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| Free poster when seeing Guardians on IMAX |
*****WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD******
If you're looking for the most fun this side of the galaxy,
look no further than Guardians of the Galaxy. Marvel brings us the unlikely team
of misfits that must save the galaxy from certain doom. While certainly not The
Avengers (referring to the actual team, not movie), the Guardians bring non-stop laughs, awesome action, spectacular battles,
and a well-conceived story.
***The following is intentionally vague so you can enjoy the
movie without it being ruined by a review***
The Guardians begins many years in the past, setting up our
hero, Star-Lord/Peter Quill. Fast forward 28 years later and we meet our hero
as an adult and rocking out to great 70’s music while dancing and kicking
creatures on a desolate planet. Instantly we know our character: a loner, running
from the past he cannot change, and making his way in the universe any way he
can (odd jobs, stealing precious artifacts, and being an all-around not nice
guy). Not to mention the scene is hilarious and had the audience laughing.
Star-Lord is played by the brilliant actor Chris Pratt, which you may know from
Parks & Rec. Quickly the movie introduces out villain, Ronan the Accuser
and our second main character, Gamora: the son of Thanos and assassin for
Ronan. Her mission, to hunt down what Star-Lord stole and bring it to Ronan. Next,
the comedic but heart-felt duo of Rocket Raccoon and Groot. These two characters
steal the show and have the wittiest and most heart-felt scenes in the movie. Out
on the hunt, Rocket and Groot are trying to capture Star-Lord for a bounty. And
finally, Drax, the man with a dark past
and is out for blood.
All their paths collide within a 15 minute time span. The
script shines when showing us the characters. Their stories are given to us in
a matter of a few minutes per character or through key dialogue and you feel as if you
know everything about them. This works extremely well because rather than spend
the majority of the movie explaining back-story and tacking precious time away
from the plot (the movie runs a little over 2 hours), the movie stays focused
and the action can move forward fluidly. These are characters you feel for,
feel with, and most importantly, care about. The most touching moments occur with Rocket and Groot and when they team is attempting to be good at something but they just don't know how to articulate it well.
The plot is very simple, stop the villain from committing
genocide of entire planets so he can rule the galaxy. There are a few twists
and turns in the plot, but the movie stays grounded to the main story and doesn’t
try to set-up minuet sub-plots and side stories. Because these are unknown
characters in the Marvel universe it’s important to give us everything they’ve
got on the first go and Marvel did just that. The movie is really driven by the
Guardians and the plot was secondary but supported them, fueled them forward, and
inevitable created memorable moments for the Guardians to share. While they
aren’t the clean-cut and organized Avengers, this movies shows us that ordinary
losers can become extraordinary. I, for
one, cannot wait for our second adventure with the Guardians.
However, the whole event was marred by the fact the speakers
blew out before the movie and I (and the rest of the audience) could barely hearing
the characters speak. The sound effects and music were big and loud, but I
missed a lot of what Ronan, Thanos, and Drax said but could piece it together. The 3D was really good but not necessary. I do recommend seeing it on IMAX however.
Needless to say, I will be seeing Guardians of the Galaxy again to enjoy it fully and to just revisit the universe they inhabit and have
some more fun with a Raccoon, a tree, a thief, a killer, and a man with a vengeance.
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