Let's be honest. Less than a year ago there had not been much marketing for this film yet. And it seemed like a bold move by Marvel to take a lesser known comic including a talking raccoon and a walking tree as their big summer movie for 2014 without a full-blown A-list cast. People started fearing this could be Marvel's first financial flop. It's not gonna happen though, because word will travel fast. This is riot.

"Guardians" is the kind of lighthearted yet never superficial or even dumb Sci-Fi adventure people loved to watch in the 1980s. Director James Gunn pays homage to that era especially with his brilliant use of songs throughout the film yet propelling visual effects to a new level at the same time. While Gunn can rely on excellent CGI effects that make us care deeply about the creatures mentioned above, the human cast is delivering spot on performances, too. It's the characters' stories that ultimately make you click with this movie and make it so much more than a fast food adventure.
It's fast, it's colorful, it's weird (but not as weird as feared) while being deeply satisfying and entertaining at all time. The amount of detail and depth that went into every frame of this packed universe is staggering. Funny yet touching it's hard not to come back from seeing this with a stupid grin on your face.
Sure, the laws of physics have no real business in this film and the last act of the showdown maybe takes the craziness a few notches too high, but you'll be hard pressed to find a summer blockbuster with this much heart while being pushed into your cinema seat for two hours.

9 out of 10 whistle arrows