Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

written by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman

based on the Guardians of the Galaxy comic books by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning

directed by James Gunn

Here’s one of those weird situations where everyone I know loves a film and I’m the only chump who thinks it’s just okay. A friend even called me a curmudgeon for not getting into Guardians of the Galaxy as much as I should’ve. And I guess she’s right: This is the type of thing that should appeal to me, since it’s going for something a little funnier than your typical summer extravaganza. Problem is, it doesn’t get it quite right.

Guardians of the Galaxy continues Marvel Comics’ extended universe with a tale of five misfit miscreants – Misfit Miscreants is the name of my new band – who come together to thwart the evil plans of Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace), a supervillain who gets possession of one of the six Infinity Stones (watch the previous nine flicks for context). There are plenty of jokes, pop culture references, and a retro soundtrack that includes Blue Swede’s cool cover of Hooked on a Feeling (1974). But I just couldn’t help but think about other films and TV series that have done it, well, better. Hell, everything by Joss Whedon pretty much falls in this category, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) to The Avengers (2012) to his short-lived 2002 sci-fi western Firefly.

Guess I’m just a grouch. I did think Groot, the CG man-tree creature voiced by Vin Diesel, was pretty cool. Does that get me any points?

Rating: **

Carlos I. Cuevas