Watching Guardians of Galaxy is akin to watching a live action cartoon, and (I daresay) a funner version of Star Wars. There's a lot of action going on, a ton of colorful characters, and a good amount of cheesiness. At certain points throughout the story, I found myself thinking, "This is ridiculous. Look at that dumb guy in that dumb hat. Foolishness," but without fail, the characters would wrangle me back. Chris Pratt, a charming asshole, was the chief wrangler, but that raccoon... That raccoon is going to be a star.
Rocket Raccoon, voiced by Bradley Cooper (It didn't sound like him at all you guys), is a fuzzier, cockier version of Rooster Cogburn from True Grit. "Irritating animal sidekick" could have been Rocket's fate, but screenwriters James Gunn and Nicole Perlman successfully gave him a soul. It reminds me of the advice comic book writer Kelly Sue Deconnick gives to confused men who don't know how to write women: Just pretend they're people. It's not that difficult. More than anything, I was troubled by the fact that Rocket does not materially exist in the same way ET and Yoda do. Rocket only exists as a computer graphic and a rumble in Bradley Cooper's throat. I misted a little on the ride home from the theater pondering this.
I also wonder how much Marvel allows its stars to improvise. Chris Pratt, an actor who has proven his improv chops on Parks and Rec, had a few fantastic lines that felt lighter than the script. The genuine humor and joviality of these moments prevented the film from taking itself too seriously. The rest of the cast did not detract from the mix either: The wrestler was actually quite good! Zoe Saldana did not bug the shit out of me! Holy crap the treeman is MAGICAL and adorable! Kirk from Gilmore Girls is in it (in more ways than one apparently)!!!
Outside of the characters, the overarching 80s theme just about made my heart explode. There are a ton of 80s references that I will not spoil for you here; I want you to be 80s surprised as much as possible when you watch the film. The soundtrack was killer and expertly applied. Take note, Watchmen: This is how you do a pop 70s/80s soundtrack without making your audience vomit.
Criticisms? There isn't much that bugged me about the film. The villains didn't raise the stakes much: I found myself more distracted by Ronan's Braveheart face and pretty purple eyes than I was intimidated by him. As it is with any movie, I can always handle more female characters (love me some Glenn Close though) and I was mildly disturbed that all the no-name females were pink (thas how you know they're women!!). I'm really reaching here though, especially considering that one of the screenwriters, Nicole Perlman, was the first woman to pen a Marvel film. Suffice to say, I had a hard time finding much fault in the film.
Yes, there will be obvious comparisons to its earthbound cousin The Avengers, but it's not a fair comparison. The Avengers had the benefit of introducing 4 characters in their own respective films prior to its release, several of which were already household names. Guardians of the Galaxy had a giant task: They had to introduce 5 unknown heroes, 3 brand new villains, and an entire universe, then they have to get us invested in the characters and tell us a coherent story, all within about two hours. The film clocks in at 122 minutes, but given everything that had to be accomplished, I would have been happy to watch another 30 minutes.
At the same time, it's good that Guardians left some loose ends for the sequel. I look forward to seeing the characters developed further and learning why that big lavender prune-lipped man is such a scary SOB. Most of all, I look forward to the Rocket Raccoon stuffed animal I will receive for Christmas.
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Rocket Raccoon up top was illustrated by Greg Hinkle (and used in this article with his permission). Multiversity comics is doing an auction to benefit writer Bill Mantlo, of whom we have to thank for creating the surly rodent. Greg's original pen & ink illustration along with other original Guardians pieces will be available for purchase at the end of the summer.
Great post
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