Marvel’s newest romp, “Guardians of the Galaxy,” recently claimed the highest grossing movie of the year prize with more than $260 million made as of press time.
If “Star Wars” and “Firefly” had a drunken one-night stand, this film would be the result. It’s surprisingly funny, quirky, thrilling and full of heart. It’s fantastically good fun: a crowd pleaser. Plus, Chris Pratt brings much of his “Parks and Recreation” humor to his role as Earth-born Peter Quill, or Star-Lord.
The story follows Quill (Pratt) after he is abducted and raised as a ravager. He finds himself to be the target of a manhunt when he discovers a powerful orb sought after by the treacherous Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace). Bounty hunter Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), animated tree Groot (Vin Diesel), vengeful warrior Drax (Dave Bautista) and Ronan’s former lackey Gamora (Zoe Saldana) team up with Quill to recover the orb and save the galaxy from Ronan’s destructive plans.
It sounds like any other comic-hero movie when described, but it’s not, and that’s why it’s doing so well. “GOTG” broke the mold. The expected blockbuster-superhero moves don’t happen. More often than not, characters make some joke to spoil dramatic scenes. It’s realistic and refreshing after years of serious, brooding heroes. In fact, Rocket and Groot, the very characters audiences were most wary about, end up stealing the show. You can even buy your own dancing baby Groot toy now, if you haven’t molded one out of clay yourself already.
With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 92 percent and an audience rating of 95 percent, this is not a film to miss. Take a break from beginning-of-semester chaos, to see this amazing spectacle for yourself. The Guardians are waiting.
