Guardians of the Galaxy

Peter Quill has never been the 'hero' type. Oh sure, he acts like a big shot around the ladies, but it's really all for show. Ever since he was abducted from Earth as a young boy by a renegade intergalactic pirate by the name of Yondu (who by the way, would argue that he 'saved' Quill), Quill's been walking the fine line between good and bad - though more often than not getting into trouble. 26 years after his abduction from Earth, Quill is a treasure hunter on a quest to recover a mysterious orb for a client. Along the way he runs into two bounty hunters hired to capture him named Rocket Racoon and Groot, as well as an angry human-turned-killing-machine named Drax the Destroyer bent on revenge against a Kree warrior named Ronan the Accuser who killed his family. Also on the hunt for the orb is Gamora, the adopted daughter of Thanos the Mad Titan. When each of these five people meet up, they realize that the orb everyone seems to be going after is actually a dangerous weapon which could destroy entire planets if Thanos or Ronan ever possessed it. They then band together to keep the orb away from both Thanos and Ronan and hopefully save the galaxy.

Guardians of the Galaxy opens the door wide open to (sorry, had to say it) new frontiers as it is the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to travel into the far reaches of space instead of staying grounded on Earth. Guardians is being widely regarded as one of the best, if not the best Marvel film to date; and for once, I think I might actually agree. It has everything that has made the Cinematic Universe a success: a mix of action, comedy, with a bit of more tragic moments; and it amps it up tenfold. Thankfully, it didn't end up being as bad as Thor: The Dark World, or Iron Man 3. Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Vin Diesel as the sentient tree Groot, and Bradley Cooper as Rocket Racoon have great chemistry onscreen that is fun to watch as the story progresses. I loved Rocket's sarcastic humor, and Drax's inability to comprehend metaphors. With Groot, who in the film is a sentient tree that is only able to say "I am Groot!", he manages to become one of my favorite characters. Groot is someone who can be terrifying when in the heat of battle, yet at the same time be a gentle giant of sorts. Guardians of the Galaxy is a story that even people who have never heard of the comic book before (like me) will enjoy.

Even though Guardians is a near-perfect film, it's not without its problems. Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser felt massively underused, despite him completely owning the scenes he is in. There were times that it also felt a bit rushed, but not enough to ruin the story. In the beginning, the soundtrack threw me off, because it ended up being made of mostly '80's classic songs and this is a Marvel sci-fi action type of film. Then again, I do have to say that by the time the end credits were rolling I was humming along with the songs and it ended up working with the overall feel of Guardians of the Galaxy.

In the end, Guardians of the Galaxy is an instant hit that for me is one of the top three films so far of 2014 (the other two being Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Captain America: The Winter Soldier). Even though the year is only half way finished, it's going to be kind of hard to top the films released in the first half of the year, including Guardians of the Galaxy.