Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
Starring Chris Pratt (Peter Quill / Star-Lord), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Dave Bautista (Drax), Lee Pace (Ronan), Michael Rooker (Yondu), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Glenn Close (Nova Prime), and Benicio Del Toro (The Collector), with Bradley Cooper as Rocket and Vin Diesel as Groot and with a cameo appearance by Josh Brolin as Thanos, a special appearance by Stan Lee, and a post-credits scene introducing Seth Green as Howard the Duck
Directed by James Gunn
Produced by Kevin Feige
Written by Nicole Perlman and James Gunn
Music By Tyler Bates
Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures
Run Time: 2 hours and 2 minutes
World Premier: July 21, 2014, in Hollywood, California
Opening Weekend Box Office: $94 million (North America)
Worldwide Box Office: $772 million
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Memorable Guardians of the Galaxy Quotes
âFrom the beginning, I thought about Guardians as an origin story for a family instead of an origin story for an individual. Groot’s kind of like the pet, Gamora is sort of the ethical engine, in a weird way, which is funny because she’s a murderer. But she’s got a lot of integrity. Quill’s kind of the father. Also, not having Quill and Gamora be in a romantic relationship was key â having a bit of sexual tension, but not actually having them hook up, was important to me.â â Nicole Perlman
âAs I’m sitting in traffic, all of a sudden it just came to me. I started thinking ‘If there were a raccoon in this movie and he were talking, how could he be talking?’ It was really taking that idea and discovering that it was a very sad, tragic story at the center of The Guardians of the Galaxy. Here’s this sad little animal that was taken and turned into something that he shouldn’t be. He was utterly and completely alone in this universe with no attachment to anyone whatsoever, nor having any way to know how to adapt to another being. That grounded the whole story of something that could have been cartoony otherwise. Rocket’s the one I relate to personally, [feeling] like an outcast for much of my life, and like I don’t belong. That was the first thing that lit me up about the project.â â James Gunn
[The Marvel Creative Committee] did not understand the music. They did not understand the tone. We really fought for the movie and to keep James’ vision intact. We knew we were on to something special. We just kept pushing forward.â â Jeremy Latcham
âI think Guardians of the Galaxy is the boldest film we’ve made since the first Iron Man in terms of it being unexpected. When we talk about the raccoon and the tree, we get a lot of funny looks. And we like funny looks, because funny looks are challenging to us. Funny looks say, ‘How are you going to pull that off?’ And frankly, if we don’t get funny looks at the beginning of a project we’re working on, we think we’re doing something wrong.â â Kevin Feige
âAt the time, as an actor, I didn’t really believe that I would be right for [Peter] Quill. I was really redefining who I was as an actor. I didn’t think I’d fit unless I’d play a sidekick character. I didn’t see myself as a Star-Lord type, or a hero type. This is gonna sound crazy, but I even passed on the opportunity to audition for it a couple of times.â â Chris Pratt
âBecause James is so weird and kooky, the comedy was different. It wasn’t traditional. It was very awkward. It was very uncomfortable. And it was kind of stupid. But I loved everything about that.â â Zoe Saldana
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Fun Guardians of the Galaxy Facts
Writer Nicole Perlman began brainstorming ideas for a Guardians of the Galaxy film in the year 2010. She was given creative freedom to mix and match characters from the entire Guardians pantheon. The original Guardians of the Galaxy team debuted in Marvel Comics in 1969, created by Stan Lee and Arnold Drake based off a concept devised by Roy Thomas. The team has boasted various roster members over the years and Perlman combed through runs from the 1970’s and 1990’s before landing on the 2008 Guardians run by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning.
