Just One Magical Word To Say

“Billy Batson, I choose you as champion.” ~ The Wizard

“Dude, just messing around! You look at me and you’re like, ‘why so dark? You’re a disabled foster kid, you’ve got it all’!” ~ Freddy Freeman

“You will beg for mercy…” ~ Sivana 

“Are you making some, like, big evil bad guy speech right now or something? You’re like a mile away from me, and there’s traffic and cars and stuff! All I see is mouth-moving.” ~ Shazam 

“…as I feast on your heart.” ~ Sivana 

“Awww, whatever, screw it!”~ Shazam

The adventures of Billy Batson, aka Shazam, previously also known as Captain Marvel (no, not that Captain Marvel) have been around for decades, a magical take on the superhero genre featuring a teenager able to transform into a hero of might with just the uttering of a word. Initially appearing in Fawcett Comics and later folded into the DC comics world, the character has been capable of going toe to toe with Superman, a hero with the wide eyed imagination of the youth he otherwise normally is. The comics version can be, well, rather convoluted in his backstory. Now the character turns up in the DC cinematic universe in a light, fun romp that features a dual performance for the title character by two actors, and one seriously scene chewing villain played by an actor who specializes in that sort of thing. Shazam! (the exclamation mark is indeed in the title) makes for a good addition into the DC world of film.

We meet a young Thaddeus Sivana in 1974, transported to a place called the Rock of Eternity, an ancient magical temple, by an ancient wizard named Shazam (Djimon Hounsou). The wizard is seeking a new champion, pure of heart, after his first one turned evil (a harbinger for a sequel). Sivana is tempted by the Seven Deadly Sins, spirits trapped within rock in the temple, and so the wizard banishes him back to Earth. Thaddeus is not pleased by the turn of events, and so is doomed to end up one day being played by an actor who specializes in playing nasty fellows.

In the present day, we meet the orphaned teenager Billy Batson (Asher Angel) as he ends up in a foster home while seeking out his mother. He makes friends with another resident, Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer), a disabled teen with an interest in all things super hero. Sivana, who’s grown up into the thoroughly disreputable Mark Strong (having a ball chewing the scenery), has been obsessed with returning to the Rock of Eternity. He discovers a way, frees the Sins, becomes their champion and gains powers. The dying wizard selects Billy in the midst of an act of bravery into becoming his champion- with the uttering of his name, Billy becomes an adult hero (played by Zachary Levi), gifted with strength, flight, and other abilities, taking on the mantle of Shazam. Of course it’s just a matter of time before Shazam and Sivana cross paths.

A live action adaptation of the characters has been in development for a long time. Earlier ideas included Dwayne Johnson playing the previous ancient champion and antagonist Black Adam (he will be playing that role in a solo film and the inevitable sequel to this one). That character is referenced in the story, but it’s another villain for Billy Batson that takes centre stage, as well as a cameo by yet another. The story, by Henry Gaydon and Darren Lemke, takes much of its inspiration from the comics material, updating it for contemporary settings, with the themes of power and worthiness, the wide eyed view of a young teenager in an adult body (and more of that as the story goes along), and the bonds of family- even a less formal one- playing out throughout the film.

The script has a light touch- there's none of the nihilistic tone of Suicide Squad or the brutal, dark tone of Batman V Superman. It’s a film that has fun with itself and the superhero motif, even while taking it more seriously as needed- when the villain raises the proverbial stakes. But not too seriously. It is, in effect, the comic book version of Big, except instead of Tom Hanks, we get an adolescent turning into a muscled hero who can fly (after a few hard lessons). This is a welcome thing. And the film sorts out what in comics can be an ungainly concept. Having had read some of the older material for the character, with its group sharing of the power among family, I found that older material to be, well, rather cheesy. The story as told here streamlines and makes welcome modifications to the dynamic of, well, the Shazams, with a contemporary feel. A teenager gifted with amazing abilities might have fun with it all at first, and not take things seriously, but rises to the occasion as things go along, and that’s how the film follows its protagonist as he shifts back and forth between teenager and adult.

