Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) - Review

We are back with another MCU review as we continue down the road to Infinity War. This time, we are checking out the unlikely team that took the film world by storm: The Guardians of the Galaxy.

Following Marvel's The Avengers, it seemed like the MCU could do no wrong. While Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World did not perform as well as their predecessors critically, Captain America: The Winter Soldier took the superhero genre to heights not achieved since the Nolan Batman films. Despite their achievements, Guardians of the Galaxy was a big risk for Marvel. A C-tier comic , this was Marvel's first test at bringing unknown characters into the mainstream. The gamble paid off, resulting in one of the most beloved MCU films to date.

In Guardians of the Galaxy, 5 criminals (Star Lord, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Groot and Rocket Racoon) form an unlikely team to stop the warlord Ronan the Accuser from destroying the universe with one of the 6 Infinity Stones.

This film had a lot of items on the list that it needed to check off: Introduce and establish the Guardians, provide enough plot threads for a sequel, AND establish Thanos and the Infinity Stones for a future film (Infinity War). Writer/director James Gunn and his writing partner Nicole Perman balance these tasks wonderfully.

Starting off with an emotional gut-punch of a scene as a young Peter Quill watches his mother die, we are instantly endeared to the cocky and quirky yet saddened Star Lord. Giving the main characters a traumatic past continues with the rest of the crew: Gamora being abducted and tortured by her "father", Rocket being tortured and experimented on, and Drax having his family murdered by the films villain provides enough context for audiences to understand why these characters prefer to work alone, and makes it all the more satisfying when they finally unite.

What makes the film work so well is the dynamic between our 5 leads. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper are excellently cast, playing off of each other as if they had known each other for years. Enough seeds are planted throughout with Nebula, Yondu, and Star Lord's mystery father that by the end of the movie, you cannot wait to go back for another adventure.

Casting directors Sarah Finn and Reg Poerscout-Edgerton deserved an award for assembling this dream team of performers. Even the supporting characters are portrayed by fantastic actors, including Glenn Close, Michael Rooker, Lee Pace, Peter Serafinowics, John C. Reilly, Benicio Del Toro and Djimon Hounsou. Any film would be lucky to have even a quarter of the talent that this film features, showing how dedicated Disney/Marvel Studios was to making the Guardians work.

Truly an adventure comedy, the light-hearted tone is in fact my main criticism. A few times, the comedy undercuts the serious events of the story. This is particularly a problem in the final stand-off with Ronan, one of the least-developed villains in the MCU. Coming off a string of lame-duck villains in Aldrich Killian and Malekith, Ronan does not have near enough screen time to be a convincing foe.

Speaking of screen time, this is also the most screen time Thanos has received until Infinity War. We hear just enough of why he is called the Mad Titan. Gamora and Nebula tell stories of the abuse suffered during their upbringing, and nearly every character tucks and runs when his name is mentioned. It is understandable why Thanos was saved til the end of the MCU's arc, though seeing him in a brief moment of action could have done a lot more to build him up.

The all-star ensemble cast is the defining feature of Guardians of the Galaxy. Meshing so well together that, despite the weak villain and the overuse of comedy, the film is a fun blockbuster that explores new areas within the MCU. FULL PRICE.