Abnett and Lanning launched a new Guardians title that year, and with it a new Guardians roster, which included select characters that would grow to be the MCU’s first roster of Guardians: Peter Quill / Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot. Nicole Perlman fell in love with Abnett and Lanning’s run and their roster of characters and after working up a rough draft version of a script, Marvel Studios green-lit a Guardians of the Galaxy film. Nicole Perlman soon began working with Nate Moore in further developing the script. Perlman took a lot of creative liberties with the Peter Quill / Star-Lord character, making Quill over into an antiquities smuggler whose persona was based on Star Wars character Han Solo. Originally, Marvel character Nova was considered to be the film’s lead, but Perlman and Moore got hooked more and more on the idea of their Star-Lord being the lead, and ultimately, that was the character they went with. As Peter Quill continued to be re-imagined, Perlman also made him a fan of 1980’s popular culture. A portable cassette player, an old video game, and Star Wars toys were amongst Quill’s prized possessions. As the film continued to develop, Nate Moore would ultimately be reassigned duties on Captain America: The Winter Soldier while Jeremy Latcham was moved over to co-produce Guardians.
From there, Marvel Studios met with a reported 30 different directors to discuss their vision for Guardians, but none quite understood what Marvel Studios wanted to accomplish with their Space Opera. On top of that, Marvel Studios was still in its infancy as an independent Studio during a lot of the time that Guardians was being developed and pitched. Iron Man had been a big hit, but a lot of people were still skeptical about the Shared Universe concept and uncertain how The Avengers would play itself out. On top of all of that, many saw Guardians as a risk due it being a relatively unknown property even within the Marvel fan community and its obscure characters which included a talking tree and a talking raccoon.
In time, Director James Gunn landed on the radar of Marvel Studios, but following his initial meeting with Jeremy Latcham and Jonathan Schwartz, Gunn decided to take a pass on the film, feeling that it was a story he wouldn’t be able to connect with. A traffic jam on his way back home from the Marvel Studios offices allowed Gunn time to reconsider however, and by the team he arrived home, he was all-in. From there, a meeting was arranged between Gunn and Kevin Feige where Gunn would give his Guardians pitch, but Director Peyton Reed was also set to meet with Feige to make his own Guardians pitch. Gunn ended up being the one that won Feige over, but Peyton Reed made a good enough impression that he was soon thereafter offered directing duties on Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man.
On July 14, 2012, Kevin Feige publicly confirmed that a Guardians of the Galaxy film was in active development at Marvel Studios, sharing concept art with the crowd gathered within Hall H at San Diego Comic Con. After taking the Guardians job, James Gunn began making select changes to Nicole Perlman’s script, making enough changes in fact that he was credited as a co-writer for the finished product. Perlman meanwhile was the first female writer to receive a writing credit on an MCU film. As the script continued to be tweaked, Jeremy Latcham met with Joss Whedon concerning the idea of using Thanos in Guardians. Whedon had just recently accepted directing duties on the Avengers sequel, and Latcham knew that Whedon had been tossing ideas around concerning Thanos for his film. Whedon gave his blessing, but after Latcham gave Whedon a copy of the script to read over, Whedon emphatically informed Latcham of a change that Joss felt must be made, pointing out that Peter Quill would never connect with audiences if he wasn’t just an ordinary guy. Up to that point, the plan had been to make Star-Lord the son of the Emperor J’son of Spartax as he was in the comics, but the creative forces involved took Whedon’s advice and did away with the notion of Star-Lord being a Prince.
One of the things Director James Gunn brought to the table after being hired for Guardians was an emphasis on music. Gunn felt the music in Guardians of the Galaxy should almost be a character unto itself. Key scenes and sequences would be defined by the film’s music, which would be chosen by Gunn based on his own tastes and his own passion. Gunn furthermore insisted that color be embraced throughout production. Gunn’s vision was to make a film that looked and sounded unlike anything that Marvel Studios had ever produced.
On February 13, 2013, Marvel Studios announced the casting of Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star-Lord after a strenuous and thorough search for the right man for the job. From there, former WWE Superstar Dave Bautista was cast as Drax the Destroyer after another thorough search and the eradication of the âno wrestlersâ rule that had previously been attached to the part. Then, on May 3, 2013, as Iron Man 3 was released in theaters, Zoe Saldana officially joined the cast as Gamora.
Chris Pratt underwent a strict diet and training regimen to get himself into superhero shape after being cast as Peter Quill / Star-Lord, losing a reported 60-pounds over the course of six-months.
