Guardians of the Galaxy Review
In just 10 days, the third movie in the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters. So in preparation I’m reviewing the previous 2 films in the trilogy. It’s week number 1, so we’re talking about the original.
The Good:
What this movie does right is craft a great set of lead characters with The Guardians of the Galaxy. All of them are these fun and interesting new characters that you like to be around. They are also played by such likable actors. This is the movie that really made Chris Pratt this A-list movie star, he had been on Parks and Rec for 7 seasons and done side roles in other movies. But when you think who Chris Pratt is today, it started with this movie. Bradley Cooper brings a lot of fun energy to Rocket Raccoon. And I always forget that Cooper voices Rocket because it sounds nothing like him. So overall, the central lead characters of this movie are a lot of fun.
Another strong point here is the side characters, all of them are fairly interesting and fun characters. Some of the ones that stand out are John. C Reilly and Benincio del Toro. I like John C. Reiliy as a comedic actor and I just love him in this movie. He’s so fun and likable as this Nova agent that is somewhat out against to get Star-Lord. And he has some great moments in this movie. And obviously, Bencincio del Toro is a world class actor giving this weird performance as The Collector. But he’s played in a way where you are intrigued by him. But all of them have something about them that pop and stand out, and they are fun in their own ways.
And it’s not just the characters that are fun but the movie itself is a lot of fun. But the characters do help make this a very entertaining movie. But there is also plenty of humor to be had here and the soundtrack is also really fun. Put all of it together, and it helps create this fun and highly entertaining MCU movie.
I think it’s also safe to say that this is one of the funniest MCU movies. Where there are so many great and memorable jokes in this movie that stand out and pop. The stuff when we first meet Drax with the knife is really funny seeing Groot throw guys around in the finale is just as funny. And just through-out the entire movie are these great jokes that make for some of the best inside of the MCU.
While this movie is super fun, funny, and entertaining. This might also be the most heartfelt MCU movie out there. Where it has this heartwarming current running through-out the movie and it does add this more grounded layer to this larger than life story taking place. The arcs that these characters go on brings out these big emotions from me.
Finally, with this movie you have to talk about the soundtrack. And this might be the greatest soundtrack of all time and certainly the greatest of the last 20 years. They play so many songs that you hear it and you like it and you want to listen to it more and more. Whenever I’m cleaning my room or doing the dishes I turn on this soundtrack a good bit and jam out to it.
The Bad:
And the big thing is that all of the villains of the movie aren’t all that good. Ronan should be this much better villain then he actually was. He had a clear motivation with an interesting history surrounding him but somewhere in the execution something just went wrong. And maybe that’s because the movie didn’t give him enough time to properly develop him as a character. Also with Nebula they wrote her to just be this one note character who only wants to kill Gamora. They did much better things with her in later movies, but in this one she’s not all that interesting to me.
Also, this is a small thing but none of the action in the movie is all that memorable. You remember this movie for the characters, entertainment, score, humor, and heart. But nobody really talks about the action with this movie. Even in the third act you don’t remember the action of the movie. You remember the “We Are Groot” scene and the dance off. That’s it. You don’t remember any specific action sequences in the finale.
Final Thoughts: In general, this is one of the most beloved and most memorable MCU movies out there. The characters are a lot of fun played by great and fun actors, it’s heartfelt, it’s entertaining, and it has a great soundtrack. There are a few issues here and there but nothing that makes it less than a great movie.
The Score: 9.1/10 (A-)
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