“Guardians of the Galaxy” immensely entertaining

The+unlikely+heroes+of+Guardians+of+the+Galaxy.

Splash photo Marvel Studios

The unlikely heroes of “Guardians of the Galaxy”.

The superhero is a much-loved character type in modern media. Strong, fast, courageous, and noble, superheroes save people, do good things, and help others simply because it’s the right thing to do. We see ourselves in them, and they inspire us to follow their lead and become better people.

Except, you know, if your superheros are convicts.

The namesakes in “Guardians of the Galaxy” are anything but your average superheroes. To be honest, they’re not even very nice people. We start out with Star-Lord, an egotistical thief working for a shady organization with a fantastic taste in music. He’s quickly joined by Rocket and Groot, two freelance agents looking to make a quick buck who are a racoon and a tree, respectively. (It’s never really questioned too deeply.)

The party heats up when Gamora, an assassin, shows up, and attempts to kill Star-Lord and retrieve an item he has stolen. After all are thrown in prison for their various crimes, they meet Drax, who tries to kill Gamora.

They all band together to form one of the strangest team cinema’s ever seen, and work surprisingly well together with all the trust you would expect.

No one is saying that Marvel hasn’t been funny in the past, but “Guardians of the Galaxy” is downright hilarious. Dramatic scenes are cut with dance breaks, Kevin Bacon is hailed as a savior of humanity, and there’s just something immensely entertaining about a raccoon wielding a plasma gun.

That being said, this movie is rated PG-13 for a fairly good reason. Lewd jokes are made, curse words are said, and there are more ‘80s references in the script than most adults feel like explaining. The movie is highly recommended for teens and up.

The Guardians have much fuzzier moral codes than we’ve seen in the past, and may save the universe, but that won’t stop them from also getting something from your wallet.

–Aug. 1, 2014–