GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: HERE TO SAVE THE DAY

The past few years have been very good to movies based on comic books. While those based on DC comics have been slow out of the gate movies based on Marvel comics licenses have skyrocketed. Perhaps the most surprising of these was a movie based on a lesser known and not hugely popular comic that took the box office by storm. Not only was it a surprise hit it just might be the best of the Marvel movies released to date. That movie arrives on DVD this week and is called GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY.

The movie opens with a young boy confronted with the death of his mother to cancer. Running from the hospital he finds himself beamed aboard a UFO. Fast forward some years later and we see that boy now grown landing on a desolate planet devoid of human life forms. He steals an orb from a futuristic safe and is then set upon by minions of Ronan the Accuser out to take the orb for their leader. When he tells them his name is Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) otherwise known as Star Lord they are less than impressed, not even recognizing it. That adds to their surprise when he takes back the orb and flees with them hot on his trail.

Quill is out to make some money by taking the orb he was sent to steal to a dealer and bypassing his leader, the head of the Ravagers known as Yondu (Michael Rooker). At the same time Ronan (Lee Pace) has set his own special warrior to retrieve the orb, Gamora (Zoe Saldana). The dealer cancels the deal when he learns of Ronan’s involvement and Gamora tries to take the orb. At that same moment an unlikely pair of fortune seekers reads that Yondu has put a price on Quills head. The pair is Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper) who actually is a raccoon, and his partner Groot (Vin Diesel), a walking talking plant. As the four struggle for control of one another they are eventually captured by the space police known as the Nova Corp.

Sent to the worst prison in the universe the four make a deal to get the orb and take it to a buyer Gamora is aware of. It turns out she hates Ronan and is double crossing him. When they arrive at the prison she is set upon by a few inmates, specifically Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista). When Drax learns that Gamora was not responsible for the murder of his family, he joins with the foursome to plan their escape so he can seek revenge.

Escape they do and from there the adventure moves forward with alarming speed. Moving from one part of the universe to another, pursued by Ronan who is working for a cosmic bad guy named Thanos (Josh Brolin) and wanted by the Nova Corp, the five misfits join forces to do what it right. Eventually that comes down to facing off against Ronan after he has taken the orb and utilized it to his advantage. By the third act the now called Guardians of the Galaxy have united with the Nova Corp and try to save a world from being obliterated.

I have to say that words cannot begin to describe how much I enjoyed this movie, so much so that watching it on DVD was my third viewing. I can tell you that it holds up to multiple viewings and is one that I’ll probably watch every few months, enjoying it each and every time. This movie offers the near perfect combination of action, humor, worlds of wonder and space opera unlike any seen before. Watching this movie brought back memories of the first time I saw STAR WARS. It is that good.

The driving force that brought this about was director James Gunn, a man who labored under some truly bad movies for Troma but who has grown into an accomplished director who knows how to do it right. Once you include some amazing performances by all around and in particular Pratt who brings Quill to life, you have a great flick. That is just added to by the eye popping special effects on scene here from the basic aliens done with make up to the state of the art CGI effects that bring Rocket and Groot to life.

While these things combine to make it look great, the story itself takes it over the top. This is a tale of misfits, a group of people who don’t quite fit in anywhere, who band together to form something good. In the process they begin to become friends and to care for one another. At times they frustrate one another and at others they’re willing to sacrifice themselves to save their group as well as the Universe. In so doing these criminals become the greatest of heroes.

This year I’ve seen more movies than usual not just on DVD but in theaters. I can say now without a doubt that this was by far my favorite film of the year. My guess is that due to its popularity and the fact it is comic book based it won’t be nominated for any major awards with the exception of effects. That’s too bad because for me this was the best movie of the year. Add it to your collection today.

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