Guardians of the Galaxy

Once you get away from all the tiresome fanboy “greatest movie ever” gush (why do people do this?), it turns out that James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy is a lot of fun. Sometimes it’s downright delightful. It’s also something pretty rare in that it’s a comic book movie that feels personal and at least provides the illusion of something fresh. That this freshness is mostly the result of reassembling a lot of comfortably well-worn components is not all that important. (After all, that’s pretty much the story of cinema.) But perhaps its biggest selling point lies in the fact that Guardians of the Galaxy revels in its own pulpy qualities without deluding itself into thinking it’s some kind of Shakespearean drama.

Basically, it’s all about Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) — who also calls himself “Star Lord,” though the sobriquet doesn’t seem to catch on with anyone but him — a young man who was kidnapped as a child by space aliens just after the death of his mother. After years of training by his kidnapper/mentor Yondu (Michael Rooker), Peter has become a first-rate, swaggering womanizer and thief (or ravager) — all with the aid of a Walkman and a mixtape his mother made for him. (Mom’s taste in music was pretty thoroughly 1970s top 40 — with the odd inclusion of Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream,” but, hey, it’s always a plus to find a Bowie song that isn’t “Queen Bitch” or “Under Pressure” on a soundtrack.) Yondu has taxed Peter with getting a mysterious orb that it turns out nearly everyone in the universe is after — including the very evil Ronan (an almost unrecognizable Lee Pace). The fact that Peter gets said orb first is, of course, what drives the movie’s story — and what causes Peter to unintentionally team up with green-skinned Gamora (Zoe Saldana), muscle-bound Drax (wrestler Dave Bautista), wisecracking talking raccoon Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), and ambulatory, sort-of talking tree Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel). This is much more important than the story.

The most important aspect of the film lies in the interaction, animosity, and, of course, the grudging bonding of this decidedly mismatched quartet. Oh, sure, it follows a straightforward pattern, but it does so with great good humor and seemingly effortless charm that makes it all go down smoothly. It helps that the dialogue is clever and the characters well-developed. Pratt makes a likably corrupt hero. Saldana is an appealing female lead. Cooper’s voice work makes a talking raccoon mostly believable, and Diesel manages to make a single phrase almost eloquent. The real surprise is Bautista, whose vocabulary reminds one of boxer-turned-actor Frank Moran, but whose literal-mindedness makes him something else again.

But the extra bonus from a general viewership stance is that — the obligatory Stan Lee cameo to one side — Guardians of the Galaxy works nicely as a stand-alone movie that seems (at this point at least) unconnected to the Marvel universe. It’s a film you can go to without the slightest knowledge of the comics it’s drawn from and enjoy without feeling left out of the joke. That it won’t stand alone — movies that make the kind of money this is headed toward just don’t — is another matter, but one that has no bearing on this one film. Also in the film’s favor is the fact that the action scenes are largely coherent (that is no small feat these days). The biggest downside is that the battle scenes do tend to outstay their welcome. However, the final confrontation between Peter and Ronan is pretty terrific, and a final touch involving Yondu is the cherry on top. As summer blockbusters go, this is about as good as you’ll find. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for some language.