Director David F. Sandberg has a background in animation and short documentaries before a couple of previous feature films, neither of which I’ve seen. And yet that kind of eclectic background in a director is an asset. It’s something that’s been a blessing for the Marvel cinematic universe directors, all of whom have come from backgrounds that you wouldn’t really expect for a blockbuster film director, and all of whom have done well with it. Sandberg does the same here with how he helms the film. The CGI has been well established in multiple studios by this point so that fantasy plays out before the audience as if it’s really happening.

The superhero genre with amazing abilities is well rendered- in this case fight sequences between characters of great strength feel real, and Sandberg handles such sequences well. And he doesn’t let the characters get lost in the muddle of action, which can happen with, well, a director like Michael Bay, if he was ever let loose on either comic cinematic universe. What I liked was how a magical place like the Rock of Eternity, often referenced in comics but new to the film world, is rendered in this film. It looks like what you expect, but with touches that the production team came up with that give the place its own signature. The casting department, in choosing not only the two actors playing the two halves of Billy Batson/ Shazam, also did well in choosing actors who play two counterparts of one character as the film goes along, separated by age but feeling quite plausible as the same person.

And speaking of the cast, all of them do well in their roles. Djimon Hounsou has appeared in both cinematic worlds- playing a supporting role in Aquaman, and a villain in Guardians Of The Galaxy and Captain Marvel. Here he gets a more sympathetic role as the ancient sage Shazam, a wise and long lived shaman who’s essentially the all seeing teacher (the Yoda of the film), albeit one who has regretted a long ago choice as a champion. His wizard is one weighed down by responsibility, and that’s how the actor plays him.

I mentioned that in the comics, the Shazam world could be convoluted, with multiple characters gifted with an aspect of the character. Most notably those are two characters, Freddy Freeman and Mary Batson, each given by Billy the powers he possesses and taking on heroic roles, but there are others. In the film adaptation, several of these take place, and it’s these two characters whose parts are played by four people. Mary Batson is Mary Bromfield this time out, a foster sister for Billy played by Grace Fulton when we first meet her, and an adult version played by Michelle Borth. Fulton’s take on the teenager is a sensible den mother sort of teen- taking care of her foster siblings and pondering her academic future, but down to earth, sensible, and grounded. Her adult, powered counterpart maintains these traits in terms of her personality, and Borth adds courage to the mix as well. The two actresses have enough of a common look to them that they feel like two versions of the same person, years apart in time.

The same applies for Freddy Freeman, who we see in most of the film played by Jack Dylan Grazer. Freddy may be disabled, but that doesn’t stop him from getting through life with spirit and energy. The youth quickly becomes Billy’s friend, a source of help thanks to his general knowledge of superheros (he can be described as something of a geek. Grazer gives his take on the role a snarky, gleeful touch at times, relishing the idea of helping a hero find his way. And as the film carries on and we see an adult version of the character, this time played by Adam Brody, that snarkiness is still present. Brody, once a member of the soapy The O.C., is probably an ideal choice at this stage for a geeky sort of kid in an adult body. The bantering energy between Billy and Freddy, played out between four actors, is one of the treats of the film as a whole.

It’s the villain who gets to be another of the strong assets of the film. Mark Strong is one of those actors who you love to hate when he plays an antagonist, something he often does, but not always. He gives a touch of ruthless menace to such a character, and that’s what he does here as Sivana. His character is quite different from the comic version, a mad scientist of short stature and pure ugliness. This Sivana, a brilliant scientist, is obsessed with what he briefly grasped, withdrawn and isolated from an abusive family, and, well, taller and more photogenic than his comic book counterpart. He straddles the line between science and magic, seeking power but not respecting the scale of that power. For him, the ends justifies the means, and Strong plays to that, all the while chewing the scenery in a delightful way and menacing the film as he goes along.

With two actors playing the same character at two ages, what becomes pivotal in a story like this is that the audience buys it. If the two actors aren’t playing the role with the same fundamental traits, the audience won’t. In this case they do. Asher Angel starts out as something of a delinquent, isolated with a troubled family history, finding a family in the oddest of places. And it’s an act of bravery- drawing bullies away from his foster brother- that shows his true nature. Fundamentally the youth is a good person, something that Angel brings across. And he feels like a believable teenager, the sort willing to goof off and not quite think things through, and yet when called for able to improvise.

