Movie Review: The Guardians of the Galaxy.

The Guardians of the Galaxy are a team that’s close to my heart. They’re my crew, my guys. A bunch of misfits awkwardly thrust together, their missions usually staggered and suicidal, yet somehow the bond of friendship between these guys is stronger than anything you find in the Avengers. The Avengers was a great film, why? Because it leapt in head first from the very start, full steam ahead, with action and fun and a story that could get going from the first scene and never let up. This was possible because every character within it had been established in a film all their own, the slow parts already taken care of, as it were. What do you do when you start a new film, and have to echo the same breakneck pace of story, with five all new heroes and a handful of new villains, without the time to fill in the backstory?

Guardians gives us hints at our heroes’ backstories, but this is no origin tale. Who they were perhaps isn’t too important, it’s who they are from now on that counts.

We open on our hero, Star-Lord. The sad story of the loss of his mother haunting his past, Peter Quill was raised to the stars by the happening by of the mercenary Yondu, and has spent his entire adult life among the world beyond. Our introduction to our new leading man sees him searching the mysterious ruin of an alien city, his treads light, observations keen, like a trench-clad Indiana Jones. That is of course, until he pulls out his beloved 1980’s era Walkman. Headphones on, Star-Lord dances and skips his way through the ruins with a swagger to rival Jagger. He’s got a sass smarmier than Tony Stark, and with it he saunters into the ruin to reclaim the film’s whole MacGuffin, the orb.

It’s a bit tired that the whole film, and indeed pretty much all our heroes and indeed our villains revolve around the orb. But then that is of course, pretty damn comic book: someone’s always trying to steal an Infinity Gem or a Cosmic cube, and wield the terrible power it grants. Simple as this premise is, story driven this film is indeed not. It takes a while to get started, and a few of the earlier scenes involving the protagonists are a little shaky. Our first introductions to Ronan, Gamora and Nebula happen all in one scene, which is a little much to swallow, especially to those members of the audience not familiar already with these characters.

A little better paced with their introduction are the films class act duo, Rocket and Groot. Both these characters are charming, funny, and well implemented. Rocket is crass and sharp from the first moment, as he almost narrates his own introduction scene. His buddy Groot being weird from the first moment, drinking from a water fountain. They’re bounty hunters, it’s an easy enough setup, and we don’t really need to know much more. The narrative here takes place on the idyllic future world of Xandar, the home to the Nova corps. The Nova corps are an intergalactic police force, and boast some tremendous character actors amongst their number, with Glenn Close, John C Reilly and Peter Serafinowicz all making appearances. It’s here on Xandar that our heroes are dragged together in a simple cohesion of events, Star-Lord trying to sell his stolen orb, Gamora on a mission from Ronan to steal it from him, and Rocket and Groot eager to catch the bounty on Star-Lord. It happens fast, they seem to be buddies awfully quickly, but it does the job. In short order four of our five heroes are thrust together, interacting. Hints at Rocket’s and Gamora’s past are suggested throughout these scenes, giving a little extra flesh to what we know about them, but we’re not dragged into any heavy exposition to slow down the narrative. It keeps up the pace, and lets us go with it.

 

 

Gamora, a green painted Zoe Saldana, is not terrible, but not the eye-catching ass-kicking female lead she really needs to be. Usual female character tropes are avoided for the most part; she doesn’t need help from the boys, suffers no romantic delusions, and no matter how hard he tries, Star-Lord just can’t get in her pants. Her outfits are modest, there’s no skin scenes, and the writers treat her like an actual woman, believe it or not. We’re introduced to Gamora and her sister Nebula as assistants to Ronan. I’m concerned that their relationship with Thanos, Ronan, and indeed each other isn’t quite clear enough to those who don’t already know it however, as it’s a fair bit rushed over.

 

Our heroes are thusly thrust together in a filthy intergalactic prison, and it’s here where they begin to really develop. Rocket’s technical genius shining, reminding the audience that this little furry guy is smarter than Tony Stark, Star Lord tries his hardest to romance Gamora, and is swiftly rebuffed, and just when you’ve forgotten about the fifth member of the team, he makes his appearance.

 

Drax is a surprising standout member of the cast. Comic fans may balk that his backstory, demeanor, and indeed overall character have quite changed from the source, but I’d say it’s a solid and enjoyable set of changes. Drax is a muscle bound, tattooed warrior, hardheaded and stoic, with his mind set on revenge against Ronan for killing his family. At first his character seems oddly played, but a few scenes in, it’s clear how much fun Dave Bautista is having playing Drax. The idea is that Drax takes everything absolutely literally, and it’s used to great comedy potential. Dave does a great job, and I was surprised to find just how much I enjoyed his performance.

 

Once the five Guardians are together, our story can continue. The separation between the act structures is a little tenuous, moving more or less at the same pace the whole film through. It’s a speedy pace, and keeps up the action throughout, but certainly leaves the whole experience feeling a little choppy here and there. After a daring escape from the prison that holds them, the orb in tow, the Guardians follow their information on the object’s original buyer to a location on the far edges of the galaxy, the mining colony of Knowhere, located in the decapitated head of a celestial creature the size of a planet.

Amongst the gritty mining colony of Knowhere, the archetypal sci-hi hive of scum and villainy, that we finally get to catch up with The Collector. Sadly, Benicio Del Toro’s wonderfully eccentric character only appears for a scant few minutes, which is mainly exposition as to the origins of the mysterious and powerful Infinity stone within the orb, and just why everyone wants to get their hands on it so much. I know there really wasn’t much more to do with him, and his character may have worn thin soon, but it would have been good to see a little more of such an interesting personality.

