Guardians of the Galaxy

Theatrical Release Date: 2014 08 01 (USA - 3D) / 2014 08 01 (USA)

UPC: 786936842760

Studio: Walt Disney

Summary: A group of interstellar outlaws team up to save the galaxy from a villain who seeks ultimate power in this comic book space adventure from Marvel Studios and director James Gunn (Slither, Super). Peter Quill was just a young boy when, devastated by his mother's death, he sprinted out of the hospital and was swept into the stars by Yondu (Michael Rooker), the leader of an eclectic band of space scavengers known as The Ravagers. Twenty-six years later, Quill has adopted the nickname Star Lord (Chris Pratt). He's broken away from The Ravagers in an attempt to track down an ancient orb that is also coveted by the evil Ronan (Lee Pace), who is in league with the dreaded Thanos, and who dispatches his top assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana) to retrieve it from Star Lord. In the process of doing so, Gamora also gets drawn into a fight with furry bounty hunter Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper) and his tree-like, humanoid companion Groot (voice of Vin Diesel). Subsequently thrown into prison, this unlikely quartet quickly makes the acquaintance of fearsome warrior Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), who seeks bitter revenge for the slaughter of his entire family at the hands of Ronan.
In the process of making a daring prison break, Star Lord, Gamora, Rocket, Groot, and Drax recover the orb, and transport it to The Collector (Benecio Del Toro), who reveals that it houses an Infinity Gem - one of six precious stones that harbors incredible powers that could pose a dire threat should they fall into the wrong hands. Later, Ronan acquires the Infinity Gem and plots to use its power to destroy The Nova Corps home-world of Xandar, The Guardians of the Galaxy must race through the stars to recover it before Ronan can carry out his genocidal plan. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Action

Awards: Best Adapted Screenplay – Writers Guild of America Best Adapted Screenplay – Writers Guild of America Best Makeup and Hair – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Visual Effects – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Makeup and Hair – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Visual Effects – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Visual Effects – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Visual Effects – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Makeup and Hair – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Makeup and Hair – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Visual Effects – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Visual Effects – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Visual Effects – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Visual Effects – British Academy of Film and Television Arts

Guardians of the Galaxy

Release Date: 12/09/2014

Jason Buchanan

Marvel Studios take their biggest risk to date with James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy, an upbeat space adventure driven by an infectiously fun retro soundtrack and a colorful cast of rogues-turned-reluctant heroes. Narrowly transcending the confines of a tiresome, safe plot thanks to these unique factors, as well as Gunn's eccentric embellishments (it's hard not to fall for a movie that kicks off with a dancing hero using a mutant rat as a lip-synch microphone), this Marvel gamble pays off more often than not, even though it could have benefitted from a bit more trimming in the editing room.

Peter Quill was just a young boy when, devastated by his mother's death, he sprinted out of the hospital and was swept up into the stars by Yondu (Michael Rooker), the leader of an eclectic band of space scavengers known as the Ravagers. Years later, Quill (now played by Chris Pratt) adopts the nickname Star Lord and breaks away from the Ravagers in an attempt to track down an ancient orb. That artifact, as it turns out, is also coveted by the evil Ronan (Lee Pace) -- a villain in league with the dreaded Thanos -- who dispatches his top assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana) to retrieve it from Star Lord. In the process, Gamora is drawn into a fight with bounty-hunting raccoon Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper) and his tree-like, humanoid companion Groot (voice of Vin Diesel). Subsequently thrown into prison, this unlikely quartet quickly make the acquaintance of fearsome warrior Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), who seeks bitter revenge for the slaughter of his entire family at the hands of Ronan.

While making a daring prison break, Star Lord, Gamora, Rocket, Groot, and Drax recover the orb and transport it to The Collector (Benicio Del Toro), who reveals that it contains an Infinity Gem -- one of six precious stones whose incredible power could pose a dire threat if they fall into the wrong hands. Later, when Ronan acquires the Infinity Gem and plots to use it to destroy the Nova Corps' home world of Xandar, the newly formed Guardians of the Galaxy must race through the stars to obtain it before he can carry out his genocidal plan.

It doesn't take a Warcraft veteran to see that the geeks have inherited Hollywood, and as once-niche events like Comic-Con begin to generate as much hype as mainstream sporting events like the Super Bowl, it was only a matter of time before Marvel Studios realized the value of widening their cinematic universe beyond such familiar properties as Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America. With an expansive scope that seems open to endless possibilities, Guardians of the Galaxy provides the perfect opportunity to bring something fresh to the scene.

