Review Tuesday: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

When I saw the first movie poster for 

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 

I wondered what Marvel was thinking. They have so many interesting titles, why this one???

A team of misfits are forced to work together to, reluctantly, save the universe.

I know that synopsis seems rather grandiose for a movie about misfits, but it's dead on. 

The movie starts off with a Peter Quill, as a child, at his mother's death-bed back during the 80s. After she passes he runs off into a field and is picked up by we later learn are interstellar bandits called Ravagers, lead by Yondo Udonta (played by Michael Rooker - Merle from TWD). Next thing we know time fast-forwards by a couple decades and Quill (played by Chris Pratt) is a full grown man, who is also a clever fighter, con-man, and thief. 

And he now goes by the name STARLORD.

On the first mission we see Quill go on, to retrieve some orb, he gets himself into some serious trouble with troops sent by Ronan (evil super villain played by Lee Pace) lead by Korath (Djimon Hounsou) and manages to get himself out of it. That scene set the pace for the rest of the film because Quill double-crossed his boss (and in a way, father figure) Yondo. In turn Yondo put a bounty on Quill's head. Ronan also sends Gamora (Zoe Saldana) to bring back the orb. 

Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) are bounty hunters who were trying to bag Quill at the moment that Gamora made her move. The mayhem that ensued got them all arrested and thrown in prison. There they met Drax (Dave Bautista) who has a score to settle with Ronan.

Of course they manage an impressive escape and from there the REAL action starts!

Nothing I have told is really a spoiler at all. It might be the first fifteen minutes of this 121 minute flick. There's plenty to see! 

Originally I questioned most of the choices for the cast for this movie. Of course I was fine with Zoe Saldana. Paint her blue, or green or whatever, she'll look amazing on the screen and do a fine job. Vin Diesel for voice work? C'mon! Who would ever say, yeah, he's got the voice we need for this character, but as a but dumb tree creature who only said I AM GROOT, Vin was a good choice. I've always said that Bradley Cooper had a ferret face, so it was an easy transition in my mind to hear his voice coming out of a raccoon. Chris Pratt hasn't ever really hit my radar so I had no opinion of him before the movie, but now I think he's very capable and his price quote will probably skyrocket after GOTG grossed nearly $100 mill in its opening weekend, breaking all sorts of records.

The rest of the cast was impressive, and well chosen. It was interesting to see some big names in small supporting and ensemble roles and cameos. 

The special effects were seamless and perfect. The story was solid and not convoluted.  

I would rate this movie was quite good and very entertaining. Worth the price of admission. What surprises me even more is that most reviewers AGREE with me on those points. I am still shocked to see comic book movies getting a fair shake from the all-too-profound reviewers. So hey, everyone agrees, see this fun movie!

Some additional information on this franchise. As I understand it, The Guardians Of The Galaxy was an old comic book title from the 70s that was recently rebooted. There's a common villain who shows up in other Marvel titles, THANOS. In the books Captain American and Iron Man show up. Understandably there's the link to crossover the franchises. Who knows what they have planned specifically, but we know for certain there will be a GOTG sequel.   

POSSIBLE SPOILER: I didn't think the Easter Egg after the credits was worth the wait. This I WILL spoil. Howard the Duck? really??? Please tell me they are NOT planning to reboot that one.

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