To start, Guardians of the Galaxy was one of the best movies I've ever seen. It was a spectacle unlike anything I've ever experienced at the box office, and honestly one of the best experiences I've ever had in the movie theater.
That being said, I will go through and review it if you really want me to. There will be spoilers, so if you want to skip that skip the spoilers tag and go past that whole section.
SPOILERS--------------
Plot Recap:
So the movie begins with our hero, whose name I never really got. I think it was Peter. Yeah! Peter. He's a child and his mother is dying int he eighties. Some great character building occurs here. He sees her dying, but refuses to hold her hand as she passes, despite her asking. She gives him a gift, which he also doesn't open. Then, he runs outside in grief and is picked up by aliens.
A clear human element is present in the movie, even in the non-human CGI characters. From this beginning scene, the entirety of the movie is set, tonally. Themes of death and relationships are explored from then on.
We skip ahead and Peter is older, a criminal in the galaxy calling himself Star Lord. It's a crappy name, but we learn later why he was called that. He explores some planet and we see he listens to a mixtape his mother gave him while wandering the planet. Eventually, he comes across a spherical object that he grabs, excitedly. Someone commissioned him to find it. He is caught by some other humanoid aliens who warn him to drop the object.
He complies, for a brief second, until blasting them with his weapons, showing he is a competent combatist. As he escapes, several details are setup: he can remove his helmet, he uses jets attached to his boots that are also removable, and someone named Ronan wants the sphere he's found.
Skipping ahead, he finds the buyer on Xandar, the planet of the Nova Corp. The guy hears about Ronan and immediately wants no part in it. Peter is forced outside. In the meantime, a woman is dispatched to get the sphere, a green woman named Gamora. She assaults him outside the shop, stealing the sphere, but he trips her and a back-and-forth ensues. However, two bounty hunters named Rocket (a racoon) and Groot (a large tree person) attempt to catch Peter for the bounty a blue Merle Dix put on him.
They're caught by the Nova Corp, and one of the cops knows Peter and jokes around with him while arresting him. They're thrown in prison, and the plan is hatched to escape and take the sphere to a buyer that Gamora had setup to betray Ronan, who, she says, wants to destroy Xandar with the "Infinity Stone".
It's a convoluted mess to explain, but works out on screen. Rocket and Groot develop as characters, and Gamora is almost killed by a guy named Drax, who befriends them to kill Ronan (who had killed his family). They initiate an escape plan thanks to Rocket, who gets them all coordinated and moving together. However, Groot grabs the last thing they needed first and sets off an alarm, forcing them to escape quickly.
The prison scenes develop a LOT of character elements. I can't do it justice here, so let me highlight a few things: Rocket is scene changing by Peter, and you can clearly see he was tested on scientifically. Groot shows he is extremely strong, but is a generally nice person, if not a bit slow (he only ever says "I am Groot"). Peter also shows that he really wants his walkman and items that remind him of his mother, thus establishing his character. Gamora, who is honestly the least developed character, explains her background as Thanos' adopted daughter after he killed her people.
There's a scene between Ronan and Thanos that could be easily summed up with "I am evil and strong", "no I am evil and more strong". Ronan's motivation is the only thing lacking in the movie! I never know why he really cares so much about killing the planet Xandar.
They escape the prison and flee to Knowhere, a city built inside a floating skull of some dead space giant. It's actually a very interesting concept. Rocket gets drunk and is upset that Drax made fun of him. He says he didn't ask to be made, and realizes he's an odd one, but he is still a person. A sad scene, and you really feel for Rocket throughout the movie. Also, Peter tries to get Gamora to dance, and almost seduces her, but she's too smart.
Then they meet the Collector, who is supposed to buy the "Infinity Stone", but his servant tries to use it to kill him and is destroyed, levelling half the block. It is explained that one person must be extremely strong to hold one Infinity Stone, but a group of monks had previously done well holding one together. The party leaves, but Drax called Ronan to finally confront him and kill kim. Ronan's ship arrives and a battle ensues. Ronan easily beats Drax, who is later saved by Groot and Rocket. Then, Gamora is almost killed by being thrown in the thin atmosphere outside Knowhere, but Peter removes his helmet for her to live (a mechanism established earlier in the movie). Ronan gets the Infinity Stone.
They are then picked up by Merle Dixon (I don't remember his name in the movie), who makes up with Peter after a brief discussion. They attempt to get the Infinity Stone from Ronan to sell it. They attack his ship while warning the Nova Corp of Ronan's attack. They at first are hesitant to believe him, but the guard Peter was joking with earlier vouches for him. As the battle ensues, a lot happens in terms of action, but it is complicated and I can't remember too many specifics. Other than that Groot sacrifices himself to save the group, saying "We are Groot" to Rocket's grief. Gamora opens a door to Ronan's room and they group fires their moon-destroying weapon directly at him, but the Infinity Stone has made him too powerful. They crash on the planet.
Ronan jokes on Peter and the group, calling them the Guardians of the Galaxy, mockingly. Ronan is about to destroy the planet but Peter starts singing and dancing in front of Ronan. He is confused by this, and Peter explains he was being a decoy so Rocket could launch a weapon at Ronan. Then, Peter grabs the Infinity Stone and surprisingly lasts a short time before beginning to tear apart. Then, in an amazing scene, Peter sees Gamora hold her hand out for him to grab, and is reminded of his mother doing the same on her death bed. This makes him reach for her. Gamora grabs his hand and takes part of the burden as well. Then Drax. Then Rocket. Together, they can manage the pain and are able to destroy Ronan once and for all. They put the stone in a sphere for safe keeping and Peter puts it in his bag.
Merle Dixon arrives and asks for the stone, so he throws him the sphere, obviously a fake. However, the criminal can't check because it is extremely dangerous, so he leaves with what he thinks is his biggest score. In reality, they give the stone to the Nova Corp to guard with high security. The guard who vouched for Peter thanks him, saying he saved his family. A heartfelt scene later depicts him returning from work and meeting his pink-skinned wife and pink daughter. The group stays together, and Rocket has a plant-pot with a tiny Groot shoot in it.
The movie ends with Peter deciding to open his mom's present, in which he discovers a second mixtape. He is ecstatic, and the group decides to do whatever Peter wants, so he says "some good, some bad".
---------------------END OF SPOILERS
The tone of the movie is light-hearted and the genre is obviously a space adventure. Themes, as I said, include life and loss, love and friendship. It's a great tale relatable to any person with feelings watching it. The directing is standard, not too great, but the storytelling is phenomenal. In one scene, Groot gives a little girl a flower from his trunk, establishing in the audience's mind that he has a good heart, despite him never really talking.
Rocket, on the other hand, is probably one of the most likeable characters. This is in spite of how hated racoons are in the United States. However, in some scenes, he does remind me of a fat, fluffly cat I knew, so there's that.
Peter is, of course, the most developed character. We know how he feels, how he's a funny guy with a few quick quips, and a fairly good person, if not a little selfish. He has a good heart, and still grieves over the loss of his mother. Not having a mother, it makes sense why he stuck with blue Merle Dixon for as long as he did.
It is a perfect movie in every way, minus two things: the villain is poorly developed and the character Gamora is missing some development as well.
Other than those MINOR nitpicks, this is one movie I
highly recommend. Please, please, please, go see it.
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Frank Gamer is the host of the youtube channel
Frank Gamer, in which he reviews and jokes about anime, video games, and movies. Check it out and subscribe today!
