Movie Review - Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy **** (PG-13) Though I’ve never met him, I’ll bet St. Louis native James Gunn knows how to have fun while surviving in Hollywood. His scripts for Dawn of the Dead and Slither deftly combined horror and humor. Now he shines as the writer and director of this light-hearted big-screen incarnation of a Marvel Comics superheroes-in-space series. Compared to the recent onslaught of big-budget productions tending to be dark in tone, or otherwise taking themselves far too seriously for fantasy fare, Guardians stands out as a breath of fresh air.

We’re shown the origins of what becomes a team of one roguish, Han Solo-esque Earthling (Chris Pratt); a foxy green assassin (Zoe Saldana); a diminutive, sarcastic humanoid racoon lab experiment (voiced by Bradley Cooper); a hyperthyroid sourpuss (David Bautista) who makes The Hulk seem perky; and a big locomotive tree with limited vocabulary, but surprising skills (Vin Diesel at his most appealing...just the voice). This motley crew of crooks and grudge holders winds up as unlikely allies against a galactic megathreat.

To Gunn’s credit as a writer, he lays out a surprisingly coherent screenplay, considering the large number of characters, exotic alien life-forms, planets and backstories he’s cramming into two hours. Lacking any previous awareness of The Guardians, I have no idea how true he is to their pulpy roots. Yet bringing newbies like me up to speed so efficiently, while delivering plenty of laughs and splashy action along the way, makes his directing admirable, as well.

Pratt’s character is just starting to find his place in space. Cooper’s is the source of most of the laughs; others come largely at Bautista’s expense; Saldana would be sexy reading from a phone book in a muumuu. The creators wisely chose not to aim for the emotional depth or sense of wonder we got from the original Star Wars trilogy. Nor are they competing with the likes of Batman and Spiderman for angst-driven heroics, even though these protagonists have all suffered hard knocks of their own. This adventure hits all the right notes for large-scale f/x action sequences, mind-blowing sets and species, suspense and comedy. I’ve rarely left the theater after one of these sci-fi epics so ready for its inevitable (in this case, scheduled for 2017) sequel. (8/1/14)