#900 – Review: Guardians of the Galaxy

I love Groot!!!

I have been looking forward to Guardians of the Galaxy for a long time. I didn’t know anything about the Guardians before it was announced. But once James Gunn came on board as writer and director I was sold.

I expected that Guardians of the Galaxy would be hilarious and fun; I wasn’t disappointed. Guardians of the Galaxy isn’t as universe shaking as Captain America: The Winter Soldier but it was so much fun. It is probably the most fun I’ve had with a movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

James Gunn’s script and direction were great. Chris Pratt absolutely crushed it as Star-Lord. Zoe Saldana kept the movie grounded and moving forward. Dave Batista brought intensity and ferocity to Drax. Bradley Cooper made Rocket one of the most human characters. And Vin Diesel finally found a role I like; I love Groot.

Guardians of the Galaxy was great. The cosmic side of Marvel’s universe could have turned a lot of people away. However the movie’s humor and Chris Pratt’s performance make Guardians of the Galaxy extremely accessible, even to those who have never picked up a comic book.

Here are some other thoughts I had while watching Guardians of the Galaxy.

100% Bad

Each of the Guardians has a little anti-hero in them. Peter Quill is a thief, Drax is insane and Rocket is a bounty hunter. However none of them are 100% bad. When faced with maniacal violence, each of them wants to do the right thing. For the galaxy’s sake, thankfully the Guardians aren’t 100% bad. And thankfully the same is true for us. We are all created in God’s image and have the ability to reflect his heart and characteristics. No matter how selfish we are or prone to sin, we can still choose to reflect God’s love or embrace his goodness. We may not be part of a ragtag group of anti-heroes, but we can still choose to embrace and grow the parts of our lives that best reflect God.

Better Together

Teamwork and togetherness are often themes in the movies that I review. The truth that we are better together is part of the core of who we are. God himself said that it’s not good for us to be alone and this truth isn’t lost, even on Hollywood. Clearly the Guardians have to work together in order to accomplish their goals. But there is another beautiful example of teamwork in the movie, one that I won’t spoil here. Suffice it to say there is a beautiful image of Ecclesiastes 4:12, which says:

Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Fun

I know that God created us to have fun because I smiled and laughed so much while watching Guardians of the Galaxy. So many reviews have correctly labeled Guardians of the Galaxy as one of the most fun movies in a long time. I was laughing and smiling during the entire movie, a year and a half of pent up excitement finally came spilling out. There’s a lot in our lives that we need to take seriously but we can’t be serious all of the time. Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that there’s a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. If you’re looking for a time to laugh and have some fun, then you should definitely see Guardians of the Galaxy.

I was looking forward to Guardians of the Galaxy more than any other movie this year. I am very happy to say that I wasn’t disappointed. If you’ve enjoyed other entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe then I can almost guarantee that you will enjoy Guardians of the Galaxy. It’s a little different from Marvel’s other movies but we should embrace those differences.

What did you think about Guardians of the Galaxy?