On July 2, 2013, Guardians of the Galaxy commenced filming in London, England. Just over two-weeks into filming, cast members ventured to California for the 2013 San Diego Comic Con where Kevin Feige joined Director James Gunn, Michael Rooker, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Benicio Del Toro, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, and Chris Pratt for a Guardians of the Galaxy panel. There, actress Karen Gillan was revealed as having joined the cast to portray Nebula, and the actress entertained the crowd by removing a wig and revealing that she’d shaven her head completely bald for the role. Select footage and conceptual art were also shared with the audience, and everything shown was so well-received that a subtle buzz generated that would only grow in the months to come.
As Guardians of the Galaxy continued filming in the United Kingdom, actors Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel joined the cast to voice Rocket and Groot respectively. James Gunn’s brother Sean filled-in for Rocket on-set while Krystian Godlewski stood-in for Groot, both of which were CGI creations. Filming for Guardians of the Galaxy wrapped on October 12, 2013. While Guardians was in its various stages of production, Marvel Studios moved into new offices at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Despite its hundreds upon hundreds of visual effects shots, Guardians of the Galaxy also incorporated a lot of practical elements to bring the characters in the film to life. Actor Dave Bautista underwent 5-hours of makeup and prosthetic attachments to become Drax, which took another 90-minutes to remove at the end of the day. Actresses Karen Gillan and Zoe Saldana also endured lengthy time in the makeup chair to bring their respective characters to life.
Peter Quill’s ship The Milano was named in honor of his boyhood crush: actress Alyssa Milano.
Stan Lee made his 10th MCU cameo appearance for Marvel Studios in Guardians of the Galaxy. Stan co-created the Groot character and the film’s primary antagonist Ronan the Accuser.
Daughters of Thanos Nebula and Gamora were both physically enhanced by their adopted father Thanos. Gamora boasts bionic implants throughout her body, including a metal spine and a cybernetic skeletal structure. Nebula meanwhile boasts bionic implants inside her body in addition to many machine parts on the outside of her body. Guardians of the Galaxy reveals that Gamora is Thanos’ favorite daughter and that the enhancements bestowed upon Nebula were torture for her to endure as for her every failure, Thanos would remove a piece of her body and replace it. Nebula’s cybernetic implants allow her to heal rapidly and reshape her body when she suffers damage. Thanos’ obsession with cybernetics was first teased in The Avengers as both the invading Chitauri and the beastly Leviathan were cybernetically enhanced creatures, courtesy of the Mad Titan.
Guardians of the Galaxy significantly expanded the Marvel Cinematic Universe, particularly on the Cosmic side. The film shows planets, stars, and moons that exist far outside of the Nine Realms sacred to The Asgardians that comprise the World Tree Yggdrasil. Tom Hiddleston’s Loki alludes to this in The Avengers during the cliff-side conversation that he shares with Chris Hemsworth’s Thor during which the God of Mischief exclaims âI’ve seen world’s you’ve never known about!â The 2017 film Thor: Ragnarok would go on to reveal that there was much knowledge that King Odin of Asgard kept from Thor and Loki’s generation of Asgardians, provoked by a ruthless war with his daughter Hela after she expressed ambition to extend Asgard’s rule beyond the Nine Realms. When Loki fell from Asgard in Thor, he landed in one of these forbidden realms of Space: Sanctuary, where he forged his alliance with Thanos, who between Thor and The Avengers schooled Loki in the true scope of the Universe.
In Guardians of the Galaxy, Rocket’s escape from The Kyln marked his 23rd prison escape.
The mining colony of Knowhere in Guardians of the Galaxy exists within the severed head of a Celestial. Eson the Searcher; a Celestial, is furthermore seen during the sequence at The Collector’s Museum in a flashback that sees Eson wield the Power Stone to lay waste to an entire civilization. The Celestials were created by Jack Kirby in 1976. Within the Marvel Comics continuity, the Celestials were amongst the first lifeforms created in and by the original sentient Universe known as the First Firmament. Like the First Firmament, these physically enormous beings boasted the power of Spontaneous Creation themselves. In Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, Peter Quill’s biological father is revealed to be a Celestial known as Ego, which means Quill is half-human / half-Celestial, explaining how he was able to wield the Power Stone during the Dance-Off to Save the Universe. The Celestials’ place within the MCU would be further elaborated on in Marvel Studios’ 2021 film Eternals, which introduced Arishem as the Prime Celestial and creator of the Universe, in addition to the beastly Deviants and the predominantly heroic Eternals.
