Mega Review: Guardians of the Galaxy

Kenny’s Review

I didn’t know what to expect from Guardians of the Galaxy because my knowledge of lesser known comic book heroes is rather limited. I know the big ones and everything in the X-Men world. (That might be why I write about indie movies at The Movie Blog.) In fact, when I heard about Guardians of the Galaxy, I thought it was sequel to the DreamWorks animated movie Rise of the Guardians that bombed.

I wanted to like Guardians of the Galaxy more than I did. It was adequately entertaining. I say that without hesitation yet with reservation. I didn’t get into the movie as much as the audience. All were swooning over it and giggling. I never followed the communal procession of laughs with everyone else. The hyperactive cosmic blast was an unoriginal combination of Hellboy, Star Wars, and Firefly infused with quirky wit, yet limiting enchantment. Many moments felt “cute,” but were not engaging to me. This is what Disney-fied Marvel looks like. And audiences will eat it up and call me a “hater.”

Besides the stunning visual effects and astonishing makeup work, the strength of Guardians of the Galaxy came from two actors: a sarcastic goofy Chris Pratt and the unhinged sassiness of Bradley Cooper. This will make Chris Pratt a star. He is leading man material which I’m happy for him. He has earned it. Rocket, the Raccoon will be adored by many and everywhere. I predict a mocking on late night TV comedy, incorporated with Halloween costumes, featured in year-end pop culture tributes, Buzzfeed articles, and a guaranteed skit at next year’s Oscar telecast. It could be one of Bradley Cooper’s defining characters of his career. Hell, Rocket could be front runner for Entertainment Weekly’s Entertainer of the Year. (Well probably not because they only pick stars affiliated with a Warner Brothers movie since they are owned by Time Warner.)

Some things about Guardians of the Galaxy I didn’t care for. I found everyone and everything else uninteresting and phoned in. Honestly, I feel like if everything else I just mentioned was removed from Guardians of the Galaxy, you would essentially have a hollow shell of nothing. Luckily, the high quality filmmaking techniques and the cast saturate the movie enough to barely recommend it. My one significant complaint: I found the soundtrack of pop tunes to be unnecessary and even distracting.

This isn’t going to a popular observation. Have Marvel movies reached a saturation point? Are they peaking? The quantity is overbearing and quality is waning. Will big, diverse audiences begin to stop watching? Guardians of the Galaxy feels like both a positive and a negative turning point for Marvel movies. This is the beginning to define niche comic book audiences. Think more Kick Ass and less Iron Man. Summer blockbusters have a built in, wide audience but I wonder for how long? A majority of young children, most women, and all old people will find limited appeal in Guardians of the Galaxy. There were people who (somewhat) contributed to make the Iron Man’s and Superman’s monster hits. For now, Guardians of the Galaxy defends and affirms the Marvel franchise in a fun and scrappy way…just not enough to justify themassive hype.