@Guardians of the Galaxy Opens Today! Science Fiction Never Looked So Hot! #GuardiansoftheGalaxyEvent

“From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team—the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.”

We previewed the movie two weeks ago and the excitement from the crowd was palpable. We have all come to expect excellence from Marvel Studios, and Guardians of the Galaxy did not disappoint.

The movie opens near the end of the last century with a young Peter Quill listening to a mixed tape from his mom who is inside her hospital room suffering from terminal cancer. She passes away right after he is unable to hold her hand to say good-bye, so he runs out of the room, very upset. Outside a space ship swoops in and takes him away, his walkman playing, into the future, as we quickly deduce.

I grew up reading a lot of comic books but had never come across this one. I love how they carefully mixed comedy and science fiction, two of my absolute favorite genres. Chris Pratt is great in the role of Peter Quill, or Star-Lord as he likes to bill himself. His comedic timing is perfect for this role and this movie. We first see the above referenced walkman in the beginning of the film, this item plays an integral role in Peter Quill’s decisions, and is also the catalyst for some awesome old 70’s and 80’s music that we get to hear in the film!  Star-Lord will go to great lengths to protect that Walkman as you will see in the movie.

I always find good science fiction intriguing. The new technology that the writers come up, the character’s personal body armor, and the different aliens in the movie are all ingredients that set one science fiction story apart from another. And this one has some great new ideas, from the technology of all the Xandar spaceships, to Peter Quill’s personal face mask that protects him, even in space.

The main characters are a motley crew of humans, aliens, and a racoon. Who naturally all end up in a space prison.

There are two CGI characters in the movie, Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and Groot the tree (voiced by Vin Diesel). They are integral to the misfit team of the Guardians: watching the growth of these characters, watching their villainy turn into a desire to help the galaxy, is a fun journey. And the relationship between Groot and Rocket is one we will never quite forget, as we were watching the movie, their obvious close friendship was something incredible to behold! And most of what they elicited from us was just from their voice over work. Bradley and Vin did an amazing job!

I am here to share as a humble blog reviewer, that this movie will blow everyone out of the water. The comedic humor is terrific, the effects are stimulating and the story is perfect. This is clearly another Marvel blockbuster. And more than that, this is not your father’s science fiction, this is not your nerdy cousin’s comic book. This is a new futuristic science fiction movie where the women are warriors, animals and trees talk and dance, and the shirtless men are hot! There is something for every one in this blockbuster!

We were all dismayed at the preview as they left out the Easter Egg! You’ll notice there were no spoilers about it anywhere, that was for the general populations protection! The Easter Egg was also not at any of the Premieres, they are saving it for today!

I love how all the Marvel movies are connected. We saw the Collector in the Easter Egg after Thor: Dark World. He is more prominent in this movie. It is clear his is a recurring character, and not a nice one. Well, that does make him more interesting!

Which leaves us with the possibilities of longer life spans for certain characters coupled with the added possibilities of time travel. I think at this point, anything is possible. The list of Marvel movies coming out for the rest of the decade has been published, this is such an exciting time in the industry, and we know that in some way they will all be interconnected!

Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” which first appeared in comic books in Marvel Super-Heroes, Issue #18 (Jan. 1969), also stars Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, featuring Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, with John C. Reilly, Glenn Close as Nova Prime and Benicio Del Toro as The Collector. Click on the name for my interviews with Vin Diesel, Zoe Saldana, and Dave Bautista. Also, we spoke with Director James Gunn. The links for Dave and James will be added later as they are scheduled for next week.

Disclosure: Disney invited me on this press trip and paid all of my expenses. No other compensation was received. All  opinions are always 100% my own and honest.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Opens TODAY 8/1/14!

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