In Guardians of the Galaxy, the Orb is revealed to house the Power Stone; one of the six Infinity Stones that were first name-dropped within the Marvel Cinematic Universe during the mid-credits scene of Thor: The Dark World. The Asgardians passed the Aether (the Reality Stone) off to The Collector in order to avoid the danger that would be affiliated with Asgard housing two Stones. This implied that the Tesseract (taken back to Asgard from Earth in The Avengers) was also an Infinity Stone. This is confirmed visually during the scene in Guardians in which Benicio Del Toro’s Collector explains the nature of the Infinity Stones to the members of the will-be Guardians of the Galaxy at his Museum. Furthermore, Thanos’ recruitment of Ronan to acquire the Power Stone in this film hints at the Mad Titan’s obsession with collecting the Stones, as he tasks Ronan to do for him what Loki failed to do in The Avengers: fetch him an Infinity Stone.
In Guardians of the Galaxy, several creatures can be seen from previous MCU films within The Collector’s Museum including a Chitauri (seen in The Avengers), a Dark Elf (seen in Thor: The Dark World), and a Frost Giant (see in in Thor). Marvel Comics characters Cosmo and Howard the Duck also appear in The Collector’s Museum.
During post-production for Guardians of the Galaxy, the Marvel Studios team found themselves unpleased with various aspects of the villainous Ronan character. This prompted Marvel Studios to move forward with an earlier idea to include Thanos in the film. Following up on a recommendation by Joss Whedon, Marvel Studios reached out to actor Josh Brolin to portray the Mad Titan. After being encouraged to take the part by the MCU’s Hulk Mark Ruffalo, Brolin did just that, filming his scenes during Guardians re-shoots. Thanos’ purpose in Guardians was to further establish Gamora and Nebula as his adopted children and to give Ronan someone to rebel against.
Josh Brolin was formally introduced as Thanos at the 2014 San Diego Comic Con on July 26, 2014, mere days before the theatrical release of Guardians of the Galaxy. There, Brolin shared the stage with Robert Downey Jr and donned a toy replica of the Infinity Gauntlet; a golden glove that Thanos used in the comics to wield the six Infinity Gems and eradicate half of all life throughout the Universe as a tribute to his beloved Death.
In Guardians of the Galaxy, there are only three main recurring characters from previous MCU films: Thanos (who appeared during the mid-credits of The Avengers), The Other (who appeared in The Avengers), and The Collector (who appeared during the mid-credits of Thor: The Dark World).
Guardians of the Galaxy boasted a reported 2,750 visual effects shot, which made up 90% of the film.
The first trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy debuted on February 8, 2014, on Jimmy Kimmel Live! The trailer received 22-million views during its first 24-hours of release.
On July 29, 2014, Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
The following songs comprise the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack that is heard throughout the film:
âHooked on a Feelingâ (Blue Swede)
âGo All the Wayâ (Raspberries)
âSpirit in the Skyâ (Norman Greenbaum)
âMoonage Daydreamâ (David Bowe)
âFooled Around and Fell in Loveâ (Elvin Bishop)
âI’m Not in Loveâ (10cc)
âI Want You Backâ (The Jackson 5)
âCome and Get Your Loveâ (Redbone)
âCherry Bombâ (The Runaways)
âEscape â The Pina Colada Songâ (Rupert Holmes)
âOh-h-h Childâ (Five Stairsteps)
âAin’t No Mountain High Enoughâ (Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell)
The soundtrack was released as Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol 1Â and topped the Billboard 200 charts en route to being certified GOLD eight-weeks after its release. The soundtrack finished as the fifth best-selling album of 2014, selling 890,000 copies that year. In January of 2015, the album was certified PLATIMUM. Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol 1 went on to sell 1.5-million copies in the United States, which included 11,000 cassettes. Worldwide, the album sold over 2.5-million copies in 2014 alone.