Zachary Levi takes such qualities in his version of Billy, the adult sized hero. He might physically be an adult, but the character is still a teenager in terms of personality, with a wide eyed not quite thinking things through energy at first. Levi plays to that with a goofy sort of touch in how the character learns the ropes, confronting a real villain with a total lack of respect. Levi and Angel have enough of a physical resemblance that we can buy them being the same person, and given their way of playing the role, they give Billy the same mannerisms throughout. This is not Levi’s first foray into comics lore, having had played Fandral in Thor The Dark World and Thor Ragnarok, but here he gets centre stage. A question left unresolved for now- how on earth do you deal with the idea of a love interest? Because a teenage girl hanging around with an adult Shazam is going to end up looking quite creepy, and would a grown woman be able to relate to a teenager who occasionally looks like a body builder adult in red? Because he’s still a teenager in mindset. We’ll see if the story goes in such directions in a sequel.

A new character successfully enters the comic book adaptation with Shazam! Characters who can often be ungainly and cheesy in the older source material work quite well as adapted into the story. The dynamics of two halves of the same person, years apart in terms of age, played by two actors, works throughout the film. The thematic grounding of family that’s part of the character history establishes itself well. And the concept of a teen getting used to incredible power before realizing that he has to take things seriously plays out very well. The cast take to their roles in the right way in each case, especially the two actors playing the title character. And when you mix in a veteran character actor who seems to be having a ball glaring and menacing his way through the film as the villain, the combination makes for a welcome new addition to the DC cinematic universe. Though it leaves one wondering when the inevitable parody will turn up with a teenager yelling a magic word, getting struck by lightning… and ending up a charred corpse instead of a superhero adult.

A Cosmic Marvel Of Two Different Worlds

“You are just one victim of the Skrull invasion that has threatened our civilization for centuries. Imposters who silently infiltrate, then take over planets.” ~ Supreme Intelligence

“I know a renegade soldier when I see one.” ~ Nick Fury

“Does announcing your identity with branded clothing help with the covert part of the job?” ~ Carol Danvers

The Marvel Cinematic Universe rolls along without a hitch with a new addition to the fold. Captain Marvel tells a tale set a couple of decades in the past, featuring a mysterious woman, cosmic conflicts, familiar faces, and ties to what lies ahead for the heroes and villains of the Marvel universe. Brie Larson joins the growing cast of heroes as the title character, and the direction is done by a pair of filmmakers whose work is collaborative- Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. The film that results is a highly satisfying cosmic thriller with strong characterization, grounded in a solid performance by Larson.

The film opens with Vers (Larson), a member of Starforce, an elite team of soldiers for the Kree empire. She’s having recurring nightmares of a woman. She has abilities- flight, superhuman strength, and energy projection. Her mentor Yon-Ragg (Jude Law) is training her, and an organic artificial intelligence called the Supreme Intelligence, which rules over the Kree, urges her to keep her emotions in check. Vers and her team engage the Skrulls, a shape shifting enemy race to the Kree, and Vers is captured by their commander, Talos (Ben Mendelsohn). An escape leads her to Earth, where she encounters two fresh faced S.H.I.E.L.D agents, Nick Fury and Phil Coulson (Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg), and discovers that she is in fact Carol Danvers, a military pilot who was presumed dead and whose biology was altered in an explosion.

The idea for a solo film was already in the works back in 2013 for Carol Danvers, at a time when the character was still using the long-term codename Ms. Marvel in the comics. Five writers are credited with the script (aside from the character’s comic book creators). Two are the directors. Nicole Perlman and Meg LeFauve worked extensively on the film story during development, and Geneva Robertson-Dworet picked up where they left off. Usually that many writers is a sign of trouble, but not in this case.

