Movie review: Guardians of the Galaxy

The first one. Not the sequel. I will probably not see the sequel for a while, as I don’t like watching superhero movies in theaters. Anyway, when I saw the trailers, I just thought GOTG looked…stupid, unfunny, and dumb. But I was wrong. Very, very wrong. First impressions aren’t always correct. And starting now, most of my reviews  will have one fanart!

Fanart link: Guardians of the Galaxy

Summary: A group of intergalactic criminals are forced to work together to stop a fanatical warrior from taking control of the universe.

Acting: 4.5/ 5: Some performances were stronger than others, but overall, everyone was perfectly suited to their part, whether they were physically present or just voice acting. Unlike several other superhero movies, no character felt totally “wooden” (except the villain). 

Story: 3/5: Overall, it didn’t have a solid story. It’s simply a group of antiheroes joining together to save the galaxy. However, this works. It’s mainly character driven, but each of the Guardians are so much fun. This is one of he most out of the box ideas Marvel has had in a while.

Design: 5/5: The special effects. Were. Amazing. It took place mainly in space, which was an obvious undertaking. Most Marvel movies take place on Earth, and can have real locations. This one didn’t, but it all looked so real it was jaw dropping. You could honestly go and see this for the effects. 

Characters: 4.5/5: Ugh, I wanted to give this a 5 so bad. But bland antagonists dropped this to a .5. 😢 Why? Each Gurdian is a fully fleshed out character. Star Lord, or Peter Qwill, is a fun, sarcastic, flirty, yet loveable antihero. Gamora is an assassin raised by Thanos who isn’t a generic female badass. Rocket and Groot were my favorites. Alone, they’re both great characters; Rocket is a genetic experiment who looks like a raccoon and uses guns like a boss, and Groot is…Groot. No other way to explain him. But their friendship enhanced their characters and made them more loveable. Drax is a super-strong alien who takes everything literally.

World Building: 4/5: Marvel’s rendition of space is amazing. The way planets work and how each character is from another world makes for intereesting contrasts and comparisons. The world(s) in GOTG is very fleshed out.

Pros:

• Originality: This was GOTG’s key to its wild succes. Everything was incredibly creative, from the characters to the worlds they live in. And it was all fun!
• The humor: This was the lightest Marvel to movie to date, and I liked that. The humor wasn’t funny in the trailers, but with context, it was hilarious. There were some truly emotional and touching scenes at the end however, and that made me like this even more. 

Cons:

• Weak antagonists: the worst part about this movie were the antagonists. They were cookie cutter villains who were  unmemorable for me and were just…boring. 
• Took a while to get going: for a while, it was all sizzle, no steak. Kinda fluffy. It was funny, but it took a while to really get into the story and characters. But it was worth it!

Rating: 4/5: GOTG would’ve been the ordinary superhero action movie, but the original leads and out of the box world and details made this one of my favorite Marvel movies I’ve ever seen.