Ben Oliver

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Guardians of the Galaxy

You’ve got a plan? Okay, first of all, you’re copying me from when I said I had a plan.
04 February 2015

A rag-tag band of outcasts and criminals join forces to save the Galaxy from a bad guy with an evil object.

This is a somewhat surprising film from the Marvel people. Their usual stern, slightly dull tone has been replaced by a wacky sense of humour and a complete disregard for believability. That makes Guardians of the Galaxy refreshing and puts it a cut above many of its comic book counterparts.

Unfortunately it’s not that funny, yet the film decides to lean heavily on its sense of humour. Gunn strikes a unique tone then flogs it to death within an hour.

I can imagine Guardians being a divisive film amongst fans. On the one hand it’s aimed at a younger audience, more ‘serious’ viewers might not be so fond of a ‘lame’ talking raccoon. On the other hand, it’s an absolute breath of fresh air and can be really entertaining.

For me it’s just another bit of a franchise being launched, albeit a half decent franchise. The film does a great job of introducing new characters whilst staying within the realms of its plot (a boring plot mind you). It’s perhaps the only Marvel film to date that doesn’t feel like it’s trying to be cool all the time.

Guardians of the Galaxy is a good dose of silly fun, but sadly I think they made the action figures before they wrote the script. Another pretty good chapter in an ever growing collection of pretty good films.