MOVIES: Guardians of the Galaxy - Review

First there was Iron Man, then came Avengers and then, for some, and for the shortest time yet, The Winter Soldier held the crown but now there’s a new best Marvel movie in town and it’s gonna be a tough one to beat; believe the hype, Guardians of the Galaxy is seriously fantastic!

This film has always been all about the team, if one character didn’t work, the whole movie would fail but both individually and as a whole you couldn’t ask for more from The Guardians. What’s particularly impressive is that while Avengers needed standalone films to set-up its heroes, Guardians is able to build sympathetic, believable characters as well as a hugely entertaining team dynamic in the space of one 2-hour movie.  

Going into this it was a pretty sure bet that Rocket, Groot and Star-Lord would be a lot of fun but the real surprise here is Dave Bautista’s Drax; the character who seemed from the promos to be the one-note, fight-scene-only muscle, actually gets some of the best lines thanks to his species’ inability to process sarcasm and metaphor (‘nothing goes over my head, my reflexes are too fast’). Zoe Saldana’s Gamora isn’t the token female either, instead of standing in a corner pouting and flaunting her assets she’s very much a part of the fun (Kevin Bacon. You’ll get that when you see it) with, arguably, the best fight scenes, and she plays a hugely important role in the team, knocking some sense into the immature boys.

Not content with being the funniest and having some of the best characters, Guardians is also undoubtedly the most stylish of all Marvel’s offerings. Director James Gunn has created a world of bold, bright retro-futurism at its best and every location is an individual feast for the eyes. The character design is gorgeous too, especially in the case of the CG Rocket and Groot, and Karen Gillan as Nebula looks so unspeakably cool that its difficult to concentrate on anything else when she is (sadly a little too infrequently) on screen. Speaking of cool, a factor hugely important in dictating the tone of the film, and almost a character in its own right, the soundtrack is one of the ingredients that really cements Guardians’ distinctiveness. It’s the film’s heartbeat, accentuating the movie’s humour, poignancy and an infectious rebelliousness that kids and adults will love alike.

Exploding with laugh-out-loud humour, eye-watering style and unique characters you will genuinely find yourself rooting for, Guardians is a triumph of Galactic proportions. Go and see it! You’re welcome.

(P.S. Make sure to check back on Friday for a second opinion on the film from regular reviewer Matthew Newlin)