Although I am far from a big fan of the genre, I do like my fair share of sci-fi every so often, and Guardians fits the bill this summer. The characters are all new to me, but that was no drawback at all in getting to like them.
There’s action galore – hello, it’s an action movie – and plenty of special effects to impress. There’s good humor and dry wit interspersed throughout, with several pop cultural references. I often wonder how non-American audiences will pick up on these gems, but even if they fall by the wayside, there are other universally recognizable themes of sacrifice and love that transcend cultural, nay, galaxial barriers.
The movie has a Star Warsy feel to it, if you like that sort of thing. I’d give it three and a half stars, and in good faith will hope that a sequel, if it comes, will be perhaps just a bit better than the first.
I just saw this movie with my ten year old son and I would say your review is dead on: likeable characters, humor, pop culture references and overall a production that was good but could have been better. I agree about the sacrifice and love themes as well. I would add death and loss as “serious” themes the movie also deals with, although never getting too heavy or too far from the wise cracks.
My son loved it, by the way, for the action and the humor, in particular.
Your comments to my review serves as a fine review in itself. Glad to hear your son liked it too!
Regards, Simmi D. Isaac (sent from my iPad)
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I’ve been wondering: do you think it’s redundant to say “sacrificial love”? Doesn’t love, by definition, involve sacrifice?
Brilliant point! I really don’t know…
Regards, Simmi D. Isaac (sent from my iPad)
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