Warning, some spoiler alerts may be revealed in this blog entry!
I am a big fan of Marvel movies, who, in the past have released such blockbusters like The Avengers, Thor 1 & 2, Ironman 1,2,3, Captain America and so on. I wasn’t much of a comic book reader growing up so I didn’t know the ins and outs of the “Marvel universe”. That being said, we went recently to see “Guardians of the Galaxy” in theaters because it came highly recommended, and we were not disappointed! This action packed Marvel film takes place in a distant galaxy where many aliens coexist. The main character, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is a human who, at the beginning of the film, was at the deathbed of his mother. His heart is broken and he carries with him a mixed tape that his mother made for him. Long story short, he was abducted “from Earth at a young age“..he is now an “interstellar adventurer“, opportunist and currently a wanted criminal. (IMBD Bio)
It is a long, humor filled story as to how this ragtag team is assembled known as the “guardians of the galaxy” and they must face numerous challenges, especially internally among the group with struggles such as revenge, insecurity, greed, trust and arrogance. These unlikely characters must work together to defeat a common enemy by the name of “Ronan 
the Accuser” of Kree and his villainous backer and destroyer of worlds – Thanos.
Peter retrieves an ancient artifact only to discover it contains great power and is currently also being sought out by Ronan the Accuser and his thugs. The humor in this film makes it fun to watch coupled with the numerous action sequences. I especially enjoyed the characters that make up the Guardians, especially two in particular by the name of Rocket and Groot.
Rocket is a Raccoon like intelligent creature who was experimented on. He struggles with insecurities of who is, yet is extremely cunning and intelligent. He is the orchestrator of plans and the builder of unique and dangerous weapons. His partner and “muscle” (Groot) is a tree-like creature who can extend his limbs to fight and to defend. He can only utter three words “I Am Groot”…which the other team members interpret into rather humorous responses during the film.
3 Poignant Lessons:
1. Leadership – Although this movie is an action-packed film about super-heroes and villains it certainly does not start out that way. Quill is an opportunist just out to make some money. His character seems very selfish and ego driven…though he carries with him the scars of his mother’s death in the form of his tape player and her mixed tape that she made for him. You want to cheer for him and he is a spectacular example of an imperfect hero with many flaws. Putting these flaws aside Quill becomes a fearless leader of the Guardians as they seek to save mankind from Ronan and ultimately Thanos.
2. Revenge never pays – Drax is the muscle bound, red tatooed, revenge seeking Guardian. He signs on with the team in order to kill Ronan who slaughtered his family. Drax doesn’t really care about the others at first and only seeks to fill his blood lust by any means possible without consequences or how it will impact those around him. He learns some lesson the hard way in this film and becomes a true friend to the other team members within the Guardians.
3. Unity, Love & Sacrifice – Groot, at one point saves the entire team from destruction by sacrificing his own life. The ship is crashing to earth and he unfurles his limbs to become a sphere of protection around the other Guardians. In doing so Rocket yells at Groot with tears in his eyes and says “don’t do it Groot, you will die!” at which point Groot declares boldly “We are Groot” and then proceeds to save them all from death by sacrificing himself. To me this was startling, yet poignant lesson of team work, love and sacrifice that should speak to our hearts. I saw almost a Christ-like sacrifice that Groot displayed for others as he was willing to lay down his life to save the team.
My recommendation:
Go see “The Guardians of the Galaxy”. The Guardians are imperfect, far from spectacular and yet display the best of humanity in their team work, love and ultimately willingness to sacrifice themselves to save others. In my opinion, it is the must see movie of a quickly fading summer!
Just something more to ponder here at pastorsponderings.org
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