Hooked On A Feeling

I’ll admit – I’ve been pretty stale on the past couple of Marvel movies. Not that they’ve been bad, but I feel like I’ve been gradually phasing out of the ‘superhero movies are awesome’ phase. In comes Guardians of The Galaxy, a film that was really quite a big risk for Marvel, and what stems from it is an incredible experience that not only made me excited for the Marvel movies again, but for the potential that the universe has crafted so expertly.

Now when it comes down to it, Guardians of The Galaxy is a bit more of a sci-fi epic than it is a superhero movie. From the various characters that are met to the little things within each scene, Guardians very much feels like something you’d pick off of the sci-fi shelf instead of the action shelf. And I think that’s why I garnered such a strong love for the film early on, because it represents something very different to what Marvel have been pumping out of late (I’m looking at you Captain America 2 and Amazing Spider-man 2). I’ve been quietly looking forward to Guardians for some time now, and as the first trailer debuted and I watched with a sense of awe, worry and excitement – I thought that this movie could be the one to put Marvel back on the right track, and how true that thought was.

Guardians of The Galaxy does many things right, but the most evident part it gets absolutely spot on is its casting. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel are exceptional in their respective roles. Having a main cast this big can cause problems, but just like The Avengers, each of the characters get a solid amount of solo screen time and are introduced perfectly. Because Guardians is more in the frame of a sci-fi film, it was quite important to introduce the viewers to these characters in a specific way, as none of them have had a film to back them up like The Avengers did back in 2012, and director James Gunn handles this with pure ease. From the emotional beginning of the film to usher in what could be considered the ‘main’ protagonist of the film Peter Quill, AKA Star-lord, to the delightful way Rocket and Groot are introduced – it all feels natural and not forced. Likewise, the way Saldana’s and Bautista’s characters are introduced are also excellent and quickly establish a great, quirky tone that the film carries the whole way.

One of the biggest concerns I had with the film was how Bautista would be able to portray Drax, who’s quite an interesting character in the comics. As a wrestling fan, I’ve never been a huge fan of the way Dave works and his persona gave me doubt that he’d be able to handle such an odd and exciting character so well, but here he is – portraying Drax with a sense of ease and delight – and delivering some of the best and most enjoyable lines in the film. It’s safe to say I was pleasantly surprised.

As well as the great casting, acting and so forth – the actual story of the film was one of the strongest in any Marvel film so far. Centering around Star-lord was a great choice and even in the solo segments the build ups are exciting and are easy to follow. There is a sense of quirk to the film too, and it doesn’t detract from the story’s overall tone and mood at all – instead helping it blend both emotional moments with joyful ones. It’s truly a story that fans of sci-fi, comic books and the like will take a strong liking to.

“the actual story of the film was one of the strongest in any Marvel film so far.”

Likewise, the visual effects are some of the best I’ve seen in any film, and it plays a very important role due to two of the main characters being comprised of just CGI from beginning to end (Rocket and Groot). As well as this, the set piece events and action are full on and wonderful to watch. I couldn’t get enough of it, really.

If there were a negative I’d pick from Guardians of The Galaxy, it would be that the villain of the film, Ronan, didn’t have quite enough impact or menace as I thought he would. But that’s probably due to the fact that this film is more about establishing these characters rather than it is them taking on an evil force.

Guardians of The Galaxy is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time and by far the most emotional, well-crafted Marvel movie to date. I can’t recommend it enough to anyone and everyone.

Overall

Excellent writing, wonderful characters, exquisite set pieces and great visual effects Guardians of The Galaxy into masterpiece blockbuster territory. This is a film that Marvel will look back on and smile, as the risk they took with it has certainly paid off in dividends.