PCheng's Movie Review: Guardians Of The Galaxy!

When I first heard that Marvel was coming out with a Guardians Of The Galaxy movie it didn't really register on the need to watch scale since it was based on a relatively unknown franchise, although Paul has read the comics so I was sure he was going to be nitpicky about it too. I even read articles online predicting that it would be Marvel's first flop but then I saw the trailer and I was sold! 


The trailer was new, fresh and hilarious! Then the reviews started coming in and they were all gooooooood! Will definitely watch out how it does in the weekend box office. :) 

I'm glad to say that my expectations that it would be a good, nay great movie were met and I can officially say that Guardians Of The Galaxy is my favorite Marvel movie to date! 

I want to watch it again!  

I jumped at the chance to watch Guardians Of The Galaxy, or from here on out GOTG :) and thanks to Cadbury and Nuffnang Paul and I were able to watch it on it's first day screening and for the first time Paul was not shaking his head at the end of the movie. He thinks that Marvel movies are not all that and are oftentimes are all just hype but at the end of GOTG he actually said that it is one of the Marvel movies that he likes -and that is saying a lot!

So - on to the movie review! 

I will proceed and go on without spoilers so you oh dear reader can enjoy it as much as we did. 

A bounty hunter for collectible items or 'ravager' Earthling Peter Quill (Cris Pratt) AKA Star Lord comes across an orb, which a lot of people seem to be looking for, most notably Ronan the Acuser (Lee Pace) a powerful Kree madman bent on destroying the planet Xander.  

In a scuffle to keep the orb safe in his possession Quill ends up in Klyn a maximum security space prison where he makes the most likely of alliances with Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper) - a product of experiments, he is a talking Racoon, tactical and weapons expert he can make a bomb out of your phone. Groot (Vin Diesel) an tree like alien who is Rocket's muscle. Gamora (Zoe Saldana) an assassin and the step daughter of Thanos the mad titan, who makes a cameo in the movie, sans gauntlet. They are joined by Dave Batista (Bautista's) Drax the Destroyer - he takes everything literally so be careful what you say, you wouldn't want to mess anyone with 'the Destroyer' as their street name.    

And yes that is a prosthetic leg -
you have to watch the movie to find out why that's there! 

Together this unlikely group take on a deadly threat, bigger than any of them and it is a great adventure filled with laughs and a little bit of tears. 

I laughed, I cried, I hated the bad guy, I was worried for the characters, for me this completes the recipe for an enjoyable movie. 

Director Dave Gunn made true to his promise that the movie will be character focused and looking back at it, that was the true charm of the movie, through it's characters.  

I loved that the lead characters were not your traditional heroes per say, none of them were the perfect soldier, a god or a sexy assassin. Instead they were the most unlikely of heroes, a rag tag team that made up the misfits of the universe, initially driven by their own selfish goals they found something inside them that would make them genuine heroes. 

The movie, focused on the basic value of friendship, one that we often take for granted and forget. 


A lot of people will be talking about how funny the movie was and this is because it was hilarious and the comedy was well placed, the timing and execution were excellent. 

Even the most climatic part of the movie would have you guffawing with laughter, something I have yet to see or experience. 

Of course you can't write a GOTG review without mentioning Peter Quill's Awesome Mix Volume 1 which made up some of the most amazing songs of the 80s and to which the audience related to. Here are some of the awesome tracks: 

Hooked On A Feeling - Blue Suede 

I want You Back - Jackson 5 

Come And Get Your Love - Red Bone 

Ooh Child - The Five Fairsteps 

Cherry Bomb - The Runaways 

I'm actually listening to some of the songs as I'm typing away :) 

Ha! I don't want to point fingers but someone related to all the songs in the movie (and it wasn't me! It was Paul :P -Generation Gap). I got to get this mix in my playlist! :) 

Probably the biggest disappointment is the after credits clip - No need to wait for it! Although here's a link to the explanation -Warning! Contains Spoilers!-

For a movie set in galaxies and cosmos unknown, Guardians of The Galaxy had a very Earthly heart.    

It really was the characters who were the heart of the movie. Every other action - Marvel - Super Hero movie has great graphics and action scenes but few have the heart that Guardians Of The Galaxy does. 

Movies nowadays depend on 3D and computer graphics to draw in the numbers but then they forget that a good movie should also have characters, the audiences will love and oh man! Do I love these guys! 

Super recommend for you to see it with your family and friends - you won't be disappointed! :)