***/**** (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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