By: Shyla Smith

This issue, The Squire is reviewing Guardians of the Galaxy, which, in my opinion, is one of the best movies Marvel has put out. It is one of the few movies that can have you on the edge of your seat with excitement and then on the floor laughing, without ruining the action or the jokes. It is both action-packed and hilarious at the same time. The movie is directed by James Gunn and is the first movie to have any of these characters. The movie starts out with Peter Quill, AKA “Starlord” (Chris Pratt), walking through an ancient town on the planet Morag looking for an Orb.

As he enters the temple in the town center, he puts on his headphones for his cassette player and dances through the temple, kicking little monster rats until he reaches the Orb. Ronan’s men come in looking for the Orb and try to steal the Orb from him. He escapes and heads for Xandar, where he has a buyer (The Broker). His partner, Yondu, who he double crossed, puts a bounty on his head. The Broker will not buy the Orb because he does not want to mess with Ronan, who has sent Gamora (Zoe Saldana), the adoptive daughter of Thanos, to get the Orb from Peter. Rocket (Bradley Cooper), a genetically and mechanically enhanced raccoon, and Groot (Vin Diesel), a giant tree monster, find Peter and want the bounty Yundo put on his head. They fight and Nova Core (police on Xandar) arrests them and sends them to the Kyle (a prison).

At Kyle, many prisoners want Gamora dead because she was in league with Ronan and Thanos. Drax claims the pleasure to kill Gamora, but because Gamora knows a buyer for the Orb, Peter points out that she has betrayed Ronan and Thanos and that he should not do their dirty work for them. They figure out a plan to escape, but it goes wrong. They head to Knowhere, (a mining colony), to sell the Orb to the Collector. That goes wrong and Drax nearly dies. They lose the Orb to Ronan, and Peter and Gamora are captured by Yondu. Peter negotiates a deal with Yondu, and they head for Xandar to stop Ronan from destroying it. Peter sends a message to Xandar to warn them and ask for help. In the end, Nova Core, the ravagers, and the Guardians team up to fight Ronan.

The fight scene is awesome, but ends with tears. James Gunn did a great job directing, and the movie is action-packed and funny. I give it five stars. However, some people may have a problem with some of the characters, mainly Peter Quill, with his constant joking around. I enjoyed Quill’s character because he does get a few good laughs (not always on purpose). Many of the characters have complex backstories and I look forward to learning more about them in future movies.