Classic Review #40: Guardians of the Galaxy

Available on Disney+

The first instalment of James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy is as fine an example of good old fashioned comic book fun as you’re likely to get. It's essentially the cinematic equivalent of an E number, by which I mean it moves at the sort of frenetic pace you would expect a small child to after downing a bag of Skittles.

The film features some excellent turns from its cast, in particular Chris Pratt, who evokes memories of a young Harrison Ford in the lead role of Peter ‘Star Lord’ Quill, although he is ably supported by Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, and Vin Diesel.

Guardians is somewhat flawed by its rather formulaic plot, with the villain of the piece, Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace), being essentially just a blue (and less entertaining version) of Tom Hiddleston's Loki. This makes for a rather anticlimactic final act, although the amount of fun you have getting there means only the grouchiest of viewers would elect to gripe about it.

With a strong cast and an excellent soundtrack to boot, Guardians remains one of the most original and entertaining entrants to the never-ending MCU.