[Last Film I Saw] Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) [7/10]

Title: Guardians of the Galaxy
Year: 2014
Country: USA, UK
Language: English
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Director: James Gunn
Writers:
James Gunn
Nicole Perlman
Dan Abnett
Andy Lanning
Music: Tyler Bates
Cinematography: Ben Davis
Cast:
Chris Pratt
Zoe Saldana
Dave Bautista
Vin Diesel
Bradley Cooper
Lee Pace
Michael Rooker
Karen Gillan
Djimon Hounsou
John C. Reilly
Glenn Close
Benicio Del Toro
Christopher Fairbank
Gregg Henry
Sean Gunn
Peter Serafinowicz
Laura Haddock
Stan Lee
Josh Brolin
Ophelia Lovibond
Rating: 7/10

Leaving the Avengers behind, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY heralds the 2nd phase in the Marvel's silver screen expedition as IRON MAN (2008, 8/10) kick-started the 1st phase. But who is James Gunn? whose director résumé only encompasses the gooey horror SLITHER (2006) and a superhero indie SUPER (2010).

Watched it in 3D, the film is a hyper-diverting adventurer amalgamated with slick action set pieces, legit humour and emotion and spectacular visual impact, the chemistry among its quintet coterie is potently pleasing, the comic timing is on the nose, and the most euphonic trait is its 70s-retro soundtrack, which is a killing nostrum to identify itself among Marvel's other imposing juggernauts.

It is hard not to compare this to the STAR WARS series, an inter-galactic combat assembling unlikely heroes (various species) to prevent an evil (and dark elfish) super-villain, Ronan the Accuser (Pace), whose intent is to acquire a mighty orb (the McGuffin) to rule (or destroy) the universe. As the first chapter, naturally, it turns out that Ronan is merely a minion, there is much more overpowering force behind.

The team includes Peter Quill (Pratt), aka. Starlord, a 30 something human; Gamora (Saldana), a green-coloured assassin trained by Thanos (an uncredited cameo by Josh Brolin); Rocket, a cybernetic raccoon (voiced by Bradley) and his best friend Groot, a creature with the appearance of a walking tree and limited vocabularies (the viral I'm Groot! voiced by Diesel), and Drax the Destroyer, a red-tattooed brawny muscle (Bautista). The film is at the top of its game when the 5 gather together, bickering and jesting, they never take this saving-the-universe deal too serious, unless things deteriorate into the moment when self-sacrifice is exigently needed, surprisingly Rocket and Groot are granted much more humanity than their human-shaped comrades. Even in the crucial showdown scenes, when Starlord and Ronan stand face to face, a playful stunt conveniently eases audience from the edge of the seat, if the characters themselves don't engage in the plot, why should we the rubbernecks?

Bad-drafted villain is always a frailty in Marvel's kingdom, Ronan is so plainly written, the supposed career boost of Lee Pace is still unaccomplished, so is Hounsou's Korath, while Gamora's vicious sister Nebula (Gillan) is in no better condition, but at least her storyline will continue. Yondu Udonta (Rooker) is between friend or foe, whose sentient arrow is the wow factor one wishes it will keep shooting in the next instalment. Benicio Del Toro as the Collector and Glenn Close as Nova Prime, both have meagre screen time, no chance to run the show.

Aimed to nostalgia and accompanies Starlord's Han Solo carefree flair, the mixtape hits from 70s are unexpectedly well manoeuvred, devoid of a present-day background, it is a smart move, and more poignantly, the obsolete walkman emanates a strong connection between a guilty son and his deceased mother, no upbeat rhythm can beat that! No wonder its soundtrack is already a No.1 selling album in USA.

In conclusion, the film is an above-average marvel production, great job for Gunn and his team, establishes a ragbag of loveable roles besides the Avengers assembly, and it has the prospects to be the STAR WARS of this generation, intriguingly, the rebooted Star Wars sequel is also heading towards us, soon we will find which one is the bona fide winner. But one must confess, Marvel does have an upper hand with the ultra-success of this picture.

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Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench