Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe took bigger risks, figuring out the recipe for success along the way. I remember the jokes well when Iron Man was first announced amidst a sea of Spider-Man films, X-Men films, and Fantastic Four films, usually considered the A-list of Marvel superheroes. The words were not kind.
Yet, those first few entries, stumbles and all, were far and away well received, mightily appreciated, and thoroughly enjoyable. So, when I heard about the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, the first thing that I knew was that the genius behind Scooby-Doo was the director. I knew nothing of these characters, had never heard of them, or read a single issue. I stand by my words on the day I heard about this movie – I trust what they’re doing.
I would not be proven wrong.
Guardians of the Galaxy focuses on a ragtag bunch of people from across the galaxy and, as per usual, the lead character is a human from Earth so that we can identify with him in the grand scheme of things. Chris Pratt plays Peter Quill and has picked up the moniker of Star Lord which he thinks is cool and nobody has ever heard of. Pratt manages to capture lightning in a bottle, by mixing his boyishly/rugged mix of good looks, bumbling charm, and passion for music from the decade he was abducted from Earth on a mixtape. Zoe Saldana plays “the most dangerous woman in the galaxy” Gamora, daughter of Thanos, and her cold attitude, effortlessly chic style, and combat prowess cover for the vulnerable, compassionate woman who is just trying to survive in the dangerous court of her maniacal father.
The relationship between Gamora and Peter is a major subplot throughout the film, as he tries and fails to woe her again and again. By the end, though, the pair have something resembling the beginnings of a romantic interest in one another.
Offering their vocal skills for completely computer-generated characters are Bradley Cooper, as the foul-mouthed, temperamental, genetically altered Rocket Racoon and Vin Diesel as the walking, talking (I am Groot still counts) Groot, a pair of misbegotten, hilarious thieves. The final member, introduced a bit later than the initial quartet, is Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, who has it out for Ronan – the man who slaughtered his family along with half of his home world and is one of Thanos’ chief minions. Together, they form the titular group – though it takes them some time to get to that point.
When we first are introduced to Peter Quill, played by Wyatt Oleff, his mother is dying from cancer and, after she passes, he takes her final gift – said mixtape – and runs outside where he is literally promptly abducted by aliens.
This is how the movie begins, before jumping forward thirty-six years to a modern-day Quill on seemingly desolate planet, looking for a mysterious orb that is definitely, most assuredly, not a McGuffin.
But Star Lord is not the only one after the orb, and just as he’s about to take it, a mercenary, Korath (Djimon Hounsou) led by the fanatical renegade from Kree (Ronan the Accuser, himself played by Lee Pace) has come to claim it and draws Star Lord into a quick battle. Escaping with his bounty, he heads off to sell it for whatever it might be worth.
What lies within it, though, is priceless, and by stealing it, he incurs the wrath of Yondu (Michael Rooker), a leader of the Ravagers, the people who kidnapped him as a child.
Clashing with Gamora over the orb, and soon Rocket and Groot who are there to claim to the bounty on Peter’s head, placed by Yondu of course. On the planet Xandar, the Nova Corps are its protectors, and they have no problems dealing with all of them by arresting them and sending them to the Kyln, a nigh-inescapable prison in the middle of space. This is where the group meets Drax and Gamora’s life is in danger, as Thanos and his forces has killed or destroyed the lives of countless inmates’ worlds. If not for Drax claiming her death as his own, she probably wouldn’t have made it past the first thirty minutes without being covered in the blood of her enemies.
Guardians of the Galaxy is, at this point, the first team film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, coming in on the heels of Avengers and preceding the later-released Eternals, in 2021. You can see, in this film, how they were experimenting with the team aspect for the film, determining if this were a viable way to handle future properties. While in 2014, Fantastic Four and X-Men may not have been top of mind, being a cool five years before Disney purchased Fox’s properties, including these two IP’s, it certainly bodes well that they were able to handle a large group of characters that had not yet been introduced on screen before their debut as a team. Therein lies the magic of a Marvel film, varying concepts can be developed and tested before being baked into the tapestry. Peter Quill may be the main viewpoint character of this film, but he is by no means the most integral. Each of them is in their own way, and its sequels delves deeper into them as a result.
How the titular Guardians interact with one another is telling, as they go from outright enemies to friends to forming a family of choice. Tragedy colors the backstories of each character and informs their present-day decisions. Each character has their quirks, such as Drax and his hilarious malapropisms or Rocket and his obsession with technological-based body parts, not to mention low key kleptomania. It also covers the typical romance story arc in an interesting manner, when Peter and Gamora seem to be having a moment – she responds to his attempts at kissing her by bringing a knife to his throat, having no interest in being one of his public conquests. The banter between Groot and Rocket, who is capable of understanding precisely what I am Groot means, no matter the order or the tone, allows for the two characters to show their deep camaraderie, which expands to the others by the end of the film.
On the villainous side, Lee Pace’s Ronan looms over the story from a distance while Nebula (played by Karen Gillan), Gamora’s adoptive sister, joins him when he turns his back on Thanos in order to claim the power of the Orb for himself. As time has told, that Orb held one of the fabled Infinity Stones, in this case the Power Stone, which is capable of destroying everything it touches but the most powerful beings or weapons. See, I told you that it wasn’t a McGuffin.
Nebula is, like Gamora, far more complex than she initially appears. They both have a difficult relationship with Thanos, and because he is far too powerful to take their feelings out on, they only have one another. Nebula has suffered under the knife of Thanos, having pieces of her pulled and replaced with mechanical elements in order to make her “better” then she is, every time that she loses to Gamora. Seeing as how most of her body is metal, one can only imagine the horrors that she has endured. Ronan, in contrast, is far more arrogant in how his character is portrayed, casually claiming that he doesn’t even remember killing Drax’s family and probably doubts he’ll remember killing Drax. Is it any surprise that he betrayed Thanos?
Other characters include Benicio Del Toro as the Collector, whom Nebula has already contacted in order to sell the Orb to him on Knowhere – a colony built into the hollowed out head of a Celestial, mind you. Del Toro plays a decidedly hilarious character, whose undertones are quite frightening once you realize he collects… everything. Glenn Close also makes an appearance as Irani Rael, the leader of the Nova Corps, who is doing her damnedest to get the Kree to respond to the threat that Ronan represents for all of them in a clever foreshadowing to the general smarminess that the Empire actually is. The main person playing off of Close is Rhomann Dey, played by John C. Riley a corpsman in the Nova Corps, whose deadpan response to the Guardians is more than decimated when they save him and his companions late in the film.
Guardians of the Galaxy took its time to build up the varying characters and taking a more in depth look at the cosmic side of the MCU, which future films would build on from here. As it also takes place in the depths of space, far from Earth save for its opening, it felt disconnected from the main storyline until later films (Infinity War, Endgame, and Captain Marvel) more directly tied the Guardians to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
Patience has its rewards, after all.
Lloydd Marshall Books 