In the far reaches of space, an American pilot named Peter Quill finds himself the object of a manhunt after stealing an orb coveted by the villainous Ronan.
Mad, marvellous and all kinds of sci-fi magical, Guardians Of The Galaxy is Marvel’s riskiest but most surprising success yet.
Whip-smart, pop-literate, self-aware humour saves the day (and the universe, come to think of it).
Guardians Of The Galaxy feels a little superficial and half-hearted by comparison with some of the other Marvel blockbusters. It’s a film that could have benefited from taking itself just a bit more seriously.
Guardians is enormous fun from beginning to end.
Colourful, tongue-in-cheek fun, purpose-built for grown-up lovers of kitsch ’80s science-fiction. But the Marvel formula is starting to feel, well, a little too formulaic.
What does work is everything about the Guardians themselves, and almost everything that comes out of their mouths.
Too lighthearted to invest its action with much real meaning, but still afflicted by the self-seriousness from which the Marvel universe is fundamentally constructed, Guardians is the most disappointing kind of comedy: the kind without the courage of its convictions.
It pulls off the difficult trick of combining sprightly self-satire combined with that operatic self-belief that superhero stories need.
Here's hoping the Guardians don't ever cross over into another corner of the Marvel Universe.
Marvel fans will lap it up, of course, but it’s far from the studio’s best.
James Gunn
General release. Check local listings for show times.