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'Guardians of the Galaxy' (12A)



***/**** (3.5 stars)

DVD Release

After stealing a strange orb, Peter Quill finds himself at the centre of an intergalactic manhunt. After being thrown into prison, he and a small group of felons, battle against the odds to save the universe from Ronan the Accuser.

The Marvel-verse is far more complex than I had ever realised. It turns out that Stan Lee has created an entire universe, full of characters, each with their own individual, and interlocking, stories. Guardians expands upon the world that we have become so familiar with thanks to the Avengers films, and makes it even more ludicrous and ridiculous than ever before. Peter Quill, or Star Lord, is a bounty hunter. Kidnapped from Earth as a child, and now living out his adult years in faraway constellations, he is the archetypal loveable rogue character, played with a great deal of affection by Chris Pratt. In a convoluted turn of events, Quill joins forces with Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista, gifted with some of the best lines of the film), and, I kid you not, a talking raccoon, Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and a tree-thing, Groot (Vin Diesel), who can only say ‘I am Groot’ in varying tones. It is refreshing to have such a diverse mix of characters on screen, and, being such a fast-paced and action-packed film, you don’t stop to think about the shoe-horned character development. It looks great, too, with numerous colourful explosions, set-pieces packed full of detail, and excellent external shots of massive spaceships, which will please the inner-child in any viewer. Alongside this is the wonderful soundtrack, filled with such classics as Blue Swede’s ‘Hooked on a Feeling’ and 10CC’s ‘I’m Not in Love’. It’s a lovely touch, and it definitely provides a feel-good vibe in, what is essentially, a very silly film.

Is it perhaps just a little too silly, however? Even for a Marvel film, it is pretty far out there, with a talking raccoon, an animated tree, an orgy of colourful explosions, and a plot so bonkers you could write a dissertation on it. Also, for a children’s film (because, let’s face it, these are children’s films), there is a surprising amount of swearing, and also rather a lot of violence. I appreciate that it is comic-book violence, but I was still a little taken aback at the constant punching, throat-grabbing, and numerous counts of people being hit over the head with blunt objects. As with all Marvel films, the final showdown lasts way to long, and could easily have been trimmed down by at least fifteen minutes. There comes a point in every one of the franchise’s outings where the villain appears to have been defeated, only for him to pop up again for one final battle, and at these points I always inwardly groan. The same is, unfortunately, true of Guardians – just kill them properly the first time!

An enjoyable and far more light-hearted Marvel outing than the last few, Guardians is a colourful, outrageous and occasionally amusing saunter around the galaxy with a bunch of rag-tag heroes. Laced with references to other films in the franchise, it makes for a fast-paced action-adventure, accompanied by an excellent soundtrack. Undoubtedly the film that will make Chris Pratt a star, it’s certainly worth a look – just leave your adult-brain at the door.

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