Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

The movie stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, John C. Reilly, Karen Gillan and Lee Pace.

I recorded this film off of one of our movie channels several weeks ago but didn't get around to watching it until last night. When we did, I wasn't really sure what to expect from it, mostly because I've never read the comic book and didn't really know what the movie was about. However, after watching it, I do have to say it was definitely worth watching.

One of my biggest concerns about this movie was whether or not the writers would assume everyone watching it had read the comic books. I've seen this with a lot of other films based off of comic books and, more often than not, the films aren't overly enjoyable as a result. This one, however, seemed to realized that wasn't the case and did a good job maintaining a pace that was fast enough to keep the film moving while still slow enough to bring everyone up to speed.

I also liked the main plot of this movie, which revolved around that orb and what was inside of it. The movie didn't immediately reveal the contents of the orb or why everyone wanted it and, because of that, the mystery did keep things interesting.

I also thought the chemistry between the various members of the Guardians was impressive. Chris Pratt was able to maintain a good balance between being comical and heroic as the character Star Lord while Zoe Saldana worked well as his exact opposite/potential love interest. My oldest daughter, who was the main reason we watched this movie in the first place, loved the raccoon, Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and the tree-like alien, Groot (Diesel). And, I have to admit, both of them grew on me too.

Another thing I, personally, appreciated with this movie was the ending. I've seen a lot of films like this fizzle out when it comes to that part, especially the final battle between the hero(es) and the main bad guy. This film had a good mix of action and suspense during that final battle and dropped just enough hints about unresolved issues to set up the sequel, something I'm definitely interested in seeing now.

As I said before, I wasn't really sure what to expect from this film. But, it turned out to be a charming and exciting science fiction movie. If you haven't seen it, I do recommend taking the time to watch it.

My Grade: A