"Guardians of the Galaxy" Review

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Please keep in mind before reading this that I am no "hardcore" comic book fan, or a comic book an at all for that matter. I am merely one of those people who only know of superheroes such as Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and others from the Marvel movies. I'm a fan of the movies, but not the comics (kind of like Harry Potter and the books, right?). That said, I didn't have the slightest clue what the Guardians of the Galaxy movie was going to be about when I first heard about it earlier this year, and I'm certain I wasn't the only one who felt that way. I believe the sole reason I heard about it in the first place was because of Dave Bautista's (aka WWE's Batista) involvement. More often than not, I'll watch a movie just because it stars a wrestler I know of, even if it's complete crap. I'm more inclined to see the film if said wrestler is among my favorites. I've been a fan of Batista dating back to 2009, so I punched my ticket (no pun intended) to see Guardians of the Galaxy long before most people knew what it would be about.

As the release date of August 1 came closer, I heard more and more people talk about on various outlets how the movie was going to "bomb". Even though, it was a Marvel film, which almost always perform well, a lot of people didn't think the movie would find much success because it'd be an overproduced flop. Heck, even my manager at work (I work at a local movie theater) thought Guardians of the Galaxy wouldn't fare well. She knows movies like the back of her hand, so that's when I grew weary of the film's success. I'm one of those people that'll be disappointed if people, especially my peers, don't like something that I want to see do well. I grew nervous about the pending premiere date, but I didn't let others' opinions of the film alter my excitement for it.

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At last, August 1 had arrived. All day, my heart raced with anticipation as to how critics would respond to Guardians of the Galaxy, and surprisingly enough, it was a lot better than anyone thought it would be. It had a shocking "fresh" rating of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and of the few reviews I had read and from people I talked to on Twitter, it had quite a bit of positive feedback. It made me that much more excited to see the movie for myself and I was finally able to do so that Sunday. Working at a movie theater, I have the luxury of going to see any movie for free. So, with my Guardians of the Galaxy cup from Subway and bag of popcorn in hand, I went in the theater with high hopes. Those high hopes were, unsurprisingly, exceeded.

First and foremost, you don't have to be a comic book fan to enjoy this movie. As previously stated, I knew nothing about the Guardians of the Galaxy going in and obviously enjoyed it. It's family-friendly and features something for everyone. Just because it has the Marvel brand name on it doesn't make it much different than any other entertainment film. I had heard going in that the movie was designed to be a comedy, but I never expected to laugh as much as I did. Seriously, Guardians of the Galaxy was hysterical! Each of the "guardians" provided plenty of laughs and there was a lot of light-hearted comedy that's appropriate for all ages.

The entire cast of characters was perfect. Again, people were sketpical going in because the people that were cast in the leading roles were unknown and questionable. Sure, I, for one, was excited to hear of Batista being in a leading role (more on that in a minute), but if I'm not a wrestling fan, I can definitely see why people would think it was odd. In the end, though, they all had great chemistry together and worked well off each other. Even Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel in their respective roles as Rocket the raccoon and Groot were great and brought a lot to the table even with their voices.

Now, one of the leading reasons why I went to go to see this movie in the first place (aside from it looking awesome) was to see how Batista would do. Before even going to see it, it made me happy seeing that his performance in the film received rave reviews, so I knew I was in for a treat when I went to see it during opening weekend. Remember, this is a guy that, despite being a star in the realm of wrestling world, hasn't done much on the big screen since his acting career started up a few years ago. He fit the Drax the Destroyer character to tee and it was amazing just how perfectly cast he was for that role. He definitely delivered as Drax and I really hope his performance in this movie will serve as the launching pad for his movie career.

In terms of the plot, it wasn't much different than any other Marvel movie made in recent years, but that isn't to say that's a bad thing. It was pretty basic for the most part, which is to be expected since it'll be the first of many movies it appears. I, personally, have found that the sequels in some cases are better than the first installments when it comes to Captain America and Thor, so if Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is even better than its predecessor, I'll be incredibly impressed because this film will be hard to beat. The story was solid, but the conclusion was very open-ended in that it opens up several possibilities for the backgrounds of the guardians in future films.

Speaking of such, I thought the various cameo appearances from Thanos throughout Guardians of the Galaxy were awesome. For those unfamiliar, Thanos was the one who showed his face at the end of The Avengers and it's been heavily rumored that he'll be the main villain for the entire series. Now that he's been acknowledged as a leading baddie for the guardians, it's had many people talking and speculating: How long will it be before the Guardians and Avengers team up? I've seen some people disappointed that it won't be happening in Avengers 2, and anyone who thought that was a remote possibility is a fool. Avengers 2 is due out by next year (2015) and for them to rush to that point where all the heroes team up would be asinine.

This is something that must be milked out for as long as possible. Not only to capitalize on the major money it'd bring in from the box office, but to make the storytelling as stellar as possible. Some have said that it could be in the works for Avengers 3 in a few years, but I'd be content if they waited even longer. There has been some fear that there'd be too many heroes in one film for any of them to get enough screen time, and that's a fair point, but I'm still anxious to see how it all plays out and it's well worth a shot. For the two groups to not encounter each other at some point would be a huge missed opportunity, but I honestly don't think Marvel is stupid enough to pass up on that.

For anyone wondering, yes, there is a post-credits scene like many recent Marvel movies. However, all I can is to not expect anything essential to storyline. Past post-credit scenes have featured teasers for future films, but this is the exception. As noted, I'm no avid comic book reader, so I didn't get the reference, but I still found it funny that many audience members saw it as a massive "troll" from Marvel. If you're in a rush and need to leave the theater ASAP, don't bother sticking around because you're not missing much and will more than likely be disappointed. However, if you're in for one last laugh, see it for yourself and find out if you understand what's being alluded to in the brief scene.

To my memory, there have been only two other movies I have seen twice in theaters. The first being The Incredibles in 2004 and the second being The Dark Knight in 2008. Both were excellent movies and it's no surprise that Guardians of the Galaxy can be featured in that elite group of films. Sure, I saw it the first time for free where I work at my local movie theater, but I was so desperate to see it a second time that I didn't care if I had to pay or not. So, I went to see it for an encore when I was on vacation in Narragansett, Rhode Island a few weeks back and enjoyed just as much the second time as I did the first time around. Honestly, I'd probably go see it again (making the only movie I've seen three times in theaters) if I wasn't heading back to college in a few days.

Needless to say, go out and see this movie... now! I'm sure it'll be out a while longer due to its immense popularity (it's the highest grossing movie this year if I'm not mistaken), but it's been four weeks since its release, so go while you can. Like I said, you don't have to be a comic book fan to enjoy this film. All you need is a sense of humor. After you see the first time, go and see it again! Seriously, it's fantastic and you won't regret it. Now I'm just left waiting for the sequel!

Should you watch this movie? Yes.