As last Saturday was spent running around a field in the Lake District (and wading through chest-deep mud for "fun") I decided to spend last Sunday sitting down and doing very little that felt like using energy at all - in fact I used it to catch up on a few films that I'd been wanting to see but hadn't got around to.
So 11:30am found me wandering through the pretty deserted Odeon Printworks in Manchester to catch #1 in this 8 hour comic-book-adaptation-fest, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
One of Marvel's lesser known super-hero "teams" is the self-titled Guardians of the Galaxy (GotG). The movie is inspired by the comic book of the same name (which I won't go into here but can be found by simple consultation of your favourite search engine) and serves as book an "origin" story for the group and a first foray into what will no doubt turn into multiple adventures in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Led by Earth-born scavenger Peter Quill (also known as Star Lord) this is the definition of a rag-tag bunch. Quill was abducted from Earth as a young boy and found himself drifting through the universe as a part-time bounty hunter, scavenger, thief etc..
As is often the case with these characters, their life is turned upside down by contact with something big and all-encompassing, leaving them no choice but to turn from what they knew and become someone else. GotG is no different and that is exactly what happens early on in the script. This cliched entry doesn't feel wrong though, sometimes there is no other way to start a story!
Quickly he is joined (through various mishaps and high-jinks) by the beautiful Gamora, the physically imposing Drax the Destroyer, wise-cracking racoon Rocket and his "muscle", the tree-like Groot. Facing them is (again, as usual) someone who wants to destroy the world, or in this case one particular world. Ronan is the bad guy in this instance and he is more than a bit deranged! You always know the Guardians will win, as that is how these things work, but the trick with these movies is making you wait for that moment and keeping enough back so it doesn't become to obvious from way out.
So plot wise there is nothing special here, but that isn't the charm of this movie. This movie works and the reason in works is the snappy dialogue and the expertly put together cast. GotG is much more fun and irreverant than other Marvel offerings, and the participants appear to be having more fun playing in this sandbox.
Chris Pratt (Quill) is always a bit "goofy" and he works really well in the lead role here. There are great turns from Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Batista (Drax) and from the villains Lee Pace (Ronan) and a barely recognisable Karen Gillan (Amy Pond for those of us Doctor Who fans - who plays Nebula). There is also a bizarre 5 minute cameo from Benicio del Toro.
The star of the show for me though is Bradley Cooper as Rocket. An genetically modified and enhanced racoon with a penchant for big guns, great plans and general mayhem gives Cooper the perfect playground on which to crack-wise; and he does. This is not Oscar winning material by any stretch but it is funny, smart and very keen to poke fun at its own genre without resorting to crudity or cheap laughs.
I love the Marvel Universe movies but they can be a bit "cookie-cutter" with lots of set pieces and pretty panful dialogue sometimes. I found GotG to be funny, well-cast and with a decent enough storyline to carry it along to its typically explosive conclusion. It is definitely one of the movies I've been pleasantly surprised by recently and I'm looking forward to the sequel already!
Verdict: 4.5 stars out of 5
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