The story is an origin story, but dispenses with the need to tell how the protagonist gained her powers by starting things off with her already powered. And the story as it unfolds, with its grand, cosmic stakes, nonetheless grounds itself in strong characterization, not only in its leading characters but in those around her, both good and bad. It also makes good use of established characters like Fury and Coulson- here years younger than when we first met them in Iron Man- and of established races in the comics universe like the Kree and the Skrulls. The Kree have been seen before in the MCU- in Guardians Of The Galaxy and on the small screen in Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., but this is the first we’ve seen of the Skrulls, a shape shifting race that are so often the villains of a story, and first tied to the Fantastic Four in the comics. The story presents the Skrulls one way and then takes it in a different direction, which I liked.

To this point, production values in Marvel Studio films have been exceptional, so that hasn’t been a worry in terms of world building, special effects, or other aspects of filmmaking. That continues here, as the sequences set both on Earth and amid the stars and distant worlds feel real and integral alike, as opposed to green screen hell as you might expect in a different studio’s film. One of the tricks that’s been used to a smaller degree in some of these films- the de-aging of characters like Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark or Michael Douglas as Hank Pym for short set in the past scenes- is used to great effect here. As the bulk of the story is set in 1995, Samuel L. Jackson spends the whole film looking a lot younger than he actually is (while Clark Gregg’s Coulson gets some of the same treatment). The technique looks natural, as if the actor filmed their scenes back in the day as opposed to when the film was actually in production. The look for Captain Marvel feels very much like it is at present in the comic books, which is a welcome thing, as her present costume design is a particularly good one.

Boden and Fleck have worked together as directors and writers on character and indie films like Half Nelson, Sugar, and Mississippi Grind. It says a lot about the MCU that directors who are often not previously involved in blockbuster action thrillers, but character films, do so well with these films. As directors they have a rapport with actors that a blockbuster director might not have (imagine Michael Bay being let loose on a comic book film, and, well… you’d have a Michael Bay film). Instead, the directors can focus on the story, the acting, and the flow of the film and just trust that the production crew knows what it’s doing. Such is the case here. Boden and Fleck’s directing style keeps the film balanced between the scope of the story and the intimate and richly drawn interaction of characters. It’s paced well, never feeling like it lags.

We’ve seen some of the cast before. Lee Pace and Djimon Housou appeared in Guardians Of The Galaxy as Ronan the Accuser and Korath, two ruthless Kree warriors who were among the villains of that film. They reprise their roles here, years before the events of that film, and play the roles differently. Pace’s Ronan is not yet the zealot he will become in the years to come, but still a force to be reckoned with. Hounsou’s Korath is a member of Starforce, second in command of the group and lacking a whole lot in humour. Clark Gregg, who started out in Iron Man as the calm Agent Coulson and has taken that role into other films and into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., appears as his character, something of a rookie in the job in how the actor plays him (and de-aged thanks to the CGI).

Annette Bening gets more than one role in the film, voicing the Supreme Intelligence (which in the comics has always been somewhat creepy and certainly plays out that way here). The Intelligence is the sort not to be disobeyed, a brilliant organic program that rules the Kree with authority and a measure of ruthlessness, which Bening invests into her performance. And yet that’s not quite all she does, appearing in a double role as a scientist, Wendy Lawson, whose true form is that of a renegade Kree with a benevolent agenda. In this capacity, in flashback, the character is sympathetic and very much a hero.

When the film was still in production, the expectation among many was that Jude Law would be playing Mar-Vell, the predecessor Captain Marvel to Carol. That isn’t the case in the movie, though he starts out as a mentor to Vers/ Carol. His Yon-Rogg is based on a comic book version, an enemy of Mar-Vell among the Kree. He starts out in one way, as an authoritative and capable commander, but there are hidden secrets beneath the surface, which Law plays to throughout his performance. It’s a character who proves to be quite different by film’s end, and one that I’d like to see again.

Lashana Lynch plays Maria Rambeau, a former Air Force pilot and colleague and friend of Carol Danvers who happens to be a single mother to daughter Monica (who in the comics has quite a history of her own). The character is resilient, likable, and independent, with a lot of strength and just the right kind of attitude that you might expect out of a pilot. She provides some of the emotional grounding that Carol needs to find her way back to herself, and the actress makes her really come to life through her scenes.

Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn has played a whole lot of different roles down through the years, and in recent years was noted for his take as King George VI in Darkest Hour and for the villainous Imperial official Orson Krennic in the Star Wars spinoff Rogue One. Here he plays the Skrull Talos (and since he’s a shapeshifter, other characters) in more than one way. The comic book reader expects the worst out of a Skrull, and so we expect the villain. Instead his Talos starts out deemed the enemy (and given that he seems so relentless in the pursuit, we just accept it), but there’s a different angle on the character that shows up as the film progresses. Mendelsohn gives Talos a somewhat laid back approach in how he plays him. It’s a complicated role, but he handles it well.

Samuel L. Jackson has been a regular force in the Marvel cinematic universe as Nick Fury. Here he gets a lot to do as a younger Fury, before the general state of perpetual crankiness and the eye patch. Fury is essentially in a bureaucrat’s role at this point in his life, more affable and less cynical in his general approach. For the character, this is his first time dealing with a superhuman threat, and it forces him to change his mindset. Jackson plays to that, and his take on the character is that of someone who needs to learn to trust this superpowered being he’s come across. It makes for what ultimately becomes something of a buddy film between Fury and Danvers in terms of their rapport.

Brie Larson gets the main role as Carol Danvers/ Vers/ Captain Marvel and makes the most of it, becoming the bedrock of the film and showing how good she can be. Previously I’ve only seen her in the thriller Kong: Skull Island, so this is the second go around for me with the actress. Her take on Carol Danvers matches the best of the character that we’ve seen in the comics. She’s strong willed, sassy, smart, and has a whole lot of fortitude. Even without power, she’s courageous, ethical, and refuses to quit. Larson gives the character a tremendously sympathetic, compelling take with a lot of depth, making us empathize with her. I’m looking forward to more from her, both in the upcoming Avengers film and in another solo film. While the character’s existence was teased in Infinity War, this is a splendid introduction to her that’s done in the right way by the actress.

Captain Marvel establishes the character in a big way in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but gives her a chance to shine on her own. The film balances in the right way the cosmic stakes of the larger story with the characterization that is needed to ground such a story. With a cast that is well chosen, either in returning or new character roles, the film has the ideal players in their roles, especially so with its protagonist. Brie Larson firmly establishes a place for Carol Danvers in the wider Marvel universe, and in her performance, the film finds its greatest strength. I look forward to more down the line. And I haven't even mentioned the cat stealing the show.

Never Call The Raccoon A Raccoon

Some links before I get started today on this film review, which Norma has reviewed as well. Shelly has a new grandson to celebrate. Check out this museum at Krisztina's page. Yesterday was a Square Dog Friday at Parsnip's blog. And The Whisk asked a pressing question of the gravest importance. 

"The fate of twelve billion people is in your hands." ~ Nova Prime Rael

"So here we are. A thief, two thugs, an assassin, and a maniac. But we're not going to stand by as evil wipes out the galaxy." ~ Star Lord

Guardians Of The Galaxy is the latest in the series of films from Marvel Studios, a space faring romp through the cosmos with a gleefully anarchic sense of fun. Director James Gunn helms the film, working with fellow screenwriter Nicole Perlman in telling a story of a group of misfits out among the stars confronting threats and learning to work together. The roots in comics reach back decades, when a team by that name was first formed in the pages of Marvel comics, having adventures a thousand years in the future. The configuration of these characters, however, goes to the writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, who several years ago were heavily involved in writing the cosmic side of things at Marvel. Abnett and Lanning took a group of star faring characters who had been around at Marvel for years, joining forces and taking the name of the previous team. The core of that group helm this movie, and the film's story owes much to Abnett and Lanning's work. There is an ongoing series being published at the moment with the team, though I advise you to avoid it entirely- it is being written by the worst writer in the industry, a man who just happens to be the best friend of Marvel's head honcho.