On November 14, 2014, at the Hollywood Film Awards, Guardians of the Galaxy won the Hollywood Blockbuster Award. On June 25, 2015, at the Saturn Awards, Guardians of the Galaxy won the Award for Best Comic-to-Film Motion Picture, James Gunn won the Award for Best Director, Chris Pratt won the Award for Best Actor for his role as Peter Quill / Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy, and Guardians of the Galaxy won the Award for Best Makeup. James Gunn and Nicole Perlman also won the Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) at the Hugo Awards (Science-Fiction Achievement Awards).
Guardians of the Galaxy was the third highest-grossing film of 2014, a year in which Marvel Studios once again boasted two films that were amongst the Top-10 highest-grossing movies of a given year, as Captain America: The Winter Soldier was the seventh highest-grossing film of 2014.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
My Guardians of the Galaxy Review
Guardians of the Galaxy opens with the death of Peter Quill’s mother Meredith and his ensuing abduction by a spaceship that we later learn belongs to Yondu Udonta and The Ravagers, who are essentially a group of space pirates. Yondu was hired by Peter Quill’s mysterious father (whose identity would be revealed in Guardians of the Galaxy Volume Two) to bring Quill to him, but Yondu instead raised Quill as his own son, training him in the Ravager way. Quill was abducted in 1988 and we catch up with him in the year 2014 on a Ravager mission to confiscate a relic known as the Orb from the ruins of the planet Morag. There, Quill is confronted by the villainous Korath, who is on a mission to retrieve the Orb for the militant Kree Warlord known as Ronan. Introducing himself as Star-Lord to the confusion of Korath and his team, Quill manages to leave with the Orb and then sets out to sell the relic to The Broker on the planet Xandar. Not knowing the true power of the Orb nor its value, Quill unwittingly becomes entangled with Gamora (the rebellious daughter of the dreaded Cosmic Warlord Thanos, who hired Ronan to retrieve the Orb for him). as well as with a pair of bounty hunters in the Flora Colossus known as Groot and what Quill identifies as a racoon-like creature named Rocket. Quill, Gamora, Rocket, and Groot are ultimately arrested and detained at The Kyln by the Nova Corps where they meet a powerful Kylosian male named Drax who has it out for anyone that has anything to do with Ronan, who murdered his wife and child. The Quintet quickly come together on a plan to escape The Kyln, sell the Orb, and split the money and following Rocket’s lead, they ultimately make an explosive escape and venture to Knowhere (a mining colony that is stationed within the decapitated head of a deceased Celestial) to sell the Orb to The Collector. Meeting with the convicts inside his Museum, The Collector reveals that the Orb is an Infinity Stone (the Power Stone), one of six ancient relics that predate the known Universe and that are unmatched in their destructive potential. As The Collector eagerly prepares to close the deal, his servant (a Krylorian female named Carinia) takes hold of the Orb and is consumed by its immense power, causing a violent explosion. The deal goes up in smoke and the would-be sellers make it out alive but are greatly troubled by the destructive power of the Orb. In the meantime, Drax has challenged Ronan to come and fight him and Ronan complies, easily disposing of Drax while Thanos’ other adopted daughter Nebula retrieves the Orb. With Gamora in danger of dying in the cold vacuum of Space, Quill radios his location to Yondu (who is angry over Quill going into business for himself) and places his helmet over Gamora, saving her life. Yondu then arrives just in time to retrieve Quill and Gamora both. Eventually, Yondu agrees to work with Quill in exchange for the Orb and Quill, Gamora, Rocket, Groot, and Drax unite to defend the Galaxy and take the fight to Ronan. In the meantime, Ronan has seized the Orb for himself, greatly angering Thanos and he vows to use the Power Stone to destroy Xandar. The outlaws and The Ravagers, receive an assist from the Nova Corps in a united effort to keep Ronan from reaching the ground where he will unleash the Power Stone and the whole of Xandar will be consumed by its destructive power just as Carina was. A huge air fight breaks out and there are dozens of casualties. The outlaws eventually board Ronan’s warship The Dark Aster, but they are unable to keep the ship in the air. Groot sacrifices his life to save his friends from the ensuing crash. On the ground, Ronan emerges from the wreckage and begins taunting the Xandarians as well as the quintet that dared oppose him, whom he mockingly labels “The Guardians of the Galaxy.” Ronan then releases the Power Stone and Quill promptly grabs hold of it. Star-Lord begins to be consumed by its power, but one-by-one his teammates grab his hand and share the power. That power is then directed at Ronan and Ronan is obliterated. From there, Quill gives Yondu a faux replica of the Orb, which is handed over to the Nova Corps. The Nova Corps also exonerates The Guardians, and the team sets out to continue defending the Galaxy as a new, Baby Groot is born put the remnants of the original Groot that were gathered by Rocket. Â
The Guardians of the Galaxy are one of my most beloved Marvel teams these days, but even I will admit that I, like many others, didn’t know all that much about them when this film was released back in 2014. I began reading Brian Michael Bendis’ Guardians run in 2013, and I enjoyed that enough to go back and check out Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s 2008-2010 run, and that led me to go back and read the Annihilation Event Series in its entirety. I still came out of all of that with only a general idea of who this lineup of The Guardians were, but I also came out of it with a serious love for Rocket Raccoon, who is today my fourth-favorite Marvel character behind only Loki, Wanda Maximoff, and Steve Rogers.
