Marvel May - Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

        Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, for today's review for Marvel May, we're looking at a film that came completely out of left field, based on one of Marvel's more obscure comic titles, and surprised many fans with just how good it was. This is Guardians of the Galaxy. 

       So we open on Earth in the 1980's, where we meet a boy named Peter Quill, who goes to see his mother, Meredith, in the hospital due to her dying of brain cancer. After her passing, Quill runs outside of the hospital, only to be taken by an alien spaceship belonging to a group of bandits called the Ravagers. 

         Many years later, Quill is now a grown man, and is going by the moniker of Star-Lord. On a planet called Morag, Quill goes after a priceless Orb, only to be confronted by a mercenary named Korath, who is looking for the Orb for his boss, Ronan the Accuser of the Kree. Quill takes the Orb to his ship, the Milano, and leaves with the Orb. After being contacted by Ravager leader Yondu Udonta, Quill heads to the planet Xandar to meet with ba salesman called the Broker, and Yondu puts a bounty on Quill. Meanwhile, Ronan sends Gamora, one of two assassin's sent to work with Ronan by their adoptive father Thanos, to Xandar to get the Orb. Also on Xandar are two criminals, Rocket and Groot, who attempt to capture Quill and collect on Yondu's bounty, but all four of Quill, Gamora, Rocket, and Groot are arrested by the Nova Corps and taken to the Kyln. 

        Many prisoners want Gamora dead, but none moreso than Drax the Destroyer, whose wife and daughter were killed by Ronan. Quill, Rocket, and Gamora make a plan to escape, which Groot screws up, and Drax joins in, as he sees this as the perfect opportunity to go after Ronan. Upon escape, the group recovers their personal effects, including a walkman that is very important to Quill, as it contains a cassette tape, marked "Awesome Mix Vol. 1," with songs he listened to as a child with his mother. After leaving, Gamora leads the group to Knowhere, where they're to meet Taneleer Tivan aka The Collector. Tivan exposits on how before the universe came into existence, there were six singularities, the remnants of which formed into six gems known as the Infinity Stones, of which the Orb contains one such Stone: the Power Stone. Unfortunately, the Collector's aide grabs the Stone, and the Collector's collection is destroyed, and Gamora suggests taking the Stone to Xandar, believing it will be safe in the hands of the Nova Corps.

       Drax, however, called Ronan to get his revenge, but he is easily defeated, as is Gamora, whose sister Nebula takes the Stone for Ronan. Quill calls for Yondu, and goes into space to save Gamora, while Rocket heads back to Knowhere for Drax and Groot ,who then make a plan to save Quill and Gamora from the Ravagers. Yondu, who is clearly upset with Quill trying to screw him over, but relents at the opportunity to go up against Ronan. Quill and Gamora reunite with Rocket, Drax, and Groot, and the fave make a plan to stop Ronan, recover the Stone, and save Xandar. 

       The battle rages, and Ronan's ship, the Dark Aster, is destroyed. Sadly, many lives of both Ravagers and Nova Corps are lost, as is Groot, who sacrifices himself to save his friends. Ronan, who has placed the Stone onto his hammer, survived the wreckage, and loses the stone due to Quill's distraction: challenging Ronan to a dance-off. Quill grabs the Stone, and Gamora, Rocket, and Drax grab hold of Quill to share the power, and take the name Ronan gave them: the Guardians of the Galaxy. Ronan is defeated, the Stone is secured, and Quill gives Yondu a troll doll while giving the Power Stone to Nova Prime, leader of the Nova Corps, who rebuilds Quill's ship, and expunges the Guardians' criminal records. Quill finally opens a present from his mother, years after getting it the night she passed away, and inside is a new mixtape marked "Awesome Mix Vol. 2." We also see Groot starting to regrow from a branch of the original Groot. In a post-credits scene, Tivan sits in the ruins of his collection, gets licked in the face by Cosmo the Space Dog, and is heckled by Howard the Duck. 

        This movie was a genuine surprise, and I had a lot of fun with it. The main cast, including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, and the voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel, are all terrific. Other actors, including Karen Gillan, Lee Pace, Djimon Honsou, John C. Reilly, Benicio del Toro, Michael Rooker, and Glenn Close are all terrific as well. 

        I like a lot of the makeup work done on the movie, as getting to see actors in makeup as space aliens is more believable than CGI aliens. I will, however concede that the CGI used for Rocket and Groot was too notch. I also really liked the soundtrack for this movie, "Awesome Mix Vol. 1," and I actually have it on CD. My only real issue is that Ronan's reasons for wanting to destroy Xandar was pretty haphazard and weak, but that's been par the course of most Marvel villains up to this point.  Overall, I had a lot of fun with Guardians of the Galaxy, and it made me a fan of director James Gunn, whose latest film, The Suicide Squad, is one of my most anticipated films of 2021. I'm going to give Guardians of the Galaxy a rating of 4.5/5. This is Chuck signing off. Tune in later today for a reunion with Earth's Mightiest Heroes with Avengers: Age of Ultron as Marvel May continues.