GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

Admittedly, when James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy was first announced, I had no idea who they were. At first, I wanted to see Guardians because of the Marvel brand and little else; then the marketing made the audience accustomed to these new characters as much as possible before the release. Some even predicted that the movie would be admirable, but an economic misstep on Marvel's part, similar to a Pacific Rim situation where the online hype did not equal box office dollars in the United States.

As I'm writing this, some estimates claim that Guardians of the Galaxy could earn as much as $90 million this weekend. It was probably for the best that Guardians received an early August release date in order to take advantage of the hype machine from Comic Con, and its sequel announcement for July 28th, 2017.

In a year with great Marvel-based films like X-Men: Days of Future Past and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it's hard to imagine that Guardians can even compare, but strangely, it does, offering something completely different from those two films.

The story begins with a young Peter Quill experiencing a family crisis. Soon afterwards, he is abducted by a group of outlaws from space. Years later, Peter Quill is now Star Lord (Chris Pratt), a charming rogue, who through a series of events meets four other colorful characters; Gamora, Rocket Racoon, Groot, and Drax the Destroyer. After escaping from prison, and they go on several adventures, leading up to a showdown with the main villain, Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace).

Right from the opening credits, we know what the movie will feel like; a great blend of comedy and drama with some great action. One of my favorite scenes in the film are the opening credits, where Quill is stealing an orb as he listens to his Walkman. Most action films would have some type of Raiders of the Lost Ark stock music to build tension, but instead we have a hero who is having a blast doing what he does best, listening to some great tunes.

What I love about the Peter Quill character is his sheer irreverence; this guy is having so much fun in this space-fantasy and it reminds me of kids who would give anything to be Han Solo or a really cool pilot in an outer space film. Quill constantly makes 80s references, but it makes sense because he was abducted in the late 1980s. Chris Pratt is able to project how much fun it can be to exist in a universe filled with space outlaws and aliens.

Zoe Saldana brings her A-game once again as Gamora, a character who is never just a "love interest" for any of the main heroes. There is a moment that could have ended up like that, but the way James Gunn handles it is brilliant. Bradley Cooper as Rocket really surprised me, because all of the supposed "jokes" he uttered in the trailers that my friends laughed at were completely humorless in my opinion. Rocket proves to be extremely entertaining, but he even has brief moments of depth in some unexpected places. Essentially, he is the Han Solo of the movie, while the Vin Diesel-voiced Groot is Chewbacca, only able to utter the words "I am Groot." Groot is pretty cool, and it's hard not to like him, as he is the innocent member of the group.

David Bautista as Drax proves to be the movie's biggest surprise. I was expecting not to care about this vengeance-seeking individual, but Bautista does a fairly good job with the material and I can't wait to see his development in the future sequel. Part of what makes Drax work is that he is the straight man of the group, and jokes and metaphors slip past him.

Ronan the Accuser is not the greatest villain, but he is certainly better than the likes of Malekith from Thor: The Dark World or some of the less-than perfect villains in the Marvel Universe. Same goes for Nebula, who outside of a cool fight with Gamora is kind of forgettable. Also, Glenn Close and Benicio del Toro make appearances, but they are little more than glorified cameos. John C. Reilly has a supporting role, and his performance style works for this movie's universe.

At its core, Guardians of the Galaxy is a movie about friendship. These unlikely heroes must the gain respect from one another, and ultimately save the galaxy together which is something I really like, especially in a world of heroes where, "only one hero can do this" or, "it is your destiny generic hero number seventy-nine." The talk of friendship is sentimental, but it never gets in the way of the humor or action.

The action scenes are a lot of fun, with the prison breakout as the main highlight of the movie, blending comedy with some awesome action. For parents taking their children to Guardians, be warned that there is some language, but I can't say it's horrible or boring for kids and it does have a good message at its core.

Guardians of the Galaxy is so good, I have some faith in future Marvel properties like Ant-Man or Dr. Strange, and gives me faith in Disney's production of Star Wars VII.

Stay for the after credits scene for one reason; you will be surprised to see who makes an appearance. Seriously, if you haven't heard the rumors, this appearance will shock you.

-Joey DeAngelis