Guardians of the Galaxy
Composite Score: 85.3
Starring: Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio Del Toro, and Sean Gunn
Director: James Gunn
Writers: James Gunn and Nicole Perlman
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Superhero
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for some language
Box Office: $773.35 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Guardians of the Galaxy is the first entry in James Gunn’s MCU trilogy starring the titular team of cosmic superheroes, chronicling the formation of the group and their escapades in pursuit of stopping a religious zealot from retrieving a mysterious orb for the Mad Titan Thanos in exchange for the destruction of the planet and people of Xandar. The team is comprised of Chris Pratt’s Peter “Star-Lord” Quill, Zoe Saldana’s Gamora, Dave Bautista’s Drax the Destroyer, Rocket Racoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), and Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel). They must face off against Lee Pace’s Ronan the Accuser and his team of Djimon Hounsou’s Korath and Karen Gillan’s Nebula, while fleeing from Michael Rooker’s Yondu and his crew of Ravagers. This film came at a defining moment in the MCU and continues to shape the superhero and blockbuster films that have come since. In addition to the film’s Oscar nominations for Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup and Hairstyling, its soundtrack reached the top of the Billboard 200 chart as a soundtrack composed entirely of previously released songs (a first in the chart’s history).
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
In a lot of ways, Guardians of the Galaxy signals the beginning of the downfall of popular cinema as we know it. While it might not be a reason to actually avoid this film, I do think that recognizing its unfortunate impact on modern moviegoing practices and expectations can help form a better understanding of the film. Just in terms of the MCU, Guardians served as a clear shift in the tone of its films – alongside 2014’s other MCU film Winter Soldier. Where Winter Soldier drove the incorporation of other genres into superhero films, Guardians left a much broader impact, leading audiences and studios to demand timely needle drops, funny quips about aliens not understanding Earth things, and witty remarks from an ensemble of leading characters from any blockbuster film not part of the Star Wars franchise or directed by Christopher Nolan that has released since then. While these things worked to make Guardians an instant success, they shouldn’t be a formula to be replicated time and again until the films they are applied to feel no longer entertaining and just like cheap copies of what came before. Likewise, Guardians showed Disney (and moviegoing audiences) that all MCU films were must-watch because they were going to be high quality (this, again, in tandem with Winter Soldier) in addition to entertaining, which has forever ruined the discourse around blockbusters. Honestly, if we were to take the MCU’s offerings in 2013 (Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World) or in 2015 (Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man) as the prime examples of what superhero films could be as opposed to the banger that was Winter Soldier and Guardians in the same year, then we might not have this constant announcement of every new box office “flop” and Rotten Tomatometer when new studio films drop that then get applied as indictments of the filmmakers and actors rather than the studios that are actually responsible. Just maybe. I don’t know. (Also, this film launched Chris Pratt’s career as an action star, and I’m still not convinced that that was at all a good thing.)
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
As much as its “innovations” might have set Hollywood up for a prolonged period of repetition in big-budget films, they do make for an excellent film in their original format. From the humor to the action to the soundtrack, the whole film works together to form a cohesive, nostalgic, funny sci-fi action film that remains one of the best superhero films ever made. Comedically, Guardians gives you an effective use of the “dumb” character with heart in Dave Bautista’s Drax, which has been repeated time and again since then, but never with quite the same levels of success, and a wide swath of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it one-liners that keep the whole script moving at a high pace and keep the audience chuckling at the proper moments.
In terms of its action, Guardians served as the MCU’s first foray into a fully space-based adventure, and it is executed really well. Sci-fi dogfights, laser gun hallway sequences, alien trees taking on armies of faceless soldiers, a prison break, big guys beating the crap out of each other, ladies fighting with electrified swords, a talking racoon with big guns – this film has it all, and none of it feels that poorly aged nearly ten years later. Again, thanks in large part to the soundtrack and the humor, the action sequences all flow seamlessly together with the story moments to form this cohesive and unique film that still wows years later.
The most iconic (and hardest to replicate) portion of Guardians of the Galaxy comes in the form of its soundtrack, which weaves seamlessly throughout the film, accentuating each scene with the perfect needle drop from start to finish. From the wistful opening of a young Peter listening to 10cc’s “I’m Not in Love” while waiting in the hospital to the iconic credit sequence of adult Peter lip-syncing to Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love” to Blue Swede’s “Hooked on a Feeling” playing over the crew getting processed into prison to the dance-off to save the galaxy when Peter dances to “O-o-h Child” by Five Stairsteps and every ear worm in between, the film’s soundtrack weaves the whole thing together into this modern sci-fi classic that has all the energy of the music of the 1960s and 70s, which is only heightened by the film’s wackier color palette and cast of characters.
An iconic soundtrack brings together thrilling sci-fi action sequences, a fun team-up, and quality jokes in Guardians of the Galaxy, making James Gunn’s first MCU film not just one of the best in the franchise, but also one of the best superhero films ever and one of the Greatest Films of All Time. Its legacy might be its most troubling aspect, but there’s no changing that, so you might as well give this one a watch. It is currently streaming on Disney+ if you need help finding it.
