Guardians of the Galaxy is the movie I have been anticipating all summer and it did not let me down. As far as movies such as Captain America and Thor go, this movie was surprisingly funny. It was a nice change from the sad and harsh moments that we often see in other superhero movies. There were many action packed moments as well, with multiple fight scenes including one in a galactic prison. Along with unexpected humor, the graphics and animation in the movie were shocking, in a good way. The scenes involving the different planets were amazingly life-like.
One thing I loved about this movie was that it did not heavily rely on the main character to carry along the story line. It was the other characters as well that helped each other. They all lent an element of diversity and interest. I also preferred the fact that the story did not, for once, focus on love. It was the development of friendship and how those who have seemingly lost everything can rise from their sorrow to achieve great things. Besides that, the movie did leave me with a few questions, but it lends good opportunity for a sequel.
Peter Quill, the main character of the movie is played by actor Chris Pratt. Pratt also stars in Parks and Recreation, the television series. I’ve watched him in the series and loved his character, a humorous and slightly less intelligent man. His role in Guardians of the Galaxy really put him out there, with his character having great fighting abilities. I expected his character to have underrated abilities but when you grow up trained by assassins, you get pretty good at fighting. The humor he showed in Parks and Recreation seemed to keep it’s place, adding plenty of laughs for the audience.
Gamora, played by Zoe Saldana, was my favorite character in the movie. It was great seeing such a strong, feminine assassin kicking butt. Her character, seemingly evil at first, turns out to be a double agent. At first working for the bad guy, she reveals she’s fighting against them because they killed her parents while she watched. I’m a sucker for strong female characters, and seeing Saldana go from Star Trek to another space movie, I liked the change.
Groot, voiced by Vin Diesel, did not require much voice acting ability. All the character ever said was “I am Groot.” The character of Groot is undeniably the most lovable, his innocence mixed with his strength giving him a comedic manner when fighting. His character was also the most fascinating, as he was a series of tree roots. The roots could regrow and were strong, as well as Groot could release beautiful glowing seeds from them that at one point helped the band of heroes see in the dark.
Rocket, the genetically modified talking raccoon voiced by Bradley Cooper, required more ability in voice acting and was fantastic. Rocket was the character with the most development in terms of attitude despite not being the main character, the best with emotion. At first, a bounty hunter with Groot as his helper, Rocket was only in on it for the money. The only reason he stuck with Peter was because he wanted to collect the high bounty on his head and turn him in. He was loathe to admit it, but toward the end Rocket changed as the group formed a strange kind of friendship.
Drax, played by Dave Bautista, had to be the coolest looking character. Super strong and with red markings on him turned out really awesome. A sad back story that led him to seek revenge, Drax also went through a character change when he learned that getting back at someone wasn’t the most important thing.
All the characters added many levels of humor, sadness, and happiness. This movie rounded out well and left many good chances for another movie, which I will look forward to seeing if there is a sequel.
