Like any sane person, I was a little dubious when Marvel announced that one of their next adaptations would be “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Much like Djimon Hounsou’s character Korath reacts to Chris Pratt’s self-proclaimed “Starlord” character, I was like: “Who?” I mean, what is one to say of a film whose main characters include a green-skinned warrior woman; a hyper-literal lunk played by a pro-wrestler; a gun-slinging, talking raccoon; and a walking, talking tree-man who only says one phrase: “I am Groot.” (Guess what the latter’s name is- if you can’t, trust me, you’ll know it by the end of this thing.)
Forget second-tier comic characters- this sounded more like the superhero equivalent of the D-List. Which is, of course, sort of the point. When the trailer premiered, I was more than a little surprised how much it didn’t suck, like a lot of people. But still, I wasn’t entirely convinced, so I did something I rarely do for a big-ticket item like this: I waited to check the temperature of the water, feedback-wise.
As a critic, I make it a point to never read anyone else’s reviews before writing my own, and I try to see as many films as possible early on before it becomes sort of inescapable. But for this, I made an exception, because it sounded like a potential train-wreck, and I had already managed to avoid the likes of the latest “Transformers” this summer. So, anything I could do to avoid another potential crap-fest was good enough for me. (By complete coincidence, timing-wise, count on me to do the same thing with the upcoming “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”)
Much to my surprise, amongst critics and audiences and friends alike, the word on the street was almost entirely positive across the board, so I decided to see it after all. Boy, am I glad I approached it that way, because if “Guardians of the Galaxy” isn’t the perfect antidote to summer burn-out, I don’t know what is. It’s a minor miracle something like this was even made, much less successfully so, to be sure.
I mean, I can only imagine the pitch meeting for this: “There’s this anthropomorphic talking raccoon that runs around shooting people and a tree creature that only says one phrase…” I’m guessing the official people at the meeting likely thought that whoever pitched this thing had been smoking a little too much medicinal substances.
But it just goes to show, in Hollywood, you never know what’s going to fly or not. For every sure-fire “Harry Potter” or Tolkien adaptation, there’s a good fifty other ideas that either don’t get made or bomb at the box office, if they don’t suck, period. To say the odds were against “Guardians of the Galaxy” is putting it mildly.
And yet, not only doesn’t it suck, it’s arguably one of the best films I’ve seen all year, and may well end up being one of my favorite comic adaptations ever- and I’d never even heard of the property before it was announced, and haven’t read a single issue of the comics.
Now, granted, this may not work for everyone. Not every comic fan likes their adaptations on the silly side. There’s a reason the darker stuff, like Nolan’s “Batman” trilogy, or the more recent “Superman” or “X-Men” movies are all the rage- some fans like their stuff to be taken deadly serious.
But myself, as much as I love most of the “X-Men” movies and Nolan’s stuff (not so much the recent iterations of “Superman”), I actually kind of prefer Joss Whedon's more recent take on the genre, with "The Avengers," having been spoiled by coming of age with his various shows, a la “Buffy” and “Firefly.”
“Guardians of the Galaxy” is absolutely in that vein, in that it’s surprisingly well-written, yet also self-aware enough to be tongue-in-cheek about the material at hand. It knows the source material is ridiculous, so there’s nowhere near the usual reverence we’ve seen as of late with most of the comic book adaptations, post-Nolan and Singer.
And that works for me, as someone who doesn’t necessarily take this stuff as seriously as the die-hards. You want to rile me up, massacre yet another one of my beloved 70's-80's-era horror flicks that I grew up on a steady diet of watching. I don’t know “Guardians of the Galaxy” from a hole in the ground, so I could care less how “accurate” or “faithful” it is to the source material.
What we’ve basically got here, is equal parts a “Firefly”-style band of misfits working together for a common cause, mostly belligerently; a quirky “Heavy Metal: The Movie”-style sci-fi epic, complete with that film’s classic rock-heavy soundtrack (albeit sillier); and an old-school “Star Trek”/”Star Wars”-style alien-palooza, with a wide variety of imaginative and multi-colored and shaped beasts, humanoids, and robots inhabiting a colorful, appropriately 70s-inspired landscape. It’s gonzo, hell-bent-for-crazy, and the most fun I’ve had at the multiplex in many a moon.
How can you not like a movie that essentially opens with the main protagonist trolling around a planet, grooving to Redbone's moldy-oldie “Come and Get Your Love” as he deals with various alien critters trying to kill him in a completely unaffected, blasé manner, dancing around foolishly?
It’s as if Quentin Tarantino made a sci-fi movie, down to that 70’s happy soundtrack, which also includes The Runaways, The Raspberries, The Jackson 5, and QT-fave Blue Swede’s “Hooking on a Feeling” (previously featured in his “Reservoir Dogs”). To say nothing of one of the best soundtrack selections I’ve ever heard in a sci-fi movie ever: David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream.” (Bonus points for not going for the obvious choices, i.e. “Starman” or “Space Oddity.”)
This is just a fun movie all around, and I loved every minute of it, from the general sci-fi spectacle to the soundtrack to the performances and everything in between. How’s this for a bizarre cast? The formerly doughy Chris Pratt, of “Parks and Recreation” fame, in the freaking lead; Zoe Saldana- hot in any color, apparently (see also “Avatar”)- as the butt-kicking Gamora; Bradley Cooper as the wise-cracking raccoon, Rocket.
Also, in perhaps his best performance to date, a game Vin Diesel as the one-phrase saying Groot, which I can only assume was a joke he was in on, poking fun at his typically monosyllabic performances to date, taking them to the most minimal place ever. If he wasn’t in on the joke, good on the casting agent for talking him into it, anyway.
The inventive casting doesn’t end there. There’s also funny-man John C. Reilly; pro-wrestler David Bautista; “Dr.Who”-vet Karen Gillan; “Hobbit”-star Lee Pace as the main villain; “Walking Dead” baddie Michael Rooker, as a crooked thief that absconded with Pratt’s character way back when; Benicio Del Toro as the mysterious “Collector”; and- heart be still- mother-loving Glenn Close. If you had ever told me that I’d be able to include Close’s name within the same proximity as a movie with a talking tree and raccoon, I’d have told you that you were out of your damn mind, yet here it is.
Honestly, if you’re tired of the dreary, humorless style of superhero flicks that more often than not clog up our movies screens these days, this is the movie for you. If you prefer the likes of “The Avengers” to “The Dark Knight,” this is the movie for you. Hell, if you just like having a good time at the movies, period, this is the movie for you.
Kudos to, of all people, Troma-vet James Gunn (he was the one behind the infamous “Tromeo & Juliet,” among others) for going for broke with such an epically insane property and not only delivering the goods, but going above and beyond in the entertainment value department.
Hell, Gunn even sneaks in some of his former cohorts, including “Slither”-stars Clark Gregg and Nathan Fillion (yep, Captain Mal himself) and former boss Lloyd Kaufman, aka the King of Troma. You gotta love this guy. This even makes up for that second “Scooby Doo” movie and I don’t say that lightly, because that movie was kind of terrible. Consider your slate clean and then some, Mr. Gunn.
So, I’m as surprised as you are, but this film earns an A in my book. Maybe some of you purists that prefer your superheroes to be taken seriously and not be wise-cracking anti-heroes might hate it, but count me in for the sequel on opening day next time out. Lesson learned, Hollywood, lesson learned. Now I can only hope you learned a little something, too, because there should really be more comic book movies as fun as this, stat.
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