 

 

It’s here on Knowhere that we get glimpses into the inner workings of our heroes’ heads. We find Rocket and Drax bonding over betting on bloodsport, while Groot watches on in horror. Star-Lord tries in vein to tell Gamora just how much he loves music and dancing, failing to impress to stony eyed assassin, and when the team ends up in a drunken bar room brawl over an insult, you get the feeling this is the sort of back on forth camaraderie and animosity that real friends go through, the real personality of this team coming together.

Drax puts his foot in it, of course, when he stumbles drunkenly out of the bar and signals Ronan in an angry rage, challenging the accuser to come and get him, leading to an all-out Star Wars style space battle with mechs, lasers and explosions in space. All that good stuff. When the dust settles, a hero lies in jeopardy and the stone in the hands of evil, the only one the Guardians have left to turn to is the brutal mercenary forces of Star-Lord’s adoptive father, Yondu.

Yondu couldn’t be more different than he was in the comics, really. Gone is the contemplative native-American allegory in favor of a hard bitten biker type, played by the Walking Dead’s Merle, Micheal Rooker. With a glowing metal Mohawk that flares with power at the use of his sonic controlled arrow, Yondu rescues the Guardians and together they head out to rescue Xandar from the encroaching forces of Ronan, and take back the orb that caused all the trouble. Everything comes back to Xandar for the showdown, as Ronan descends from the skies to wreak havoc on the peaceful world below, the power of the Infinity stone enough to rend the whole planet asunder. While the combined forces of the Nova Corps gather to repel the invasion force, The Guardians form a splinter group to get into Ronan’s ship, and put an end to the big man himself.

The villain of the piece, Ronan the Accuser, is less of a character and more of a force. He reminds me somewhat of Nero in Star Trek. Both powerful men with armies below them, driven onward by a single cause. Be it revenge in Nero’s case, or simply utter destruction in Ronan’s. I personally was very disappointed with Ronan’s character in this film. When our heroes are so fleshed out, and so funny and enjoyable to watch, it’s a shame the villain isn’t nearly as much so. The character as written in the comics is remarkably complex, trying to do what is best for his kind, whilst skirting law and generally being a stone cold fascist, but an inherently moral man. Lee Pace’s Ronan, on the other hand, is simply a terrorist, bent on destruction. Seemingly not even against someone who personally wronged him, but simply the opposing side of a political treaty he disagrees with. It’s easy to see him as the villain, what with wanting to destroy planets and such, but when our heroes are so enjoyable, it’s a shame the villain isn’t equally so.

The arch villain on the other hands, the Mad Titan Thanos, is finally given his formal introduction to the Marvel cinematic universe here, and whilst he only gets a few short scenes, it’s a solid job of getting the audience familiar with a character who will be very important later. Played by a stern voiced Josh Brolin, Thanos controls the fates of hero and villain alike from behind the scenes, and is simply a looming threat in this story, waiting to take center stage in a later film. His scene will thrill fans of the comics, and does a good job of making you want a little more of the mad titan on your screen.

The film’s climax, compared to the rest of the film, might be considered overlong, it arrives a little before you might expect, and stays longer than you might desire, but regardless of its pacing issues, it’s a spectacle. Guardians incredible special effects are at some of their best here, between the glittering streets of Xandar and the stone cold tomb like interiors of Ronan’s ship, there is amazing stage design going on everywhere. So many characters are involved, it’s a huge ballet of team effort of a final battle, and here is probably what I liked most about it: It is a real team effort. Everyone has a part to play, a friend to support. This is not Star-Lord and the Guardians of the Galaxy. This is not Hulk defeating Loki and Iron Man stopping the bomb whilst somewhere the rest of the Avengers are standing around whistling. The film’s final crescendo on Xandar, as Ronan prepares to ignite the stone and lay waste to his hated enemy, with only the Guardians standing against him, as a united team, was a perfect example of this. I was thrilled to see the team united against him, as one.

What did I learn from Guardians of the Galaxy? I learned that five heroes can be written well, and given their own chance to shine. I learned that Bradley Cooper is a pretty damn good voice actor. He brings our snappy remarks and laughs and tears in a voice genuinely not his own, and all quite convincingly. I learned how to pronounce d’ast. I learnt that there is still a solid appreciation for creature shop out there, with everything but Rocket and Groot themselves being real people in incredible makeup effects as opposed to CGI characters. In the face of some of the most impressive special effects I’ve ever seen, the costuming and real makeup is still scene stealingly outstanding, particularly the hodgepodge of alien races that make up Yondu’s crew.

Most importantly, I learned that you can make a film, and make it about a team. Not the leader of a team with backup, but about the whole team. Star-Lord may be our lead, but nothing would happen without the constant interaction of the other Guardians. The villain is defeated by all of them, together. It’s a lot of work to squeeze in the characters they do, and the film certainly suffers for its high speed being crushed between plot development and characterization at times, but the people we meet are great fun, we’re introduced to a villain bigger than the whole story just waiting in the sidelines for a wider world to conquer, and The Guardians of the Galaxy are an enjoyable enough bunch of misfits to be welcomed back onto the screen.

All I can hope for is more Cosmo next time.