Judging by its astounding 8.8 rating at IMDb (out of 10; it would currently qualify as the 10th – 13th best movie of all time by that parameter), people really, really like this intergalactic misfit superhero movie. I enjoyed it but either couldn’t keep up with its constant plot machinations or was flummoxed by its 1980s feel — which is driven by its music — to care a whole lot about it. It took a long time for me to recognize who “Ronan” was, and why the story kept revolving around him. Maybe I’m just slow, or maybe the storytelling wasn’t quite as sharp as it could have been.
James Gunn’s movie is a special effects extravaganza — two of the main quintet are not even human, and two of the three humans require extensive makeup effects — yet it relies on the byplay and interaction of those five characters to give its action meaning. It would be like watching Star Trek as the crew comes together, melds and finds its rhythm. Oh, wait, that’s already been done. Here, it’s a little more difficult (at least for people like me, unfamiliar with the graphic novel source) because the stage is so much larger and everything and everyone is new (except for the songs).
The movie tries for a Star Wars tone, light and airy, even though the main characters are thieves, assassins, bioengineered animals and, well, a tree. Sometimes the tone is maintained quite effortlessly, while other times it strains to be cute, especially when populations of people are dying in battle against Ronan. It’s a very violent story that, like so much comic book nonsense, has little or no scientific foundation, and which asks audiences to care deeply about a handful of people without worrying too much about the thousands of nameless, faceless victims who die around them. Suddenly an ancient orb is located that can provide world-destroying power to whoever controls it. Right.
Fans of this stuff are welcome to it. It is space opera with intriguing characters lost and overwhelmed in a miasma of eccentric plot and explosive action. To its credit, the actors are solid and it displays more than a little heart as the quintet grow to trust one another. It’s certainly enjoyable on multiple levels, and perhaps that is enough. I just don’t happen to think it’s very good. ☆ ☆. 6 August 2014.