WWE’s Batista as Drax the Destroyer. Photo courtesy of Film Frame.
For the second week in a row a blockbuster action flick starring a professional wrestler hits theaters. Last week it was The Rock in Hercules (read my review here). This week it’s the latest Marvel big screen adaptation Guardians of the Galaxy co-starring Batista as Drax the Destroyer. And since we like to talk wrestling so much around here, let’s go ahead and get something out of the way. Despite the negative reception he received from fans during his recent return to WWE, Batista is one of many reasons that Guardians is likely to become this summer’s biggest hit.
Unlike most Marvel movies, Guardians is not an immediately recognizable name to many. Sure, the die-hard comic fans and Marvel devotees are probably going into this movie with a vast knowledge of who the green-skinned heroine Gamora (Zoe Saldana), the overgrown talking raccoon Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and the cybernetically sexy supervillain Nebula (Karen Gillan) are. For the rest of us, a slimmed-down Chris Pratt is the unlikely hero Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord), Michael Rooker is the blue-skinned baddie Yondu and Vin Diesel is Groot, a towering anthropomorphic tree similar to The Lord of the Rings‘ Ents. (Actually, one of the oft-used moments of comic relief in Guardians is Diesel uttering the phrase, “I am Groot,” the only three words in his vocabulary.)
Photo courtesy of Film Frame.
Lack of familiarity does little to hinder Guardians, however. In fact, I think it actually benefits the film as it offers the same kind of excitement that movies like Star Wars and The Fifth Element did the first time around. This mystery (as well as the action and comedy) are what keep the audience guessing with Guardians. Why is Quill snatched up by a spaceship at the most tragic moment of his childhood? Why does he constantly listen to hits from the ’70s on his cherished cassette player while fighting aliens? How does he end up teaming with a ragtag group of prisoners, all of which coincidentally have their own issues with Thanos (Josh Brolin) and Ronan (Lee Pace)? How is Rocket able to understand what Groot says even though everyone else just hears, “I am Groot”? Figuring it all out is a huge part of the appeal here.
Karen Gillan as Nebula. Photo by Jay Maidment.
Great characters are often the driving force behind a good story, especially ones set in fantastical lands in faraway galaxies. While it obviously has awesome effects, impressive space battles and all sorts of cool creature costumes, Guardians is filled with amazing character development. Pratt’s comedic timing and sarcasm quickly establish Quill as a lovably womanizing space bandit with natural charisma despite his adolescent demeanor. Saldana’s cold delivery shows us that Gamora is a no-nonsense warrior whose only concern is preventing Thanos and Ronan from carrying out their evil plans. Batista obviously has the physical attributes of the musclebound Drax, but he’s also able to bring out the unintentional comedy of Drax’s literalism (he’s unable to pick up on jokes and metaphors, making for some hilarious confusion), as well as his emotional pain, the driving force in him seeking revenge against Thanos. And that’s not even mentioning the depth of secondary characters portrayed by John C. Reilly, Glenn Close and Benicio del Toro.
In short, despite not being as popular as the X-Men or The Avengers, Guardians will easily become another part of the Marvel film franchise. The casting is impeccable, the character development is great and the action is amazing. It’s great to see somewhat obscure comic book characters getting the same treatment as the bigger superheroes, and the fact that Guardians ties in to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe means we will likely see even more of these characters on the big screen.