“I am Groot. I am Groot. I AM Groot. I am Groot! I AM GROOT! I am Groot? I…am…GROOT. I am Groot. Iamgroot. I AM Grooooot. I am Groot!!!
Maybe I should stick to English. Conveys a lot more information that way.
The thing is, I really don’t know what there is to say about Guardians of the Galaxy. It was all the wonder and awesome we’ve come to expect from Marvel movies, but even better because we’re showcasing some misfit underdog charcaters instead of the shiny and safe heroes. If anything, the only disappointment was that it couldn’t surpass my impossibly high expectations, but every minute along the way was flawless.
There’s a certain formula to your super characters, even when done to perfection. The Guardians followed most of those basics, but it didn’t have the same feel. These are the other guys. The ones that you wouldn’t expect to be getting all the glory. The ones that aren’t setting out to save the galaxy, but rather just looking out for themselves, and end up saving the universe along the way. The characters are what most sold it for me. Drax, Star Lord, Rocket, even Gamora, and most of all Groot. I could not stop smiling every time that loveable creature was on screen. I feel like somehow in his simplicity, he was the most complex of all. Seems like a lunkhead on the outside, but possessing a deeply hidden wisdom. Or maybe I just thought he was cute. Even if Vin Diesel only had 3 words to say (repeatedly), it never sounded the same twice or conveyed the same thought over again.
Also great on the voice cast, Bradley Cooper. I saw a comment somewhere that this was the best performance of his career. While I don’t know if I’d go that far, it was rather impressive. I would never have guessed that our favorite hungover hustler was behind the Joe Pesci sounding rodent. While smallest in size, he very much has the biggest mouth of the group, and had very playful and nuanced delivery.
There’s so much more awesome in the cast, I don’t think I can even talk about all of them. Chris Pratt is forcibly staking his claim in Hollywood as a viable leading man, full of sarcasm for everyone. Lee Pace, Karen Gillam, Benicio Del Toro, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, the list goes on.
Two things special to this film that I feel I must point out: the make up and the soundtrack. I was truly truly impressed with the makeup for alien skin tones. Gamora’s green, Nebula’s blue, some assorted pinks and oranges. Beautiful colors that were somehow made to look natural. I read an article praising the use of bright colors in the film (not just on actors, but in the scenery as well), and it really does just liven up the mood. While there’s a place for the dull and drab world DC seems to be inhabiting lately, I’ll take the rainbow galaxy of the Marvelverse. Yeah and that soundtrack? One of the best collections of 70sish rock/pop. It was very clever how it was incorporated into the story, and each song was carefully curated. My movie buddy may have busted me rocking out too hard to Cherry Bomb. Besides being great music, I love the contrast of futuristic world with older sounds.
So we have another home run from Marvel, launching another franchise within their universe. I’m actually planning to see it again tomorrow with another crowd, and I’m kinda excited for it. There’s so many little things I wanna see again, but even more so, so many little things I know I missed: Nathan Fillion’s cameo, I didn’t even recognize Lee Pace, and I’m sure there will be other surprises. Bravo, Marvel Studios. Bra-\m/-vo
Guardians of the Galaxy – \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/