Superhero movies have really flooded the market in the last few years. Besides a few outliers of varying quality, the two powerhouses are Marvel and DC. They both have their own unique styles and their own passionate fanbases. The big guns for DC would be Superman and Batman. They have proven their worth at the box office, but some critics have bashed DC for taking themselves too seriously, I mean, why so serious? (ahhhhhh). I would agree that sometimes DC takes the fun out of the superhero genre but it more than makes up for it in bringing characters like Heath Ledger’s Joker to the screen as well as others. Marvel on the other hand tends to be a little more light-hearted, which gives off a sense of grounding itself in fantasy. It certainly worked with “The Avengers,” which ended up being the third highest grossing film of all time and with a man like Joss Whedon at the helm it was bond to have a certain amount of wit about it.
Enter James Gunn, a b-movie specialist directing the surprisingly good “Slither.” With him he brings a team of superheroes that may not be at the tip of the casual fan’s tongue. However, I would even hold “Guardians of the Galaxy” in an even higher regard than “The Avengers.”
The members of The Guardians are as follows; Peter Quill or Starlord (Chris Pratt), a boy who was abducted after his mother died a tragic death. When he left Earth he then became a bounty hunter of sorts. Gamora (Zoe Saldana), an alien assassin sent to retrieve something stolen by Starlord. Drax The Destroyer (Dave Bautista), an incredibly muscular man who has been on a warpath across the universe to avenge the death of his family. Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), a living tree – need I say more? Finally there’s Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Groots friend, partner etc. He’s also a racoon because Marvel really isn’t worried about being terribly serious like I mentioned before. The five of them find themselves in a prison and attempt to escape while also trying to overthrow a tyrannical warlord. It’s plots like these that make me love Marvel.
Where to begin with this one? Like seriously, this is the definition of fun. This movie was making melaugh, getting my adrenaline pumping, and making me just flat out root for the good guys, which is just something DC in general has never made me do. The plot jumps around all over the universe but it never feels scattered. It’s always about the characters in the location instead of just having it be about the location the characters happen to be in.
The characters themselves are beautifully written. Each one with their own personality, mannerisms and abilities that make the team so damn watchable. Pratt plays Starlord perfectly, has god-tier comic timing, and it never feels like he is pushing a message of justice and peace. Just a goofy guy with some cool gadgets. Saldana is one of the few females in Hollywood who can pull off action. At no point did I think that the movie was just having a woman for a bit of eye-candy. Just as a point of interest it also passes the Bechdel test. Dave Bautista gives something that you will rarely see from a wrestler – a good performance. In all fairness to him I can’t imagine anyone else doing this role. He really does give it absolute socks on this one and it really shows.
Diesel, in a role quite similar to his work on “The Iron Giant” plays a tree. He has one line that he repeats for the entire movie, “I am Groot.” However, he does this (and I have no idea how) really well. It baffles me. He was able to emote using those three words over and over and over again. Groot naturally became a favourite of the internet after this film which only further proves Diesel’s performance was solid. Finally, we have Cooper playing a foul-mouthed Racoon. His voice actually sounded very different from his own. He’s speaking with a much more blue-collar accent. Don’t get me wrong, it suits the character and he pulls it off brilliantly. Rocket is a nice, loveable character who is a little rough around the edges but ultimately, you want to cuddle him.
The soundtrack for this movie will make a fortune (period)(full stop)(explanation point). When Starlord was abducted the only things he had with him were the clothes on his back and a tape he made called ‘Awesome Mix Vol.1’ and a tape player. This mix just plays throughout the film and just wow. You could dance to this movie. Which is ironic because “Step Up 5” was on in the screen next to me at the time, and I give me personal guarantee that this soundtrack was about a million and half times better than that one. The soundtrack provides the backing to a frankly stunning film. It really uses the fact that it’s in outer space to its full advantage, and it just blows everything else out of the water on that front.
We come to the end of the review, and I have the same feeling I had when the movie finished. I felt sad when the credits rolled and I feel sad to finish writing about this film. Please watch it, it’s going to brighten up your day.
– by Paul O’Connor