Guardians of the Galaxy was the first Marvel Studios film that I watched twice in theaters. My wife wasn’t all too high on venturing out to the theater to see these relatively unknown characters, so I went to the movies with my nephews. I was so very blown away by what I saw, I practically begged my wife to go see it with me, so the following weekend, we went out with a couple of friends, and I saw the movie for a second time (this time in 3-D). She loved the film, and I loved Guardians of the Galaxy even more the second time around!
Guardians of the Galaxy is to this day, one of the most re-watchable MCU films for me. It’s not my favorite MCU film and wasn’t even my favorite MCU film at that time (I ranked Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Avengers over it), but it was one of the best comic book movies I’d ever seen, and a film experience unlike anything I’d ever had. I found Guardians of the Galaxy to be extremely funny. It was loaded with the kind of humor that I appreciate. I furthermore loved the music throughout the film, and I was enamored with the sheer look of the movie. Visually, it was the most beautiful film I’d ever seen; so many bright lights and vivid colors from the characters themselves to the vast Universe that served as their backdrop.
As funny as the film was, however, it was equally full of heart and emotion. Comedies are a dime a dozen, but this film was no mere comedy. It was an action-adventure. It was a drama. It was a Space Opera. Having viewed the trailers multiple times, I knew I was going to laugh a lot going into this film, but I didn’t expect to shed tears before the Marvel Studios signature even rolled! I lost my father to cancer when I was a child, so cancer plots always hit me hard and seeing young Peter Quill suffer the death of his mother was gut-wrenching.
About the time my tears dried, the film jumped right into Come and Get Your Love and Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill dancing along Morag, kicking alien creatures around and even using one as a makeshift microphone! This leads right into his confrontation with Ronan’s men, and the beautifully shot scene was both exciting and funny to behold as Quill made his escape (and I got a huge kick out him forgetting Bereet was on his ship).
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Moving on to Xandar, we got introduced to Rocket and Groot and we got our Stan Lee cameo (complete with Rocket insulting Stan), and we got Star-Lord’s interactions with The Broker en route to seeing him meet and then get into an altercation with Zoe Saldana’s Gamora which grew to include Rocket and Groot. Rocket stole this scene for me, and by the time it ended in the quartet’s arrest, I was all-in on this film.
The Escape from The Kyln was a really fun sequence, with my favorite part being our introduction to Rocket’s obsession with prosthetics, which Marvel Studios has had a lot of fun with over the years, though we ultimately learned in 2023’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume Three that this obsession is deeply rooted in tragedy. I also found a lot to appreciate about everything that went on at Knowhere (drunk Rocket stands out, but again – tragic), and I loved seeing the group come together as The Guardians of the Galaxy by uniting as a team and wielding the Power Stone against Ronan.
