Go See Guardians of the Galaxy!

This movie lives up to the hype.

I've been excited about this film ever since the briefest flashes of a teaser way back when (what, like a year ago?). I've been excitedly waiting for it ever since, and all the while I told myself I was over-hyping it. I was getting too excited. I'd ruin it for myself.

I didn't.

Some movies are deceptive in their trailers. They'll have the funniest/best moments in the trailers to make the movie look way better than it really is. The Guardians of the Galaxy trailer was actually just a perfect representation of the movie.

So basic synopsis: a young boy is abducted from Earth and grows up in space amongst other aliens. Becomes an outlaw/thief kind of guy. Han Solo-type. He ends up grouping up with a band of misfit criminals--initially for money, and then to save the galaxy. Simple but delicious formula. Easy to screw up, but great when it works.

And it works.

This movie didn't really feel like a comic book movie. It felt much more like a space opera (yes, comic books can be space operas, but you know what I mean). Watching Guardians was like watching Star Wars for the first time. Throw that in with a heavy dose of Firefly and you've got an amazing thing on your hands.

And the tone! The storyline gets dark at times. Easily could have been a much more serious movie. But it was light-hearted. Hopeful. The characters have dark pasts, but the humor paired with the music (oh god, the music was magical) left the whole thing just perfect. The songs were so upbeat. Even when crummy things were happening (like the main character getting the shit kicked out of him in prison), the upbeat tunes of Blue Swede's "Hooked on a Feeling" drowned out the heavy shit and kept spirits high.

I'm trying to keep this spoiler free, so that's just about it. This movie is amazing and so, so worth watching. Sure it's got some flaws. Many of the characters yell out how they're feeling rather than showing us. The introduction of to-be-relevant plot devices is pretty heavy. But maybe that's all part of the space opera charm. Either way, I think I need to see it again (for the 3rd time).

Because I'm high on believing.