GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY; Carlisle's Final Word

"I am going to die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy."
Gamora

"What a bunch of A-holes"

Synopsis;

The long awaited and much hyped companion-piece to Marvel's Avenger series, and the first mainstream effort for fringe director James Gunn- the man who bought us both Slither and Super.
The plot follows Peter Quill, who as a child is abducted by a band of alien scavangers. 26 years later, he's adopted the alias of Star Lord and roams the galaxy as a petty outlaw. However, all that soon changes when he comes into possession of a powerful orb- an ancient artifact that the evil warlord Ronan the Accuser will stop at nothing to control. Along with two bounty-hunters, a deadly assassin, and an escaped convict, Peter becomes an unlikely hero- and the galaxy's last hope of survival...

"So here we are: a thief, two thugs, an assassin and a maniac. But we're not going to stand by as evil wipes out the galaxy. I guess we're stuck together, partners."

Peter Quill

Script Logic; 1/2

Let's not skirt the issue, the plot was never what this film was concerned with. But, as an affectionate love-letter to the absurdest sci-fi pulp novels of yesteryear, and as the backbone to string together an array of dazzling set pieces, the plot functions just fine. It's not high-concept, or breathtakingly original (on the contrary, it strives to be the reverse of that), but it serves its function nicely.
Having said that, I'm not opposed to the plot- it's the standard "big bad guy threatens the little guys, band of misfits to the rescue" deal in the mold of 'Serenity' and countless other sci-fi and westerns, including 'Avengers Assemble', and that's no bad thing. There are one or two holes in logic, but to be honest, you only start to realise this well after leaving the cinema- and by then you've been far too entertained to let it spoil your buzz.

"Peter Quill has a space ship and knows where Earth is, why did he never go home?... Why is Earth the only planet that doesn't have a clue whats going on in the galaxy?... Oh fuck it, I don't care."

In it's conception this owes more than a debt to Joss Whedon, which comes as no surprise how he's overseeing all the Marvel projects that tie-in with the Avengers.  So, no coincidence then that 'Gaurdians of the Galaxy' is very similar in tone to those movies; a strong focus on character, thrills and laughs, and as a result a very similar beast to Joss Whedon's own 'Serenity' (the cinema released resolution to the TV show 'Firefly'). Again, no bad thing.
For a film that takes great pains to appear scrappy, hap-hazard , all with an indie-sensibility, it's actually a very polished, studio-led project, with no one thing left to chance.


Pace; 2/2

At a brisk 120 minutes (a refreshing change to recent blockbuster behemoths) the story never lags. Not for a second. At points it even feels too fast, in a roller-coaster kinda way. In no time at all, Peter Quill is abducted from Earth, then an adult in space, ambushed on a barren planet, escapes in a space ship, attacked by an assassin and a pair of bounty-hunters and incarcerated in an intergalactic-Alcatraz; sounds like that should take the best part of half a film, but all this takes place in the first 15 minutes.


Acting; 1/2

First, let's consider the main cast. By now so much has already been written about how excellent all the lead performances are, but it's still worth repeating.
Chris Pratt shines in his douche-with-a-heart persona, liberally borrowing from Han Solo and Downy Jr's Tony Stark, all while channeling his inner Jack Sparrow ("but you have heard of me"). Zoe Saldana, with the unenviable task of playing the overly familiar troupe of emotionless-female-assassin, actually plays a blinder- her arc , and the revelation of her emotions and humanity are understated yet convincing. She turns what could have easily been a boring eye-candy role into a brilliant character. Former wrestler Dave Bautista has truly made this role his own and gives it his all, and surprisingly his avenging-Conan betrays a vulnerable sweetness- as well as having some of the funniest lines in the film (with a very dangerous line in "metaphors"). Finally, we have the voice talents of Bradley Cooper and the absurdly macho Vin Diesel- both of whom turn bat-shit-crazy concepts (a talking raccoon and a human-tree) into loveable, believable and fully realised characters- I kid you not. Vin's Groot is particularly loveable, a fungal reworking of his earlier Iron Giant.

