“Guardians of the Galaxy” is a 2014 American superhero film in the space fiction genre, based on the Marvel comics. The picture (as well as its subsequent sequels) was directed by James Gunn. The story tells the adventures of the unusual earthling Peter Quill and a group of extraterrestrial criminals (consisting of outcasts and misfits), who go on the run after stealing a powerful artifact. Together, they must stop the villain in his quest to destroy the entire world, but first… find common ground with the rest of the team.

The cast

To portray a rather motley cast of five characters proved to be a difficult task. Even at the stage of casting, the studio was bombarded with criticism, and the premiere of the film threatened to fail even before the official start of filming. But all fears were in vain and really talented celebrities were chosen for the role:

• Destroyer Drax – Dave Batista – a former professional wrestler who has managed to prove himself in several blockbusters, so he perfectly suited the image of a gruff avenger and even admitted that he subtly felt all the tragic history of his prototype;
• the assassin Gamora – Zoe Saldana – was quite often starring in box-office Hollywood movies, securing the role of a martial Amazon, which suited the role and the heroine’s complex character very well;
• criminal Rocket (raccoon) – Bradley Cooper – starred in low-budget movies and various TV series, rarely did voice acting, but the “voice” of the sarcastic rodent brought him back to his former fame and prompted his career as a director;
• bodyguard Groot (the mutant tree) – Vin Diesel – distinguished himself with a completely different format of roles, although he was invited to voice by accident, became attached to the new image and retained the right to speak for the humanoid in any age of the hero or his alternate adaptation;
• The debauched Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord) – Chris Pratt – for the main role, the guy worked hard on himself, not only passing auditions, but dropping almost 27 pounds to visually match his character.

Though the list of the main characters does not end with the participation of the world stars, because the role of the antagonist was given to Lee Pace, earlier known for his brilliant play in the romantic series. It is also fair to mention the good acting of Karen Gillan (Nebula) and Glenn Close (Nova Corps Commander), who were also a key part of the script.

Plot

The plot of the film is quite simple, repeating the classic retelling of the past, which sets off a chain of tragic events and serves as the impetus for further adventures. Here, the authors of the plot abandon the concept of the classic “boring” space, offering instead to plunge into unconventional situations.

After his mother’s death, the boy is kidnapped from Earth by space devastators led by Yondu Udonta. Having grown up in the vastness of the Galaxy, Peter arrives on the planet Morag years later and steals a unique orb. He is immediately pursued by several individuals: his adoptive father, the villainous Ronan, and the Nova Corps army.,/

While Quill tries to survive and quietly sell the artifact, one of Gamor’s trackers comes after him. A skirmish ensues, in which bounty hunters who happen to be on the road intervene: a genetically modified raccoon and a humanoid. The officers arrest the entire foursome and imprison them. There they meet the imprisoned Drax the Destroyer and gradually move from the “kill each other” stage to the logical decision that it will be easier to get out of the confinement together, and then earn from the stolen valuables.

After visiting a mining colony on Oblivion, the heroes learn that the Stone of Power, an object of immeasurable power that destroys all but the most powerful beings, has been hidden within the orb. Careless handling results in a powerful explosion and the Outcasts once again have to flee. The stone ends up in Ronan’s hands, turning into a universal weapon that the villain uses to attack Nova’s corps and then try to destroy Xandar. But Quill uses a dance to distract him, after which, sharing all of the stone’s energy amongst themselves, the new Guardians of the Galaxy destroy the antagonist.

Like most Marvel films, this one has many plots and references to the studio’s other projects. But critics highlight only the central “opening scene”, which is shown to the audience immediately after the title sequence – it is the Star Lord’s dance on the abandoned planet Morag. Later, one sees a brief replay of this fragment when Peter challenges Ronan to a “dance battle” in the finale.

The visual aspect.

When doing a review of Guardians of the Galaxy, it’s impossible to avoid the makeup and costumes themselves, which were used in preparation. Logically, the main plot, which reduced everything to the theme of space, a priori assumed the most diverse contrast. The film presents an impressive abundance of colorful intergalactic races that differed in skin color, eyes, hair, and other important details. The scenes were quite harmonious with the spectacular costumes, ranging from militant outfits to prison jumpsuits to elegant gowns – depending on the scene, the characters’ closet changed dramatically.

But the central attention should still be given to the special effects used. You won’t be surprised to see Marvel using chromakey and superimposed backgrounds – they always do this part of the job perfectly. But the presentation of some scenes went to a new level, both technically and emotionally. For example, the highlight of the movie was a special effect associated with Yondu Udonta and his arrow. In the film, where the commander is shipwrecked and surrounded by Ronan’s servants, he uses his original weapon to calmly deal with twenty opponents. The visual design of the arrow flight left no one indifferent.

Even more powerful in terms of graphics and presentation was the scene where Groot saves the whole team, forming a “protective nest” of his branches around them. At the same time, the hero, who during the entire movie utters only one single phrase – “I am Groot”, suddenly changed it to the version “We are Groot”, which can be literally taken as a recognition of friendship. The creators deliberately went this way, endowing the familiar words with a completely different meaning.

Music

Tyler Bates, who had previously collaborated with James Gunn, was invited as the composer. A collection of well-known songs from the 1960s and 1970s, like “Hooked on a Feeling,” was a prominent feature of the audio here. In the story, this choice also had an explanation: the music chosen was recorded in Peter’s Walkman TPS -L2 cassette player, which serves as a way for him to stay in touch with Earth, home and the family he lost. In selecting songs, the director looked at Billboard’s greatest hits charts from the ’70s, selecting roughly 120 tracks for the upcoming film. Many of the songs didn’t make it into the movie, but were played constantly on the set to help find the perfect rhythm for the shot.

Many songs were changed literally at the last moment. For example, David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream,” which was added during post-production. And the opening credits were originally planned to use the track “Hooked on a Feeling”, which was then changed to “Come and Get Your Love”.

The final scene, when Peter Quill is unpacking, his mother’s parting gift, the Awesome mix 2 tape, is literally heart-wrenching precisely because of the right song, “Ain’t no mountain high enough.” To it, the audience realizes that the characters have finally found not just friends, but a new family. The franchise probably has the best musical accompaniment among superhero blockbusters.

The movie “Guardians of the Galaxy” is considered one of the best film adaptations of the Marvel Comics universe. It harmoniously combines lyrical moments, humorous inserts and action, there is a beautiful musical accompaniment and perfectly developed visuals. The professional play of the actors allowed to accurately recreate the entourage of the original story and still present it in a new way, winning the worldwide recognition of the fans.