Guardians of the Galaxy

Sci-Fi Done Right

            Usually when a there's an alien abduction some heads will turn while others will shake in disbelief. Some of the most mind-bending moments in history revolve around the possible existence of intergalactic life. This time around, not only are heads turning to the lights in the sky, but people are flocking to join in on the fun of the summer's coolest movie!

Guardians of the Galaxy is the funniest sci-fi film since Mel Brooks' Spaceballs.

            Following his mother's death prolonged by illness, Peter Quill finds those lights in the sky staring back and sucking him up only to fast forward time 26 years. Quill (Chris Pratt finally stamping his talent in concrete) is a self-proclaimed badass and is now in a predicament concerning an infinitely powerful orb, some bad guys, some very bad guys, and some so-so guys that are after it.

             Chris Pratt really pulls off the oxymoron of being smooth but shaky during tense situations. His awkwardness accompanied with being handsome provides a balance of humor and cleverness all in one package. Helping him out along this ride is Gamora, the wicked-witch shade of green alien that gives a sharp and quick comeback to what Peter has to say and tries keeping the rest of the Guardians in line. Zoe Saldana (Avatar) is used to being decked out in colorful make-up by now and meshes well a sexy extraterrestrial.

Pratt and Saldana have their fun as the focal points of these usual suspects but the real showstoppers are found in rare form.

             Rocket: a hilariously-sarcastic raccoon voiced by Bradley Cooper and can be added on his list of top roles to date.

             Dave Bautista hangs up his SmackDown wrestling tights and takes on Drax the Destroyer
. He is covered in fiery tribal marks and undoubtedly delivers some of the funniest one-liners of the film with his literal take on life and heart as big as his biceps.

            Then there's Groot. Just by hearing the name you can already picture what he may look like. Groot is a tree. He says only the same three words and is the epitome of a gentle giant. This is exactly what Vin Diesel would probably look like if he was not human and provides the voice for the best cast role of the film. Both Cooper and himself team up and prove the leaps and bounds voices can make even paired alongside human characters.

            By now you should have figured out that there are literally no dull moments to be found.

 It's no longer a secret that the soundtrack of this movie is the number one album in the country due to the irresistibly toe-tapping classic hits. It adds nothing more than a perfect flow from scene to scene and makes the film in its entirety that much easier to watch. Great music means great movie, right? one usually follows the other and it is without a doubt that the soundtrack to Guardians of the Galaxy will go down in film history along with other classics such as Forrest Gump.

            The make-up department can see the nominations coming its way as it is all made impeccably real and gives life to what lies in space. I can't be too lame and say the the special effects are "out of this world, man!" but they are UNIVERSE-ally entrancing (told ya, keeping it cool) and vibrant from beginning to end.

             Even though this is based off Marvel Comics' story, the plot references and characters are surprisingly easy to follow but this can all be traced back to the success of director James Gunn (Dawn of the Dead writer) and his team of writers and casting directors. The cameos of Glenn Close, Benicio Del Toro, and John C. Reilly are just enough to give the audience it's fill of veterans and still have fun with the story. Word of Advice: There's no shame in dancing in the theater aisles, just saying. GRADE: 8.4/10