“Everybody calm down! There’s nothing to see here; it’s just another Marvel movie.” The person who said that must be bonkers because this movie is fantastic. Guardians of the Galaxy is not “just another Marvel movie,” it is “THE” Marvel movie, as in “THE” best one ever displayed on the silver screen. If your thing is badass mixed with some comedy neatly threaded together by a fairly simple plot, you will enjoy. Guardians of the Galaxy, my enlightened friend, is blockbuster glory. Get your popping corn, your Tostitos Nachos, and Pepsi because this is one for the year. It’s all a good time.



I’m sure you’re wondering just who these “Guardian” folk are. Seemingly conjured from the deep opaque recesses of Marvel obscurity, a ragtag crew of unlikely heroes put their best foot forward. Sure, none of them have the same universal recognizability as Thor or Iron Man, but Director James Gunn crafts a cinematic masterpiece in which you hear their stories, absorb their pain and genuinely want to see them succeed in their endeavor, even while knowing they will, you’re kept engaged for every single second of it.

Chris Pratt stars as full time casanova and bounty hunter Peter Quill(Star Lord) whose only ties to Earth are a collection of ‘70s pop songs mementos made by his dying mother, which function as personal soundtracks to his life, always seeming to play at just the right time. By way of inhuman genetic experimentation, we have the talking raccoon named Rocket(voiced by Bradley Cooper), whose grapple with understanding his own existence is highlighted at various points during the story. Rocket’s “muscle” Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) is sentient tree limited to the “vocabulistics” of “I am Groot.” He’s rather basic at first glance, at times eating himself, but within him lies an abundance of talents. Exotic femme fatale Gamora ( portrayed by Zoe Saldana) is the adopted daughter of the supreme villain Thanos, and she works for the genocidal Kree commander Ronan the Accuser ( portrayed by Lee Pace). Drax the Destroyer ( portrayed by David Bautista) is a fearsome alien, who in all his might, is defeated by simple metaphors. His species takes everything literally.

Guardians of the Galaxy is a seamless blend of wackiness and sentimentality and each character offers a unique viewpoint. As cliché as it sounds, they all find a home amongst one another. Rocket and Groot are social pariahs and people make fun of them, in the entire universe they’re the only talking racoon and talking tree combination; Drax’s homeworld was torn asunder and he’s searching for vengeance; only thing Peter has to remember Earth is a walkman; Gamora is subservient to the entity which ruined her life. Even with their faults, checkered pasts and individual tribulations, they find a way to make it all worth something. The humor is light-hearted and action sequences aren’t over abundant, but it’s certainly not lacking. Hollywood did very well with this one.