And so, our adventure through the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes to its close with its most recent release Guardians of the Galaxy - a film set far away from the other films and exists as its own entity, with only Thanos and the existence of Infinity Stones linking it together. But while it's not restrained by the other films surrounding it, and acting like the breather film between juggernauts Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron, it instead holds the task of bringing a C-Grade set of characters to the big screen where the majority of audiences have no idea who the characters are. Other Marvel films so far haven't had this issue, and future ones aside from The Inhumans and possibly Captain Marvel won't either (and the Inhumans are already being set up though Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D as an ongoing storyline), so can a team consisting of a talking tree and raccoon do what Marvel hasn't dared try before?
The story follows Peter 'Star-Lord' Quill (Chris Pratt), a human kidnapped by a group of Ravagers - space pirates of sorts - lead by Yondu Udonta (Michael Rooker) the day his mother dies. 26 years later, he's now a fellow ravager who goes after a mysterious orb which Kree radical Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) is currently after, as part of a bargain offered by the Mad Titan Thanos (Josh Brolin). Upon the discovery that the artefact has been stolen from him, he sends one of Thanos' adopted daughters Gamora (Zoe Saldana) to retrieve it, little knowing that she has her own reasons for obtaining the orb. But following a kerfuffle between Gamora and Quill involving nearby bounty hunters Rocket and Groot (voiced by Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel respectively), the group are arrested and form an alliance alongside fellow prisoner Drax (Dave Bautista) - who has his own grudge against Ronan for killing his wife and daughter. But once they discover the true purpose of the orb and its power, the team have to set aside their differences and become a team to stop Ronan, Gamora's sister Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Korath (Djimon Hounsou) from using it. The story is somewhat similar to Avengers Assemble, by which a band of misfits must put their differences aside to stop an army of aliens lead by someone with history with one member of the team who possesses a powerful artefact...okay, it sounds an awful lot like it. But what sets it aside from its earthbound counterpart Is the actual story that partakes, as it follows these characters inadvertently meeting and only really coming together because they have no choice, rather than being enlisted and feeling obliged to following the loss of a friend of theirs. That being said, that doesn't make it a worse film because of these similarities, it just comes across as a little formulaic on Marvel's behalf.
Chris Pratt was having something of a banner year in 2014 thanks to the earlier success of The LEGO Movie and the continuing adventures of Andy Dwyer in the since-concluded series Parks and Recreation, but his role as Peter Quill is arguably his most successful for just how charismatic his character is. Pratt sells the role with ease, making the long work out done to earn the role worthwhile. Saldana also does a strong job as she returns under the colouring-in seat to go from blue to green, bringing the right amount of emotion to an otherwise heartless killing machine, whilst newbie Bautista's lack of acting chops really sells the character of Drax - a one-noted character whose character trait is that he's blunt in what he does and says. But the big sellers for the film are Rocket and Groot, who are incredibly likable and even bring out the most emotional moment in the film. As for part-time ally Yondu, he's rather enjoyable too with a great scene in the third act revolving around his ominous weapon of choice.
On the bad team sits Lee Pace as Ronan, a truly intimidating villain in performance and physique. He doesn't do a lot but his presence is always appreciated - even if his defeat nearly comes across as too easy. Gillan does good in her first major film role (aside from Oculus), and poor Hounsou is sidelined to mere minion - and not in the strong sense. Other cast members include John C. Reilly and Glenn Close, and both do fine jobs with their small parts as part of the Nova Corps on primary planet Xandar. As for Benicio del Toro, his mad role as the Collector is brief and a character who tells audiences how the film links to the others is rather well done for what could have been a pantomime performance.
Guardians of the Galaxy is blessed with a all-star cast, a great screenplay by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman alongside the great visual work for the film not only in terms of effects but also aesthetics (again, kudos to Gunn). It's a funny film with a brilliant soundtrack and great characters whom I'm sure to be excited for their return in 2017. Of course not every joke works, and it is a little formulaic, but it's still a great film. 9/10.
And that's all for the Marvel Universe until Age of Ultron next week! Expect a review for that on either Tuesday or Wednesday ahead of its Thursday release.
No comments:
Post a Comment