Guardians of the Galaxy

Title: Guardians of the Galaxy
Director: James Gunn
Written by: James Gunn, Nicole Perlman
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker

Guardians of the Galaxy is a study on contradiction. It manages, somehow, to parody its source material – indeed the entire superhero sub-genre – yet, simultaneously, produce a sincere, serious sci-fi adventure movie. It’s subversive and self-referential, but it also conforms to the tropes and parameters established by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to which Guardians, like Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America, belongs. In short, Guardians of the Galaxy, despite its big bankroll and big studio backing, boasts the heart and soul of a budget B-movie. It makes the proceedings a little corny, a little silly, and a lot of fun, and it goes a long way toward making Guardians the best Marvel movie since The Avengers.

Guardians of the Galaxy begins on Earth in 1988. The audience meets a young Peter Quill, who, shortly after losing his mother to cancer, is abducted by an alien spaceship. Fast forward 26 years and Quill, now a professional space pirate, is roaming the galaxy in search of treasure. His latest trophy is a mysterious orb, coveted by the Nova Corps – an intergalactic police force – a genocidal madman named Ronan, and several others. When Quill escapes with the orb, he immediately becomes a wanted man.

Like other movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Guardians borrows the worlds, characters, and technology of Marvel’s comic book collection. Unlike many of them, however, Guardians is interested in the extraterrestrial. The results are some spectacular environments, characters, and alien technology, brought to life by cinematographer Ben Davis (Kick-Ass) and makeup designer David White (Thor: The Dark World, Troy). From the rusty, industrial prison known as the Kyln to the cloudy, rocky, and lifeless basins of the planet Morag, Guardians paints a visually provocative picture of life on the other side of the galaxy (think Star Wars meets Heavy Metal).

The unlikely heroes of Guardians of the Galaxy

Inhabiting these alien worlds and environments are the true stars of Guardians of the Galaxy, the motley crew of anti-heroes charged with protecting the galaxy. In addition to Quill (Chris Pratt), there’s Gamora (Zoe Saldana), an assassin with a mysterious past; Drax (Dave Bautista), a muscle man tortured by the death of his wife and child; and, the dynamic duo of the ensemble, Rocket, an anthropomorphic raccoon, and Groot, a sentient tree creature. Rocket, voiced by Bradley Cooper, and Groot, voiced by Vin Diesel, bring a healthy amount of energy and emotion to the movie. Their Han Solo-Chewbacca relationship provides some of the biggest laughs and saddest moments of the movie.

The breakout star of Guardians, however, has to be Pratt, whose muscular, wise-cracking, womanizing Quill is a far cry from the doughy slacker Pratt portrays on the TV show Parks and Recreation. His character, greedy for profit but willing to risk his life for a treasured keepsake, is the anchor that a space opera like Guardians needs. Without him, and director James Gunn’s ironic and knowing screenplay, the movie could easily have become a leaden, self-serious mess. Fortunately, for viewers, the exact opposite is true. Guardians is a breezy, wacky ride full of accidental heroes and fantastic alien worlds that embraces the heritage of Saturday morning serials and pulp fiction. It’s a B-movie with a AAA budget, and it’s all the better for it.