If nothing else, Guardians feels like an invigorating throwback to the pop-culture properties that were Saturday-morning staples in the 1980s. In harkening back to an era before sci-fi became so fatalistic and dour, Gunn speaks in a cinematic language that fans of cartoons like the Justice League and films like Heavy Metal will understand, while simultaneously giving younger audiences something that seems entirely fresh. Though it could be argued that his attempts to tie the simplistic story here into the ever-expanding Marvel movie-verse feel more detrimental than monumental (the plot could be succinctly summarized as "the Guardians must stop the bad guys from getting the orb"), as a director he still wrangles plenty of fun out of the overlong, too ambitious script, injecting it with just the right amount of energetic quirkiness to smooth over its narrative clutter.

There's plenty of whimsy here to savor, and despite the convoluted plot, it does seem as if Gunn is devoted to the characters and the universe they inhabit. At its core, Guardians of the Galaxy is an origin story, yet by focusing more on the present than the past, Gunn lets us feel like we're getting to know the characters organically and in real time. Of course, by explicitly giving us Quill's background in the opening scene, the screenplay smartly connects us with the story's sole human, allowing us to see the universe through his eyes as we learn just enough about his lawless companions to provide an exhilarating balance of danger and wonder.

From Pratt on down the line, the actors are completely committed to their roles, with Bautista nearly stealing the show as the vengeful yet unexpectedly logical and hilariously literal Drax. No doubt Bradley Cooper had a big smirk on his face while blasting out Rocket's sarcastic one-liners behind the mic, and as Quill's surrogate father Yondu, Gunn regular Michael Rooker balances between menace and humor in a way that makes his character genuinely unpredictable. Practical makeup effects are tops across the board, with Karen Gillan's evil Nebula even overshadowing Lee Pace's Ronan the Accuser, whose black face paint makes him look like the frontman for an intergalactic death-metal band.

In an alternate universe, kids would be asking their parents to stop by Burger King on the way home for a Guardians of the Galaxy kid's meal with a collectible glass. Perhaps when the promised sequel finally hits the screens in 2017, the Guardians will have earned their standing among Marvel's finest and Gunn will have found more efficient ways to work his unique style into the company's epic agenda. If and when that finally happens, that Groot glassware will be a rare and valued commodity. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Stan Lee  Executive Producer 
Louis D'Esposito  Executive Producer 
Nikolas Korda  Executive Producer 
Tyler Bates  Composer (Music Score) 
Kevin Feige  Producer 
Victoria Alonso  Executive Producer 
Alan Fine  Executive Producer 
James Gunn  Director 
James Gunn  Screenwriter 
Christian Roberton  Executive Producer 
Nicole Perlman  Screenwriter 
Jeremy Latcham  Executive Producer 
Jonathan Schwartz  Producer 
Chris Pratt  Actor 
Zoe Saldana  Actor 
David Bautista  Actor 
Lee Pace  Actor 
Bradley Cooper  Actor 
Michael Rooker  Actor 
Karen Gillan  Actor 
Benicio Del Toro  Actor 
Djimon Hounsou  Actor 
John C. Reilly  Actor 
Glenn Close  Actor 
Ophelia Lovibond  Actor 
Gregg Henry  Actor 
Vin Diesel  Actor 
Josh Brolin  Actor 
Laura Haddock  Actor 
Sean Gunn  Actor 
Sean Gunn  Actor 
Peter Serafinowicz  Actor 
Christopher Fairbank  Actor 
Krystian Godlewski  Actor 
Wyatt Oleff  Actor 
Janis Ahern  Actor 
Solomon Mousley  Actor 
Lindsay Morton  Actor 
Robert Firth  Actor 
Melia Kreiling  Actor 
Tom Proctor  Actor 
Nick Holmes  Actor 
Max Wrottesley  Actor 
Stan Lee  Actor 
Nicole Alexandra Shipley  Actor 
Sharif Atkins  Actor 
Brendan Fehr  Actor 
Tomas Arana  Actor 
Mikaela Hoover  Actor 
Emmet Scanlan  Actor 
Dominic Grant  Actor 
Spencer Wilding  Actor 
Alison Lintott  Actor 
Alexis Rodney  Actor 
Nathan Fillion  Actor 
Keeley Forsyth  Actor 
Frank Gilhooley  Actor 
Alexis Denisof  Actor 
Enzo Cilenti  Actor 
Richard Katz  Actor 
Enoch Frost  Actor 
Ronan Summers  Actor 
Laura Ortiz  Actor 
Marama Corlett  Actor 
Rosie Jones  Actor 
Abidemi Sobande  Actor 
Alex Rose  Actor 
Ekaterina Zalitko  Actor 
Emily Redding  Actor 
Stephen Blackehart  Actor 
Jennifer Moylan-Taylor  Actor 
Bruce Mackinnon  Actor 
Ralph Ineson  Actor 
Rob Zombie  Actor 
Naomi Ryan  Actor 
John Brotherton  Actor 
Graham Shiels  Actor 
James Gunn  Actor 
Doug Robson  Actor 
Rachel Cullen  Actor 
Isabella Poynton  Actor 
Imogen Poynton  Actor 
David Yarovesky  Actor 
Miriam Lucia  Actor 

Country: USA