The film opens up in the past, when we meet Peter Quill, a boy whose mother has just died. He is abducted by space pirates, led by the alien Yondu (Michael Rooker), and taken into the stars. Years later as an adult, Quill (Chris Pratt) has taken to calling himself Star-Lord and is in the midst of stealing a mysterious orb when he is intercepted by another alien, Korath (Djimon Hounsou). The orb itself, it turns out, happens to contain an Infinity Stone, something that can tend to be very dangerous in the wrong hands. His theft attracts other attention beyond Korath: Gamora the assassin (Zoe Saldana) is dispatched after him.

Two bounty hunter partners, a genetically altered raccoon called Rocket and a walking tree called Groot get mixed up into the mess. The interstellar peacekeeping Nova Corps arrest the lot and throw them into a cosmic prison, the Kyln, where they encounter another entity, Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista). Drax has a grudge or two against Gamora, because of her association with a big bad named Ronan (Lee Pace). Ronan is a particularly nasty fellow (at least in this movie; the comics version has tread the line from acting as an antagonist to an ally). Gamora, however, isn't loyal to Ronan, and the group find themselves banding together, first to escape, and then to deal with the grave threat Ronan and his allies pose against the galaxy as a whole.

Gunn and Perlman's story leans heavily on the influences of Abnett and Lanning, and yet tells a story that stands on its own quite well. It stands apart from the previous Marvel films in that it sets its story out among the stars, and it infuses a sense of humour into the proceedings. This reflects itself in the makeup of the team, who are brought together not particularly in a voluntary way, and bicker with each other all along. It reflects itself in small ways- the incredibly bad taste of music on Quill's Walkman (his mother's musical inclinations, was, in a word, awful), or the way no one takes Quill's personal nickname seriously. Quill himself is written as a rogue, a fish out of water with an influence of Han Solo about him, a snarky and sarcastic character. The snarkiness certainly extends to another member of the team, the cranky Rocket, a motormouth voiced by Bradley Cooper. The story, over all, builds on the classic cinematic notion of a Maguffin (the heretofore mentioned mysterious orb) that everyone wants, and while it has all of the sci-fi action you would expect out of a comic book adaptation, the story has fun with itself, in the way that a good sci-fi film ought to be.

The special effects serve the story well. Having a story set out in the stars offers a variety of realms, and special effects and CGI render these realms in different ways. The world of Xandar, home of the Nova Corps, is an orderly- somewhat too orderly- world, clean and sterile somewhat. Other places are murky, particularly the Kyln or Knowhere, a refuge the team take to. That gloom extends to the lairs of Ronan, or his patron Thanos, who we've seen before. By contrast, the archives of the Collector is a place of the bizarre, and that comes across in the special effects. At times, of course, and that's to be expected in a comic book adaptation, the action can overwhelm the story, with the explosive pyrotechnics you'd expect, but it didn't become tedious at all to me.

Where the CGI and special effects particularly come out so well are in the renderings of two main characters. Groot and Rocket certainly come across as inhabiting the same space as the actors. Part of this might involve motion capture, the techniques being used in The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit films to such good effect. The snarky raccoon very much feels like he's scurrying about on gangways and in starships, just as much as his lumbering partner Groot comes across as a cohesive, real presence in the shots. Best of all- neither of the pair come across in the same obnoxious way as an infamous certain Star Wars character (Jar-Jar Binks, I'm looking at you). 

The cast make the most of their parts. For some it's taking things more seriously (villains tend to be quite serious, after all). For others, they're having something of a romp playing their roles, even if they can't quite show it. Glenn Close turns up as the head of the Nova Corps, and she plays the role with authority, albeit little tolerance and patience for nonsense and backtalk. She certainly comes across as a believable leader, and it's a pleasure to see her playing a very different part from what you might expect. John C. Reilly is one of her lieutenants in the Corps, and he gives his character something of a more sardonic quality. Michael Rooker, a character actor who's been in movies and television for years, plays Yondu with a slightly shifty moral worldview and a gruffness that you'd expect out of the actor from previous roles- but I liked him regardless. Benicio Del Toro returns as the Collector, after an appearance in Thor The Dark World. He's an eccentric sort of character, an elder being of the universe who seems to have a bit of a Liberace flamboyance about him, and a fondness for odd items. He plays the part as the weirdo a comics fan would imagine the Collector to be.

