Film review: Guardians Of The Galaxy (12A)

Guardians Of The Galaxy 3D review

GALACTICOS: From the left – Groot (Vin Diesel), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Drax (Dave Bautista).

These days, I tend to look forward to Marvel films more than any others – and I imagine there are quite a few of you out there that will feel the same.

All of the Captain America, Thor and Iron Man movies, along with (of course) The Avengers Assemble, have been enjoyable cinematic experiences over the years.

But there seems to have been an air of apprehension surrounding Guardians Of The Galaxy, which introduces the ‘cosmic Avengers’ to Marvel’s ever-expanding universe.

I for one have seen plenty of dissenting remarks about ‘talking racoons’ and ‘walking trees’ after the airing of the trailers.

But you need not worry – Guardians is comfortably up there with the very best Marvel films made to date.

Everything here centres around Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), who was forced to grow up in the galaxy after being abducted from earth as a child. Quill also goes by the alias of Star-Lord (well, that’s what he calls himself, at least) and has made a name for himself looting galactic treasure.

We meet him during a mission to pinch a small silver orb – and it soon becomes clear that pretty much everyone in the galaxy wants a piece of it.

One way or another, that sets Star-Lord on a collision course with Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (ex-WWE man Dave Bautista), Rocket (the aforementioned racoon, voiced by Bradley Cooper) and Groot (yep, the humanoid tree, voiced by Vin Diesel).

These guys aren’t your traditional heroes and don’t initially have all that much in common, but watching them become a team is both epic and hilarious in equal measure.

It’s hard to go much further into the story without spoiling, but what I will say is that Marvel uber-villain Thanos (Josh Brolin) has designs on the orb – and delegates his daughter Nebula (Karen Gillen) and the evil Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) to track it down.

That puts Quill and co in the crossfires of the most feared force in the galaxy… and boy does it kick off.

I mentioned at the top of this review that Rocket and Groot were being trash talked a little pre-film.

As it turns out, they are now among my favourite Marvel movie characters.

Cooper exudes sarcasm as the pint-sized racoon – and I challenge anyone watching not to have a soft spot for the character. Similarly, Diesel’s Groot may only utter three words at a time – but he provides a large slice of the many laugh out loud moments.

They come into the story as partners and, for me, are an absolute revelation.

Pratt is also expertly cast as Star-Lord. His first lead role in a genuine blockbuster (he’s also signed up for next year’s Jurassic World), Pratt is both confident and cocky in equal measure, while also delivering some classic one-liners.

I was also surprised with just how good Bautista was. Better known as a wrestler, his Drax gets plenty of screen time and enjoyed some of the film’s best moments.

Saldana (Avatar, Star Trek) is as impressive as ever as Gamora too, while there are also great cameos from Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead) and Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond).

It should also be noted that there’s a strong 80s theme to the soundtrack, which worked better than I imagined and really helped some of the more light-hearted scenes.

It almost goes without saying when it comes to a Marvel offering, but Guardians looks amazing too.

I watched it in 3D and it was one of those that really immersed me in the action. The fight scenes, particularly towards the end, really took my breath away.

It’s going to be interesting to see where Guardians slots into the wider Marvel universe. They don’t get too much screen time, but the appearance of Thanos and The Collector (Benicio Del Toro) offer hope that Star-Lord and his team may come across the series’ more established heroes further down the line.

I, for one, can’t wait to see what happens to the Guardians next and would strongly recommend this to anyone – Marvel fan or not.

Rating: 4.5/5 (Watched at West End Cinema, Boston)