Guardians of the Galaxy [Blu-ray]

The past few years have been very good to movies based on comic books. While those based on DC comics have been slow out of the gate movies based on Marvel comics licenses have skyrocketed. Perhaps the most surprising of these was a movie based on a lesser known and not hugely popular comic that took the box office by storm. Not only was it a surprise hit it just might be the best of the Marvel movies released to date. That movie arrives on DVD this week and is called GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY.The movie opens with a young boy confronted with the death of his mother to cancer. Running from the hospital he finds himself beamed aboard a UFO. Fast forward some years later and we see that boy now grown landing on a desolate planet devoid of human life forms. He steals an orb from a futuristic safe and is then set upon by minions of Ronan the Accuser out to take the orb for their leader. When he tells them his name is Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) otherwise known as Star Lord they are less than impressed, not even recognizing it. That adds to their surprise when he takes back the orb and flees with them hot on his trail.Quill is out to make some money by taking the orb he was sent to steal to a dealer and bypassing his leader, the head of the Ravagers known as Yondu (Michael Rooker). At the same time Ronan (Lee Pace) has set his own special warrior to retrieve the orb, Gamora (Zoe Saldana). The dealer cancels the deal when he learns of Ronan’s involvement and Gamora tries to take the orb. At that same moment an unlikely pair of fortune seekers reads that Yondu has put a price on Quills head. The pair is Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper) who actually is a raccoon, and his partner Groot (Vin Diesel), a walking talking plant. As the four struggle for control of one another they are eventually captured by the space police known as the Nova Corp.Sent to the worst prison in the universe the four make a deal to get the orb and take it to a buyer Gamora is aware of. It turns out she hates Ronan and is double crossing him. When they arrive at the prison she is set upon by a few inmates, specifically Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista). When Drax learns that Gamora was not responsible for the murder of his family, he joins with the foursome to plan their escape so he can seek revenge.Escape they do and from there the adventure moves forward with alarming speed. Moving from one part of the universe to another, pursued by Ronan who is working for a cosmic bad guy named Thanos (Josh Brolin) and wanted by the Nova Corp, the five misfits join forces to do what it right. Eventually that comes down to facing off against Ronan after he has taken the orb and utilized it to his advantage. By the third act the now called Guardians of the Galaxy have united with the Nova Corp and try to save a world from being obliterated.I have to say that words cannot begin to describe how much I enjoyed this movie, so much so that watching it on DVD was my third viewing. I can tell you that it holds up to multiple viewings and is one that I’ll probably watch every few months, enjoying it each and every time. This movie offers the near perfect combination of action, humor, worlds of wonder and space opera unlike any seen before. Watching this movie brought back memories of the first time I saw STAR WARS. It is that good.The driving force that brought this about was director James Gunn, a man who labored under some truly bad movies for Troma but who has grown into an accomplished director who knows how to do it right. Once you include some amazing performances by all around and in particular Pratt who brings Quill to life, you have a great flick. That is just added to by the eye popping special effects on scene here from the basic aliens done with make up to the state of the art CGI effects that bring Rocket and Groot to life.While these things combine to make it look great, the story itself takes it over the top. This is a tale of misfits, a group of people who don’t quite fit in anywhere, who band together to form something good. In the process they begin to become friends and to care for one another. At times they frustrate one another and at others they’re willing to sacrifice themselves to save their group as well as the Universe. In so doing these criminals become the greatest of heroes.This year I’ve seen more movies than usual not just on DVD but in theaters. I can say now without a doubt that this was by far my favorite film of the year. My guess is that due to its popularity and the fact it is comic book based it won’t be nominated for any major awards with the exception of effects. That’s too bad because for me this was the best movie of the year. Add it to your collection today.

The blu-ray package features both 2d and 3d, as well as a digital copy I put in VUDU and iTunes. Lots of extras. The movie fills out the 50GB disc (2D, no 3D TV) and looks incredibly filmic, with slight hints of crush on occasion in the intense darkness that often occupies scenes, though it's never distracting. Audio is top notch. Music often takes the sound stage by storm, and you wouldn't have it any other way with a soundtrack of this caliber. Every alien device sounds how you would expect, and it all roars, crashes, and zooms through the soundstage like it was really happening in the room. You might even be able to follow the whole film with your eyes closed, and very few can live up to that claim (Johnny Dangerously).As for a review of the movie itself:I found the trailers for this to be amusing. Good music choices for the trailers, too. I knew it was a comic book movie from the start, despite not having heard of it.I had zero clue about any of the comic book lore, or the characters. I thought Rocket Raccoon was a Starfox knockoff. Not sure why I thought that, with Starfox being a fox, but he did nonetheless. Casting seemed okay. Dave Bautista never surprised me much in any role I'd seen him, and Chris Pratt just seems cheesy.Then I started hearing a lot of positive reviews. I heard that Dave Bautista took acting lessons just to keep from looking like an oaf. I heard the name "Star Wars" and "space opera" more than once.I was poised to see the Ninja Turtles movie, having been a childhood fan, but I wasn't entirely jazzed about the development. Then I started hearing such good feedback about Guardians, which settled the scales. All my friends and I went to the local movie house to see Guardians of the Galaxy.I don't want to spoil the show, even though I can't help but want to really let go. The first thing that I noticed is the prominent role that music plays in the film. It really tugs my heartstrings. This isn't just a case of the right songs being chosen and edited into the right places; music is Peter's most beloved collection of memories of home. His connection to his mom. It's the only thing that he had to keep him from just being lost in space. Peter's passion for his cassette tape will bring you to tears, without any overt attempts to make you cry. In fact, most of the film is fairly straightforward and situational, and it's quite easy to suspend disbelief, because you see everybody as a real person (or creature) just doing what they do. There's nothing terribly supernatural about these heroes. They're really just a bunch of screw-ups and loners, and you just can't help but love them. They occasionally make bold moves, only to find out how small they truly are in the galaxy they live in, and yet they push on because nobody else is doing any better.Ronan the Accuser might seem a bit intense and cliched, but he's The Accuser, and it just made sense to me that he'd be wordy and, well, accusatory in nature. It just made sense that way; he passes judgment on everybody, and it turned the cliche on its ear. Nebula took her daddy complex to the extreme, then showed her true colors by siding with whomever she felt was going to be victorious. Thanos hardly bats an eye at all this fuss, as if all this is below him. It is, and they are; he's merely biding his time before showing his true colors.Drax/Bautista was brilliant. Hilarious. Groot stole more than his share of scenes, despite his very limited dialogue. Gamora was kind of dry, but it seemed more as if she was driven and focused than just poorly portrayed. Rocket showed layer upon layer of depth. Quill played off of all of them with a level of brilliance and realism that proved he was the glue that held them all together, time and time again.I had no clue how emotional the ride was going to be. I laughed and cried, was shocked and amused; yet hardly ever where I expected to feel a particular feeling.Guardians of the Galaxy is truly was the most wondrous adventure I've had since I saw The Empire Strikes Back. I felt like I was 5 again.