GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

Publicity poster for Guardians of the Galaxy (© James Gunn/Marvel Studios/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educationa;/review purposes only)

On 11 June 2017, I finally got around to watching the first Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel Comics Universe movie (now retitled Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1, following the release in 2017 of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2). Directed by James Gunn and originally released in 2014, it was among my ever-increasing collection of videos and DVDs that had been waiting to be viewed for quite some time – but it was well worth the wait.

As a comic book super-hero fan, I thoroughly enjoyed it, but not least of all because of the refreshingly-unstuffy Chris Pratt's engagingly laconic portrayal of the hero/anti-hero Peter Quill as a would-be (but in reality not always) ultra-cool, hip dude. Unlike so many po-faced 'what is my motivation?' actors currently purveying their thespian wares in Hollywood, Pratt never takes himself too seriously, actually seems to be enjoying himself, and therefore avoids mirroring his surname, unlike a fair few of his contemporaries whom I could (but won't) mention here. Unfortunately, the same cannot, I feel, be said of this film's leading actresses, whose character portrayals were, I felt, way too portentous, and pretentious (lighten up, ladies, it's only a super-hero film, it's not Citizen Kane!).

As one comes to expect as a matter of course nowadays from any super-hero genre film, the story is ludicrous (something to do with saving the galaxy from destruction by a super-villain named Ronan the Accuser who has channeled into himself the immeasurable potency of the Power Stone), but who watches this kind of film for profound plotting and lyrical depth anyway? What we want are dazzling special effects, and there are plenty of those throughout - which segues very neatly with two of my favourite characters, both CGI-generated. One is a genetically-engineered talking raccoon called Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), the other a huge sapient tree called Groot (not so talkative - his entire vocabulary consists of "I am Groot", albeit enunciated very effectively in innumerable variations by Vin Diesel).

The soundtrack contains a wonderful selection of 1970s songs (Quill habitually carries around with him and frequently plays an audio cassette tape of pop music dating from that decade and from before he was abducted as a child by a band of galaxy-hopping alien thieves who reared him thereafter). They include two such songs that, inexplicably, were hitherto new to me (despite being a 1970s teenager), but which are now massive favourites of mine – 'Hooked On A Feeling', by Blue Swede, and 'Come And Get Your Love', by Redbone.

I plan to watch Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, but meanwhile, click here to view my favourite scene from the original film, introducing to the audience during its opening credits the all-dancing all-butt-kicking adult Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord – or at least that's what he calls himself!), in which Chris Pratt showcases his character in the delightfully tongue-in-cheek, devil-may-care manner that continues throughout the movie, and all to Redbone's afore-mentioned, insanely-catchy 'Come And Get Your Love'. Enjoy it, and, btw, no small alien carnivorous bipeds were harmed during the making of this scene…

And click here to watch an official, exceedingly sfxy trailer for the entire movie.

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