The villains unfortunately let the side down a little...
Josh Brolin does what he can with his meager role as Thanos  (who will no doubt go onto becoming the ultimate villain in the inevitable Guardians & Avengers crossover), and while he's no doubt menacing he's in the film too little to make any real impact and simply feels shoe-horned in as foreshadowing- a criticism inherent of the films leading up-to Avengers Assemble. Djimon Hounsou feels similarly wasted in his part as, what is essentially, "lead thug". British TV's Karen Gillan has little time to develop her assassin character beyond "sadistic female assassin" and "jealous sister"- but her survival ensures her presence in future installments.
Lastly, we have Lee Pace as the film's chief villain, Ronan the Accuser. I'm not sure what to make of Ronan. Yes, he's sinister. Yes, he's intimidating. Yes, he has suitably villainy lines. But he's, well, sort of boring. there's nothing special or unique about him. To use Joss Whedon's work as an analogy (which would seem fitting)  Ronan the Accuser could quite easily be placed into an episode of Buffy the Vampire slayer, but as a one-show baddie rather than a series-long and charismatic opponent- which is damning criticism when the whole story to Guardians of the Galaxy hinges on how evil he is. Also, politically troubling in an otherwise light-heated film, Ronan the Accuser is a thinly veiled interpretation of a Jihad extremist; a religious fanatic who wants to bring his ancient code of tyranny to bare on a progressive mostly-white society for their perceived sins. His tactics include suicide bombings and even his facial warpaint resembled an Islamic beard! Ronan the Accuser; part Mortal Kombat's Shao Khan, part Osama Bin Laden.
It's not that any of the rouges gallery are poorly acted, not at all- just that they all felt either wasted or under developed by the script- and I can't help but feel maybe a different cast could have saved it?


Aesthetic; 2/2

Another of the film's many aces, Guardians of the Galaxy looks fantastic- like a pulp-cover made real. The film steers away from the gritty and grungy realism of most modern sci-fi in favor of an almost-cheesy,  gaudy and fantastical backdrop; space ships shaped like starfish and skulls, golden and green vapor clouds, shiny cities, and a hero who wears a hot-rod red leather jacket. All of this the product of the studio working closely with conceptual artist and sci-fi illustrator Stephan Martiniere (check him out). I don't think I've seen a world quite like it, and this helps give the film a much needed identity.



Originality & Intention; 2/2

Tongues were soon wagging at the prospect of James Gunn joining forces with Marvel studios. This was never going to be a mediocre film; either it was going to reach to reach the skies, or it was going to crash and burn (and with a budget this high, that's a lot of burning). Throughout it's journey from conception through production the public were bombarded with artwork, set reports, interviews with the stars and crew, trailers, trailers and even more trailers- all of which promised spectacular results, but could just have easily set the bar impossibly high, setting the stage for a colossal fall.  Luckily, Guardians of the Galaxy delivered the goods. No doubt this is the film its director, and Marvel studios, hoped it would be; loud, brash, flippant, absurd, nostalgic, funny, fast and thrilling.




Final Score; 8/10

While it skillfully avoids the twin pitfalls of having too much studio-interference while never becoming too "out-there" to appeal to mainstream audiences, it does make some concessions to the Marvel franchise; too many characters, too many loose ends. Aside from that small grumble, Guardians of the Galaxy is a huge gamble that paid off, thanks in no small part to a witty script and some fantastic performances. The film itself is still 'fringe' enough to cater to cult tastes and die-hard Gunn fans who are more accustomed to his harder-edged films, while still having the gloss and budget to complete its director's singular vision. Sure, aspects of the Act 3 are a bit overly-sentimental, but hey, it's a kids film- get over it.



Final Word;

Soundtrack is something I don't normally cover in great detail during these reviews. I know what I like, and I know what I think works well. I'd just like to say that initially I believed the use of 80's music in the film would be a joke that soon wore thin, but I was surprised by just how much mileage there was in the idea of retro kitsch tunes juxtaposed with the film's neon-galaxy setting. The end result is oddly touching, dramatic and very funny- and most importantly has a strong dramatic root in the story, rather than simply being a throw-away gag.
I expect to see the downloads for these songs go throw the roof...

"Why would you want to save the galaxy?" 
 Rocket   

"Because I'm one of the idiots who lives in it!"

Peter Quill