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Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), PG-13, ★★★

The Guardians of the Galaxy. 
"They call themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy."

"What a bunch of A-holes."

From the moment I saw the first trailer of this film, I knew that this was going to be a different and wacky superhero sci-fi flick. Marvel Studios has been having a very good year with their movies with the latest Captain America flick and the X-Men sequel excluding The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which had some good moments but was a forgettable movie. To take a mismatched group such as these troublemaking nitwits and put them in an irreverent funny movie can create a special superhero film in the canon of Marvel superhero flicks. This movie does pay off with all the characters trying to get along and make a fun summer superhero flick.

The adventure begins with Peter Quill, aka "Starlord" (Chris Pratt), looking for a mysterious Orb on the planet Morag. As he finds and retrieves the Orb, he is found by Korath (Djimon Hounsou) and his henchmen and after an exchange of quirky dialogue and a shootout, Peter escapes and returns to the ship called the Milano. His mentor, Yondu (Michael Rooker), calls Quill and tells the escapee to give him the orb, but Quill replies that he will sell it to another buyer.

On the Dark Aster, a warship, Korath reports to Ronan (Lee Pace) and tells him that he failed to get the Orb. Ronan sends Gamora (Zoe Saldana), a green assassin, who actually volunteered to go capture Quill. On the planet Xanadar, Quill tries to sell it off to a buyer, but kicks him out because he does not want anything to do with it. Gamora attacks Quill but before she finishes him, Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), a raccoon, and Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), a tree-like figure, join in on the fight since there is a bounty on his head. But, they all get arrested and sent to the Kyln, a space prison.

In the space prison, everyone wants to kill Gamora since she is the "daughter" of Thanos (Josh Brolin), a powerful figure. They also encounter Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), a monstrous figure who has a vendetta against Thanos because of a tragic event.

After a prison escape in the space prison, all five mercenaries try to awkwardly get along on Quill's ship but it does initially work. They arrive at Nowhere, what a funny name, the head of a giant being. As they wait for the appointment, Groot, Rocket and Drax get drunk as Quill and Gamora get along with some music. As the appointment begins, the Collector (Benicio Del Toro) opens up an Orb, an Infinity Stone, that cannot just destroy ships, but also planets. It will be terrible when it falls in the wrong hands and it does as the Guardians have to get the Orb back.

Drax the Destroyer getting ready to do something. 
It is not a superior film to the X-Men film and the Captain America film this year, but it is not bad because I think this the most fun superhero film of the summer, maybe the year. As I was watching the movie and witness the chemistry between all five characters, I reminded myself of not just The Avengers but weirdly, Star Wars. It does not have the spectacular story that the original Star Wars had, but it has the comic banter between all five that centers the movie into hilarious and memorable moments. The scenes in the ship almost had a sense of originality and wonder.

Chris Pratt has had a huge year with this movie and The LEGO Movie, which is one of the best films of the year. I think this a star-making performance showing us that he has the charm and professionalism that makes Peter Quill a memorable superhero with sharp dialogue and witty humor and he flies a spaceship. It is about as parallel to Han Solo as he can get. Zoe Saldana is fierce and wry as the green assassin. Dave Bautista is really good as Drax. Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel have the task to voice their talents and they have done it exceptionally well. Rocket is fun and full of action and quirkiness and Groot is heartfelt with voicing his "I am Groot" matching the tone of the situation of the scene.

The problem with the movie is the story. The movie is revolved around this precious object that is quite powerful. It is almost like an Indiana Jones film with the Ark being a precious object and look what happened to the villains. It felt like a familiar plot. The action sequences are a bit overlong towards the end with not much stake revolving around the Orb. However, it is the chemistry between the main characters that sold me. Guardians of the Galaxy is a fun-filled late August amusement park ride that is worth going on. Take the kids and have a great time.

***

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