Guardians of the Galaxy was a “4” on the Coleman family movie scale…
1= wait until it comes on television
2= wait until it comes to DVD/Video on Demand/Netflix
3= see it at a matinee/discounted showing in a movie theater
4= pay full price in the movie theater
(Since we live in NYC with $15 movies, a movie has to be really great for ALL of us to give it a “4”!)
The reason that we enjoyed the movie so much is that there is a little something for every viewer in it. There is family love, friendship, teamwork, humor, action and even a little hint of romance. The musical soundtrack (which is a small part of the storyline) is also excellent. I don’t like to go into too much detail for initial movie reviews – including this Guardians of the Galaxy movie review because tastes are so subjective and I don’t want to give the whole plot away. However, there are a few things that I would want to know as a parent…
1. A mom dies in the opening scene. (My kids are pretty sensitive to that type of thing, so just be aware.)
2. There is a significant amount of fighting/violence in the movie. I think that it didn’t bother me too much because it wasn’t graphic/there wasn’t a lot of blood and gore. (At the points that I would normally turn my head away, the camera cut away from the scene.)
3. There was much more cursing than what normally occurs in Marvel movies. This was my only real problem with Guardians of the Galaxy. Rocket Raccoon (my favorite character) cursed a lot. He was hilarious…and would have been just as funny without all of the swearing. Peter Quill/Star-Lord also cursed.
Guardians of the Galaxy is rated PG-13, but I would say to use your judgment. You know your kids best. In general, I think that kids in third grade and up should be fine watching it. (My second grader Sean was fine with it though. He has an older brother, understands not to try the violent moves at home and he knows that curse words are not acceptable in our home.)
I always say that movies are subjective, so below are two other reactions to Guardians of the Galaxy from some fellow parent writer friends:
1. Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” is a Summer Blockbuster Hit! (Jeff Storch)
2. A Parent’s Review: Guardians of the Galaxy movie (Jennifer Donovan)
9 Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Tidbits
Lastly, I want to share some Guardians of the Galaxy movie tidbits for true comic book fans. I don’t read comic books, but my friend Alex Hernandez is a true fan. He shared the following 9 tidbits after watching the movie:
1. Stan Lee makes a cameo as an old Xandian with a young woman.
2. Cosmo the Space Dog appears in the movie.
3. Yondu (the space pirate in the movie) is actually a guardian in the comic book…but centuries in the future.
4. John C. Reilly (who plays Corpsman Dey) is also a character in the comic as part of the Nova Corps.
5. Other items shown in the Collector’s lab in the movie include a dark elf from the Thor movie; a Chituari; Howard the Duck and more.
6. All of the alien races are Marvel alien races as are some of the minor space characters (like Glenn Close as Nova Prime Rael).
7. The space mine is the head of these big metallic beings called the Celestials.
8. Lloyd Kaufman (creator of Toxic Avengers) makes a cameo in the movie.
9. There are six infinity stones in total. (In the comics, they are put on the infinity gauntlet and Thanos uses them to kill half of the universe.)
Are you planning on seeing Guardians of the Galaxy? If so, I would love to hear your thoughts!