Guardians of the Galaxy Review

Grade: B
One-Liner: Is it weird to have a crush on a raccoon?

There comes a time in every filmgoer’s life where the complaint that Hollywood recycles the same monotonous content in a never-ending series of sequels or remakes will come up. Guardians of the Galaxy is the clear counterpoint to that argument.

Here is a movie made up entirely of characters few (outside of the comic book crowd) had ever heard of that provided action, humor, twists, an excellent soundtrack, and Zoe Saldana in a different color of body paint.

The ideas were fresh, special effects were up to par, and the unexpected bursts of comedy were welcome. Chris Pratt served as a surprisingly perfect leading man, rife with self-deprecating jokes to help balance his newly chiseled physique.

Along with a rag tag bunch of misfits (think the opposite of the Avengers), Pratt’s Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord) helps to save the galaxy from a jumble of slightly confusing baddies.

The surprising standout in the mix is Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), the tough as nails raccoon with a soft spot for the daft tree Groot, whose name it’s impossible to forget. His quips were often superior to Pratt’s, blurring the main character vibe Quill was supposed to command — which brings me to my main complaint.

With so many characters not yet embedded into the pop culture psyche, two hours packed with extras and supporting roles with not-so-memorable names made it hard for the five outlaws to fully develop.

The film touched on a possible romance between Quill and Saldana’s Gamora, but it was so fleeting, it could have easily been imagined. And Dave Bautista’s Drax was so thoroughly dull in all his meaty, brainless glory, that his increased screentime was hard to explain.

So while Guardians gets all the points for effort and inventiveness, it still has a ways to go to reach the levels of the other Marvel heroes. But if any underdogs can do it, these guys can.