By Kyle Osborne
I was sick of the preview trailer by this past Spring, and having never heard of the Guardians of the Galaxy, I figured that Marvel Comics had finally run out of super heroes to star in zillion dollar movies, and had gotten desperate.
Ah, but it’s nice to be surprised. “Guardians of the Galaxy” ends up being a great super hero movie, in part, by breaking the rules of super hero movies.
Chris Pratt, essentially continuing his sort of “Bro” persona which he perfected on “Parks and Recreation” is Peter Quill, an intergalactic treasure hunter—like the thief-y kind of treasure hunter. Quill obtains a silver orb thingie that has powers that I can’t even get into with you now, but let’s say it’s something that people are willing to kill for, or at the very least, develop a movie plot around.
But who cares about plot—what’s fun is watching this Junior Varsity Marvel team get off the bench and throw it through the window. If you had to re-title the movie, you could call it “Snark Wars”, because every character has a tude, and makes the most of it.
The affable Pratt, who grew up in Lake Stevens, Washington, wins us over with his doofus vibe and a Walkman filled with great early to mid 70’s pop and R&B hits. He’s joined by Zoe Saldana who sports the most appealing shade of Avocado you’ve seen since the Brady Bunch’s kitchen appliances, and Bradley Cooper voices Rocket the raccoon with a hilarious blend of Oh, yeah and Oy vey.
Even the typecasting works out. A lot of folks would argue that Vin Diesel is a wooden actor, and here he literally plays a tree. A tree whose only line, oft repeated, is “My name is Groot.” And guess what? Diesel really brings some kind of, I don’t know, “Treemanity” to the character, who you will love.
Watching these guys get in and out of trouble for two hours was a joy. The production is better than it had to be, the witty lines and sharp deliveries—it all goes very well. It does have more plot to it for those who care, but it doesn’t require you to have your laminated nerd badge in order to get through it with a smile.
And at a tight two hours, it’s the shortest super hero film you’ll have seen in memory.
So, 3 ½ out of 4 Stars for “Guardians of the Galaxy.” They’re like “The Expendables”, except they’re actually hip, instead of needing of hip-replacements.
Watch The Official Trailer