BLU-RAY REVIEW: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY / CERT: 12A / DIRECTOR: JAMES GUNN / SCREENPLAY: JAMES GUNN, NICOLE PERLMAN / STARRING: CHRIS PRATT, LEE PACE, ZOE SALDANA, DAVE BAUTISTA, VIN DIESEL, BRADLEY COOPER / RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 24TH
After doing wonders at the global box office earlier this year, Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy finally hits DVD and Blu-ray. James Gunn’s hugely enjoyable movie grabbed the Marvel Cinematic Universe by its coattails and dragged the action up into the cosmos. Much like so much of the MCU, Guardians hits a whole lot of the right notes.
Plot-wise, Gunn’s movie opens by introducing us to the young Peter Quill as he suffers the tragic death of his mother before abruptly being abducted by a spaceship. From there, we meet up with the now-adult Quill (Pratt), who is going by the cock-sure moniker of Star-Lord and on a mission to find a powerful artefact that has just so happened to have put him in many people’s crosshairs. Part-Han Solo, part-Tony Stark, loveable rogue Quill finds himself with a bounty placed on his head which leads to him being tracked down by the ragtag duo of tree creature Groot (Diesel) and the gun-toting, wisecracking anthropomorphic Rocket (Cooper), whilst the artefact that Quill holds has caused him to be similarly hunted down by the adopted daughter of Thanos (Josh Brolin), Gamora (Saldana). After a stint in prison introduces them to savage, revenge-driven warrior Drax the Destroyer (Bautista), we have our titular group of heroes. Still, Thanos is pulling the strings of the crazed, hammer-wielding Ronan (Pace), who is out to cause havoc alongside Gamora’s adopted sister, the callous, cold-blooded, clinical Nebula (Karen Gillan).
As well as the core cast mentioned above, Guardians has a fantastic ensemble, with the likes of Glenn Close, John C. Reilly, Michael Rooker, and Benicio Del Toro also featured in supporting roles. James Gunn uses the impressive cast, foot-tapping soundtrack, and outlandish, extravagant settings to deliver a true modern-day space opera that will pull on a plethora of your emotions. Whilst the film is drenched in humour and action, there are some genuinely touching moments to behold and it also gives us a little bit more of a glimpse into Thanos, he who was seen firing off a shit-eating grin at the end of Avengers Assemble and who is set to do battle with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes during the two-part Avengers: Infinity War tale set for 2018 and 2019.
Much like the film itself, the extras included in this set are engaging, entertaining and will have fans of the film grinning from ear-to-ear, particularly a dance-off gag scene between the Guardians and Ronan. The release isn’t quite crammed to the brim with bonus features, but the stuff included is all impressive and fun. And that’s what Guardians of the Galaxy is in its simplest form: fun. So often these days, we can take things all too seriously. Guardians of the Galaxy is good, honest fun and entertainment that will appease viewers of all ages as well as both those who are familiar with the Guardians team and those who heard the project announced and blankly mouthed “who?” Whilst many may not have heard of the Guardians of the Galaxy before this film and many may have thought that this was the property that was merely an arrogant vanity project for Marvel Studios and Disney, be assured that this is a film bursting with heart, emotion, action, humour and is a massively progressive step in the MCU and the likely ramifications of taking further action to the realms of space. A fantastic film all round and arguably the very best of the Marvel movies to date.
Special Features: Audio commentary / Making-of featurette / Exclusive look at Avengers: Age of Ultron / Deleted scenes / Gag reel
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