie; introducing new characters and a whole new Galaxy to the MCU (which up to this point had only Earth and Asgard). Setup movies are bound to have some standard plot devices, and as Guardians goes, its use is far from the worst. Yet I can’t help but feel I've seen this story told a dozen times before: a group of unique individuals find themselves placed in a mutually beneficial situation (in Guardian’s case, greed and revenge) and team up. The group must then learn to work together in order to defeat an evil force; putting aside their selfish desires to save a group of people from destruction, becoming friends by the end of the journey. It’s a story I, and most likely you, have seen before (I could have used that same sum up for Star Wars); it also doesn't help that Guardian’s primary villain Ronan is a bland, forgettable stand in for the TRUE big bad Thanos (who only gets a few brief cameos). At the end of the day, Guardians of the Galaxy is primarily an experimental introduction to new heroes, setup for future films (barring the film wasn't a failure), and further build up for the supervillain Thanos; setting up how much of a threat he is, along with a proper introduction of the infinity stones.
There is one other function Guardians of the Galaxy serves however, and that is to be an enjoyably fun time. It’s unfair to say predictability and setup is all the film delivers, because it’s not; it’s a good addition to the MCU that provides entertainment with its quality comedy, solid action, and entertainingly strange heroes all individually distinguishable in personality. Now that the introduction’s completed, I look forward to seeing what new heights the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise can bring for the MCU's ever increasing universe……I am Groot.
