Guardians of the Galaxy Opens on 8/1/14 {Movie Review}

From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team—the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.

In Guardians of the Galaxy, Gunn has found the perfect medium to break from his usual genre and display his talents in an entirely different arena. Walking into the theater for the premiere of Guardians I was a bit apprehensive not knowing what to expect.As a comic enthusiast (my son

As a comic enthusiast (my son Norrin is named after a Marvel character) I was also curious how the plot line for Guardians was going to play out. Much to my surprise and delight, GOTG delivered a space opera on comedic steroids.From the soundtrack to the out of this world visuals,

From the soundtrack to the out of this world visuals, GOTG is a movie that can truly be enjoyed by all. It was refreshing to see a movie skip the epic score route and just hit you with pop hits of the ’70s and ’80s. From the lows of “I’m not in Love” to the highs of “Cherry Bomb” every song seemed to just fit in its own unique way. I mean the “O-O-H Child” dance off scene is an immediate classic.

The spaceship battle scenes are on par with anything that I have seen to date, and stand on their own in terms of ship design. GOTG used 3D filming correctly to immerse you in this world, and it made the visuals that more stunning. If you have the opportunity to see it in 3D I could not recommend it more highly.

Each character is a misfit in his or her right and brings their unique personality traits to the table. Peter Quill aka Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) is the de facto man-child leader of this rag tag bunch. His backstory endears you to him almost immediately, and makes it easy to root for him.

Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is the love interest/femme fatale who you are not sure what her intentions are and always keeps you guessing.

Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) is a complex character. The reason he is called “The Destroyer” is Herculean in its tragedy, but it’s all the more reason to cheer for him.

The CGI duo of Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) play on the classic double act of straight man/funny man. However, I felt these roles changed over the course of the movie with great comedic results. They too come to the team with stories of not so enviable pasts and tales of tragedy.

My personal favorite was Yondu played by Michael Rooker. As a fan of this character and of Rooker’s, I never would have imagined Yondu portrayed with a southern drawl and attitude. However, Rooker makes the character his own and steals every scene he’s in.

The Guardians of the Galaxy was such a blast to experience. Its underlying theme of finding a place to belong and the importance of teamwork and family makes this the perfect family adventure to enjoy this summer. A sequel is hopefully a no brainer. Now excuse me while I geek this out.

Disclaimer: We were provided with movie passes to preview Guardians of the Galaxy. No other compensation was provided. All opinions are our own.