In my complete comic book ignorance, it made me frown when Marvel announced a “Guardians Of The Galaxy” movie. The comics company had just impressed me with the careful construction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (with ‘The Avengers’ as the tentative highlight). And now it’s suddenly supposed to go to a completely different corner of the universe without much connection to the previous MCU adventures? With a shooting raccoon and a silent tree creature as part of the main character ensemble?
I already had a lot of confidence in Marvel at the time, but ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ seemed to me in advance to be too much of a risk to match the quality and success of the previous films (despite my love for director James Gunn and especially his monster spectacle “ Slither”). Rarely have I been so wrong about something (as could be the case). today September 10, 2023 from 8:15 PM and the film will be rebroadcast on ProSieben can check again).
It was hinted at in the entertaining trailers, but my initial skepticism was ultimately shattered in theaters – and that actually starts with the beautiful intro sequence (after the brief flashback introduction).
As Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) dances across a bleak planetary landscape to the surprisingly well-suited ’70s hit “Come And Get Your Love,” sometimes kicking aside (or using as a microphone replacement) native wildlife, he immediately a big grin on my face. Until then, no MCU main character had ever been introduced to us in such a fantastic and cheerful way. And the level presented by this introduction is not only maintained in the rest of the film, but even increased…
Beautiful ensemble of figures
“The Avengers” also worked so well because we were able to get to know the individual heroes in advance in their own adventures, making them already familiar to us (one of the reasons why, for example, the DC counter-proposal “Justice League” just didn’t work for me) .
However, in Guardians Of The Galaxy, Gunn has accomplished the feat of introducing us to five new heroes in one film, bringing them together and sending them straight into their first adventure together. – and all this without anything seeming rushed or any of the protagonists being neglected.
From Star-Lord to Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Drax (Dave Bautista) to Rocket (voice: Bradley Cooper) and Groot (voice: Vin Diesel), each of the crazy main characters gets wonderful individual moments – which in turn also become the great dynamics as a group is extremely useful.
Perfect balance between comedy and emotion
The MCU films are often accused of sometimes ruining more serious moments with poorly timed and unnecessary jokes. The comic insertions, even in supposedly inappropriate places, rarely bother me, but the criticism is not entirely unjustified:
If cape comedy immediately follows the loss of a major character in ‘Doctor Strange’ or if the spacey comedy ‘Thor 3: Day of Decision’ tries to tell me a dark story about the fall of Asgard in between, that doesn’t really happen . fit together, no matter how much I still enjoy the films as a whole.
In ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’, however, comedy and emotion go hand in hand more masterfully than in almost any other MCU film. (with the exception of the sequels “Guardians Of The Galaxy 2” and “Guardians Of The Galaxy 3” perhaps) – which is mainly due to the characters.
The humor does not consist of forced throwaway jokes without context, but comes directly from the characters and their interaction. And similarly, all five Guardians also have tragic backstories – sometimes subtle, sometimes more obvious – that give them more facets and make them vibrant and real characters.
This especially pays off in the dazzling showdown, which not only offers fast action, but above all something for the heart. Next to the ‘Avengers’ double ‘Infinity War’ and ‘Endgame’, the three ‘Guardians’ installments have the most emphasis on feelings of any MCU film. And the fact that the raccoon-tapping statements and the not-so-eloquent ‘boom’, which I laughed at beforehand, ultimately move me to tears is as surprising as it is brilliant.
New Marvel world at just the right time
And what initially put me off after the previous films, which were so beautifully connected, makes ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ a different force. After nine MCU films, the detour into the depths of space has presented us with a colorful and detailed cosmic world and most resembles a ‘Star Wars’ adventure in Marvel guise, rivaling the space excursions in the first two ‘Thor’ movies are running. clearly overshadowed. The whole thing is garnished with a generous portion of retro flair (thanks to the first-class soundtrack alone!), which never comes across as forced.
For me, all this puts “Guardians Of The Galaxy”, along with the aforementioned “Avengers” two-parter “Infinity War/Endgame”, at the top of the 32 MCU entries. Therefore, I can only heartily recommend it on any occasion – such as the TV broadcast on ProSieben mentioned at the beginning. With the Disney+ streaming service, the film can of course be viewed flexibly at any time and without advertising.