“Guardians of the Galaxy” led the charts as a summer blockbuster, unopposed.
The initial trailers for the film created high expectations to live up to: not only was it a Marvel movie, but it was completely unrelated to any of the other Marvel movies from the summer.
With a completely new storyline to construct in roughly two hours, as well as an intergalactic setting, this movie was shaping up to be a momentous achievement.
Needless to say, it lived up to the hype.
In the story, Peter Quill – played by Chris Pratt – is a seemingly good-for-nothing Earth native turned petty intergalactic thief.
He starts the movie by stealing a powerful orb and after nearly getting caught, a bounty is put on his head by Yondu Udonta, leader of a local outlaw mercenary group called the Ravagers who kidnapped Quill as a child and raised him in the life of an outlaw.
Originally, Udonta wants Quill captured for attempting to keep this stolen orb, which contains the infinity stone, rather than turning it into the Ravagers.
A variety of other characters are drawn into the story as it progresses, including two bounty hunters chasing Quill – a quick-thinking, genetically-engineered raccoon named Rocket and Groot, a fan-favorite, tree-like humanoid with a two-line vocabulary played by Vin Diesel.
All of the characters have their own lovable traits and their interactions are so fluid and seamless, it’s like they knew each other before the movie even started – which truly speaks to the talents of every actor involved.
The true accomplishment of this movie, in my opinion, is the special effects.
Because of the setting of this movie, special effects were key: a starry background as someone flies from one planet to the next, a well-placed explosion during a fight scene, even the intricate details of a talking raccoon.
With a few minor exceptions (and when I say minor, I mean you really had to look hard to find them,) the effects and makeup of this movie were flawless.
Overall, this movie deserved all the wonderful praise it received.
It was well thought-out, well organized and wonderfully executed in terms of bringing together all of the different elements that go into making any movie.
TOM BARTON
