Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) - James Gunn

James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy is the latest entry in the ever-expanding Marvel cinematic universe.  It follows Peter Quill, a brash salvage-hunter of sorts, who goes from planet to planet collecting items he can sell for profit.  After successfully stealing a mysterious orb from the far reaches of space, Quill soon finds himself the main target of a manhunt lead by Ronan the Accuser, a powerful villainous figure who threatens the universe.  In an effort to combat such a powerful threat, Quill forms a shaky truce with Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-creature, the deadly assassin Gamora, and the vengeance-driven Drax.  Guardians of the Galaxy is an incredibly enjoyable, fast-moving film that manages to never take itself too seriously in delivering one of the better films of the summer.  The film's storyline is bonkers and James Gunn and company embraced this concept, creating a space opera type adventure.  In a day and age where a lot of blockbusters feel pieced together by action set-pieces, Guardians takes the audience on an adventure of spectacle that conjures nostalgia due to this sense-of-wonder approach.  This is a film that sacrifices character development for the sake of pacing and tone, and while these characters are not nearly as explored as one would hope, they are a lot of fun.  Most of the moments aiming for emotional poignancy fall flat, and the romantic love story lacks chemistry, but Guardians of the Galaxy is a fresh, original adventure that is unquestionably fun.

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