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goal is selling
of the Galaxy
indie filmmaker
and sardonically
(and sometimes goofy) sci-fi world that Gunn has envisioned. Less
credit is likely to be given to Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista though
the former does notably well as the straight (wo)man in the comedy act
(often a thankless achievement), while the latter turns acting
inexperience into off-kilter, awkward delivery that works to both
his character and the films advantage.
The CGI characters Rocket and Groot are no doubt the secret
weapons behind this films success. Between the impressive visual
effects and motion-capture used to create them; Gunns understanding
and implementation of the characters; and great voice work by Bradley
Cooper and Vin Diesel (in just three word repetitions) lets just say
Marvel has two bonafide merchandising cash-cows on their hands, and
moviegoers have two new CGI characters to root for. (See what I did
there?)
Like the majority of Marvel movies, the villains are a definite weak link
in the narrative and Guardians compounds the crime by reaping
weak returns out of several antagonists.
Lee Pace is fully committed as the fanatical Ronan; too bad the script
(written by Gunn and Nicole Perlman) isnt as fully committed to him.
Djimon Hounsou is probably the most interesting villain, Korath; too
bad hes got the smallest role. Karen Gillans Nebula has a great
design and makeup job but the character gets precious little to do in
the film besides hovering in backgrounds looking twitchy.
Thanos (Josh Brolin) is still plotting from the shadows with a big grin
though our motivation to care about him is still as mysterious as the
titan himself. Finally, appearances by the likes of John C. Reilly, Glenn
Close and Benicio Del Toro tend to do more to break the world of the
film, rather than build it up.
In the end, Guardians of the Galaxy may be a mixed bag as a
cinematic work, but its definitely another victory for Marvel Studios
which will likely be able to milk sequels and spinoffs galore out of what
this film started. Marvel movie fans need to be wary that theyre getting
something a little different from what they may be used to; but for
anyone coming to this property as a blank slate, with little prior
knowledge, Gunn and Co. have painted a fun defining portrait of who
these Guardians of the Galaxy are: A band of pretty awesome (and
lovable) A-holes.