Djimon Hounsou has been around for years as an actor too, playing in historical dramas, action films, and more, often in memorable character roles. He plays the Kree Korath as the capable subordinate to Ronan, and gives him a rather impatient quality. There's an appearance by Josh Brolin as well, doing the voice of Thanos (a villain we'll see again). The character is as menacing as he'll continue to be down the line, and it was a good touch to give him the role. Karen Gillan plays a particularly unhinged character named Nebula. She and Gamora have connections, but are at each other's throats. I haven't seen her in anything before, but she gives Nebula a formidable, manic quality that I liked. Lee Pace has been appearing in The Hobbit films as the elven king Thranduil, and here he plays Ronan with conviction and weight. Ronan as a character has often been a villain, but sometimes not, and Pace gives him a serious, determined, and ruthless quality that you'd expect in an antagonist. His Ronan feels dangerous indeed.

Vin Diesel voices Groot- which is actually an easy job. Probably because Groot actually only speaks three words (though Rocket understands the differing meaning of those three words). I found myself wondering if Diesel got into a recording booth, did a few takes, and was done with his part for the film, or if there was motion capture involved. Bradley Cooper does the voice for Rocket, who tends to chatter a lot. This is a mixed factor for me. I didn't mind Cooper back when he was a cast member of Alias, but at some point after that, when he became famous, I began feeling a profound dislike of the actor. Fame seemed to get to his head, and frankly, the guy comes across as a complete sleazebag. That said, however, I didn't find myself distracted by that dislike. Perhaps just having the voice was a factor in that; I was listening to the character instead of the actor. Had he actively been appearing on screen, I might have felt different, but he does capture the snarkiness and crankiness of Rocket as I would expect.

Dave Bautista comes from a background in professional wrestling, so we're not talking about a formal actor here, but he actually does well as Drax. The character is a blunt force of nature, a wall of muscle driven by the idea of avenging the death of his family. Bautista really does look the part, and gives the character a  threatening, physical presence. Yet there's also in his role a degree of sympathy that we can relate to. There is much tragedy in the man, and Bautista conveys that. It's actually a surprise, because I wouldn't have expected that of a wrestler.

Zoe Saldana has been doing quite a bit of sci-fi in the last few years. She was in that miserable wretched excuse for a blockbuster otherwise known as Avatar (what can I say? I hate Avatar), and she's been a key player in the two Star Trek reboots under director J.J. Abrams. She plays Gamora as I would expect. The character is a thoroughly dangerous woman, and yet with multiple layers. She keeps much to herself, and yet is driven by a conscience and awareness of the right thing to do. She guards herself closely, but acts with courage and without hesitation when the stakes are high. Gamora finds herself puzzled by her comrades at times, impatient at others, and Saldana conveys these qualities in her performance, grounding the role in the character's need for redemption. She also brings good chemistry to her role with the last of the major players.

This is actually the first time I've seen Chris Pratt in any role. He's been on the series Parks And Recreation for years, and a look at his filmography reveals that he was in the tense Zero Dark Thirty film, but I have never seen his work. He plays the part with sarcastic glee, starting off as a man out of his element, out for himself. Placed into a crisis, however, he seems to come into his own, finding a sense of meaning for himself. He certainly exercises some of the disdain for authority that you would expect in Han Solo, for example, and I liked that, but when push comes to shove, he gives Quill a sense of leadership that feels natural for the progression of the story. Pratt's performance becomes part of the fun of the film, and a nice revelation to the viewer who's first being introduced to him as an actor.

Guardians Of The Galaxy especially cranks up the sense of fun at the box office. It features a motley group of misfits thrown into cosmic stakes danger, moves the story along at a brisk pace, and brings a good sense of humour to the proceedings. I had fun with this film; I think you will too. Even if the post-credits sequence features an extremely unwelcome character that should be cast into a black hole with all possible speed.