Guardians of the Galaxy **1/2

If the Marvel films have accomplished anything it's this: people actually stick around and watch the credits! There's no getting around it,we now live in the Age of Marvel.  I believe they're developing scripts up till the year 2150 or something like that.  Can't wait for the ninth reboot of The Submariner!

Guardians of the Galaxy is a witty space opera that doesn't take itself too seriously.  Chris Pratt has the right amount of humor and swagger to carry the film.  The plot involves some crystal thing everyone's after. 

The repartee between the Guardians who include, a sexy green skinned assassin Gamora (Zoe Salana), a giant named Drax (Daniel Bautista), Rocket the Racoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), and finally the walking tree Groot (Vin Diesel) all provide a charm lacking in most superhero movies.  Then the action scenes start and it gets boring.  It's like watching someone else play a video game.

Critics have compared it to 70-80s Sci-Fi like The Last Starfighter and Flash Gordon.  Not sure I wanna be in that company. I can detect an influence from Star Wars as well - a good thing!

Of all the Marvel films I've watched this year, Guardians has much more going for it and I wouldn't mind revisiting these characters.  

Don't get me wrong, I love Marvel Comics.  But their movies tend to leave me nonplussed, Sam Raimi's Spiderman trilogy being the exception.  Quite possibly, maybe by 2041, I'll begin to see their cinematic brilliance.

(Final Note- the soundtrack is perfect)