For fans of Marvel’s Mightiest Heroes, Avengers Assemble was the grand prize for sticking with the comic book/blockbuster making company that planted a seed in 2008 and left audiences to watch it blossom for four years. The pay off amazed millions with Joss Whedon juggling a high-calibre cast in a story that life-long fans always dreamed of seeing, and that even novices were up to date on thanks to the four solo films (and one solo sequel) that kept them up to speed. Therein lied the genius to Marvel’s blueprint; releasing the first blockbuster that was a crossover from several other franchises leading up to it, allowing audiences to take on the explosive entry and run with it at the pace Whedon set. Now the studio is a little braver; they’re venturing off-world and beyond the stars in Guardians of the Galaxy, another super team that aren’t as well known and have no where as much focus as Cap and his cohorts, which feels like the biggest hindrance to the MCU’s latest.
The films attention to detail can be encapsulated in its opening moments, when a young Peter Quill bolts from a hospital on Earth after a tragic loss only to be abducted by an alien spacecraft where his new life awaits him. It’s the fastest, slimmest slice of backstory in the MCU so far and the most you’re going to get for this entire film. That’s because director James Gunn isn’t resting on his laurels looking to the past, instead he slings us 26 years into the future where the tearful tearaway is now a grown man and rogue smuggler who’s going it Solo and looking like him too. Pratt fits the character well, bringing that expert comedic timing he’s mastered during his time on Parks and Recreation whilst also carrying a cocky arrogance to his hero in a vein similar to Downey’s Tony Stark. Trying to talk his way out of his latest snatch and grab on a barren planet, his thievery gets the attention of an endless array of shifty space travellers, one particular wrong’un is big bad Ronan The Accuser (Lee Pace) who has a chip on his shoulder for his planet being wiped out and is keen to retrieve Quill’s latest haul and deliver it to an even greater power. But as our law-breaking hero is picked up by the authorities, he soon crosses paths with a quartet of equally rough misfits who all have a connection to either the treasure or the villain out to have it. So begins a reluctant alliance between Quill, lethal assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana), bloodthirsty warrior Drax The Destroyer (Dave Bautista) and two wild thugs Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and not so chatty tree creature, Groot (Vin Diesel).
Credit where it’s due, the success of Marvel’s bravest entry lies in its titular team. As soon as these five are slung in the slammer together Gunn’s piece gains momentum after being dragged through a somewhat formulaic opening. Pratt might very well be Guardians’ leading man but it quickly becomes a group effort when the guardians gather and it shines through whenever they interact. Cooper’s short-tempered, wise-cracking animal alter-ego Rocket does a good job at winning some of its best moments, shooting down anyone else’s when he gets the chance. The real surprise though comes from Dave Bautista whose barbaric nature as Drax The Destroyer acts as a wonderful brick wall for every other member of the team to bounce jokes off of. It’s unquestionable that the team itself make for a good pick, it’s the faults that surround them that’s the problem.
It can’t be denied that Guardians has some great moments, whether it’s shocking sex jokes or simple slapstick (Groot even has his own Hulk-out scene, beating guards in a similar vein to the green guys scuffle with a ‘puny god’). Even so, with all these brief bits and pieces, the film struggles to weave them all together in a strong story like the major league Marvel team did before them. As mentioned Quill’s backstory is a wafer thin one and his other guardian good guys even more so. Instead of actually having a sit down with them, daring to risk putting the brakes on the whizz-bang pace of the piece and learn why we should be backing our heroes, we get mere glimpses at why they’re so pissed at the universe. Case and point being Rocket Raccoon; an embittered lab experiment whose past is seen in a passing shot of the creatures hard wired spine, or in a fleeting fit of rage when he’s referred to as ‘vermin’. You’ll want more from him and the rest but you won’t get it, and instead your attention will sway towards the particularly cookie-cutter story they’re running around in, turning what could have been an impressive and adventurous watch into just an average one.
ReelGood. 