Like James Gunn, Rocket is the character I relate to most in the Guardians franchise. I understand his not-so-subtle resentment for his maker due to the emotional and physical pain he has suffered throughout his life. His âI never asked to be madeâ line really connected with me personally, and Rocket had just enough to drink that his true inner struggles bled through the hard, tough-guy, smart-ass exterior that he puts out there 99% of the time. Rocket feels and Rocket hurts and ultimately Rocket cares, and these are the underlying things that make him not just a fun and funny character (and he is very fun and funny), but also a character worth cheering for. I think Bradley Cooper nailed the voice and attitude of Rocket and kudos to the countless people that worked so hard and in so many ways to bring this wonderful character to life from scratch.
Speaking of creating characters from scratch, kudos go out as well to everyone that brought Groot to life! I will always commend James Gunn for not just getting a gun-toting, upright-walking, talking raccoon with an attitude over with audiences, but also for getting a walking, talking tree that says the same three words in the exact same succession over with audiences. Groot may have been the most concerning concept on paper when Guardians was first coming together, but these days, everyone loves Groot and for a lot of people, Groot stole the show in Guardians. Groot’s innocent eyes were his most endearing characteristic for me. He was big and strong, but also benevolent and child-like. His close relationship with Rocket helps keep the character moving throughout the film, and theirs is a beautiful friendship! There is absolutely nothing that Groot won’t do for Rocket, be that helping his little buddy bounty-hunt or be that sacrificing his life for his friend. And Groot’s sacrifice was an absolute highlight of Guardians for me, sad as it was. Once again, it had me crying and watching him wipe Rocket’s tears and gently declare âWe are Grootâ was beautiful and heartbreaking.
There were many, many things I loved about the other members of The Guardians of the Galaxy. First off, everyone was perfectly cast and perfectly costumed / painted. Dave Bautista was hilarious as Drax in my opinion. His inability to understand metaphors made for a lot of laughs! Meanwhile, Chris Pratt was so very good as Peter Quill / Star-Lord! I loved the way he casually tosses around the Orb (which is really, really dangerous as it turns out), I love his 80’s obsession and passion for song and dance, and most importantly, I love his chemistry with the rest of the cast. His nonchalant attitude made for a really fun dynamic amongst the members of The Guardians. He bickers with each of them in some small or big way during the film, but in the end, it is he who is able to bring them together and inspire them to try and be more than what they are. Star-Lord starts this film out as a bumbling, pretentious, rebel, but ends up as a capable, courageous, leader, which makes him one of Marvel Studios’ most unlikely heroes, but for a lot of people, also one of its most relatable.
I enjoyed Karen Gillan as Nebula and Michael Rooker as Yondu in this film, but the best for both of those characters would be yet to come. The only negative I really had in this movie pertained to Ronan. He felt like a step backwards for Marvel Studios after the villainous excellence of The Winter Soldier; more in-line with the likes of Ivan Vanko (Iron Man 2), Aldrich Killian (Iron Man 3), and Malekith (Thor: The Dark World). I understood his motivations and all, I just felt he wasn’t memorable compared to all of the other characters and performances in this film.
Guardians of the Galaxy was a big-time risk for Marvel Studios, but it was also a big-time win! This movie will forever hold a very special place in my heart; watching it with my children when they were smaller and watching my daughter carry around her toy stuffed animal of Rocket that talked, and listening to the music religiously with both of them – those were wonderful days, and all these years later, after the major shift in my fandom that this awesome film provoked, it’s almost hard to remember a time when The Guardians of the Galaxy weren’t one of my favorite things.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Highlights of Guardians of the Galaxy:
Rocket Raccoon
I Am Groot
Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star-Lord
Dave Bautista as Drax
Zoe Saldana as Gamora
Karen Gillan as Nebula
Michael Rooker as Yondu
Humor
Heart
Action
Beautiful Visuals
Infinity Stones Monologue and Reveal
We Are Groot
Mid-Credits Scene Featuring Dancing Baby Groot
Post-Credits Scene Featuring Howard the Duck
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Notable MCU Concepts and Characters Introduced:
Peter Quill / Star-Lord. Drax. Rocket. Groot. Gamora. Nebula. Ronan. Korath. Yondu. Kraglin. Meredith Quill. The Ravagers. The Nova Corp. The Guardians of the Galaxy. Various Worlds Outside the Nine Realms. Xandar. Knowhere. The Celestials. The Orb. Baby Groot (Groot II).
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