《銀河護衛隊》討喜的輕量級作品

The distinguishing mark of Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" is its pleasing silliness. If these goofballs are our guardians, the galaxy's future may be iffy, but its present is laughy. This action spectacular, in not-so-spectacular 3-D, announces its tone early on when the hero, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), ventures into a vast, crepuscular chamber on a Godforsaken planet and, firing up his cherished cassette Walkman, breaks into a little dance that's charmingly retro and cheerfully absurd. The message could not be clearer, or more inviting. Abandon all mope, ye who enter here.

漫威影業(Marvel)出品的《銀河護衛隊》(Guardians of the Galaxy)一大特徵是令人捧腹的愚蠢。如果這些傻瓜蛋是我們的護衛，那麼銀河系的未來也許存疑，然而眼下的情況讓人忍俊不禁。這部3D動作大片在開場不久就定下了基調。在一個荒涼的星球上，英雄主角彼得·奎爾(Peter Quill)（由克里斯·普拉特(Chris Pratt)扮演）闖入了一個巨大的密室，故事由此展開。他很珍愛一盒老式磁帶，裏面收集了許多音樂，他偶爾會來一段舞蹈，懷舊又讓人捧腹。影片所傳遞的信息再清楚不過了，也更具吸引力。進來觀影的觀衆們，拋棄憂鬱吧！

In the grand scheme of things—Marvel things, not merely galactic things—"Guardians" is a likable lightweight, though it's heavy enough on cosmic combat and dazzling effects. (Exceedingly heavy at times, when visual clutter defeats comedy.) A first salvo in a new franchise based on a relatively obscure comics series, the film stars a relatively unfamous actor (Mr. Pratt is best known for playing Andy Dwyer on television's "Parks and Recreation"), and surrounds the self-ironic Peter with a team of rebellious misfits he meets in prison. They include Rocket, a weapons-savvy raccoon given voice by Bradley Cooper; Dave Bautista's vengeful Drax, who's stronger of body than mind (he can't grasp metaphors); and Groot, a sentient tree who is voiced, in a manner of speaking, by Vin Diesel. (Groot's manner of speaking limits him to saying "I'm Groot," which he does frequently, getting laughs with each repetition.) Zoe Saldana's Gamora isn't funny, and isn't supposed to be; she's an alluringly athletic warrior with initially ambiguous motives.

從漫威影業角度、不僅僅是銀河系影片角度來看，《銀河護衛隊》屬於一部討喜的輕量級作品，儘管影片有許多打鬥場面以及眼花繚亂的視覺效果。（某些時刻，當視覺上的眼花繚亂戰勝喜劇成分時，氛圍也會顯得極其沉重。）作爲基於相對不太出名漫畫作品的新系列電影的第一部，該片啓用了相對名不見經傳的演員擔當主角（普拉特最出名的角色是美劇《公園與遊憩》(Parks and Recreation)中的Andy Dwyer），而男主角彼得身邊的一羣隊友是他在星際監獄中認識的叛逆牢友。他們是：武器行家火箭浣熊（由布萊德利·庫珀(Bradley Cooper)配音）；復仇心切的毀滅者德拉克斯(Drax)（由戴夫·巴蒂斯塔(Dave Bautista)扮演），他四肢發達，但頭腦簡單，聽不懂隱喻；樹人格魯特(Groot)（由維恩·迪塞爾(Vin Diesel)配音）。（格魯特語言能力有限，他只會說“我是格魯特”，他經常這樣說，每次都戳中觀衆的笑點。）佐伊·索爾達娜(Zoe Saldana)飾演的卡魔拉(Gamora)並不好笑，這個角色本身也不逗趣。她是一個迷人的星際戰士，登場時動機不明。

"Guardians of the Galaxy" was directed by James Gunn from a script he wrote with Nicole Perlman. Like the movie's star, its director was an adventurous choice for a megabudget space opera, and a smart one; his moviemaking background is rich in oddity, and his most prominent feature until now was the horror comedy "Slither." Mr. Gunn gives this production a free-swinging style you want to root for, just as Marvel fans will be rooting for Peter Quill, a half-human who likes to call himself Star-Lord, after Peter swipes a mysteriously powerful orb and becomes the object of a manhunt led by the villainous Ronan the Accuser. (The cast includes Michael Rooker, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close and Benicio Del Toro. The production was designed by Charles Wood and photographed by Ben Davis.)

《銀河護衛隊》由詹姆斯·岡恩(James Gunn)導演，編劇爲岡恩和尼科爾·帕爾曼(Nicole Perlman)。與主演一樣，這個導演人選對於一部大製作太空題材影片來說也是個冒險的選擇，但卻是明智的選擇；岡恩導演的影片題材多樣，此前他最有名的作品是恐怖喜劇《撕裂人》(Slither)。岡恩讓這部影片有了一種讓觀衆喝彩的大膽風格，正如漫威影迷會爲片中主角彼得喝彩一樣。彼得具有半人類半外星血統，喜歡自稱“星爵”(Star-Lord)，他在片中竊取了一個具有強大力量的神祕球體，成了大反派“指控者羅南”(Ronan the Accuser)追捕的目標。（影片演員陣容包括邁克爾·魯克(Michael Rooker)、傑曼·翰蘇(Djimon Hounsou)、約翰·雷利(John C. Reilly)、格倫·克洛斯(Glenn Close)和本尼西奧·德爾·託羅(Benicio Del Toro)。查爾斯·伍德(Charles Wood)任藝術指導、本·戴維斯(Ben Davis)攝影。）

The people who made this movie must have had a swell time in the process, and it's nice to see a summer epic that takes itself so unseriously. Eventually the wink-and-nod whimsicality wears thin, and you wonder how this errant gang is going to keep its antics fresh in subsequent episodes. For now, though, Marvel has maintained its standards in the action department—cluttered or not, the screen is alive with marvelous images—and has won a crucial gamble on its star. Peter is not only a good man playing outlaw; he is, as played by Mr. Pratt, a good guy and a quintessentially amiable American hero. "I couldn't let you die," he tells Gamora after saving her life. "I found something inside myself incredibly heroic—not to brag." The disclaimer isn't needed. We get that Peter enjoys himself, so we're up for enjoying him.

這部電影的主創人員一定非常享受拍攝過程，看到一部夏季史詩片呈現如此輕鬆的基調感覺很不錯。最終，那種心照不宣的狂想淡去，你會好奇這羣不走尋常路的傢伙在以後的續集中要怎樣讓這種滑稽的調子保持新鮮感。不過目前，漫威保持了其動作片的水準（不管是不是雜亂無章，反正銀幕上充滿了令人驚歎的形象），其冒險的選角也大獲成功。彼得並不是一個亡命勇悍的好人；普拉特扮演的彼得是一個好人、而且是一個典型的親切的美國英雄。他在救了卡魔拉之後對她說，“我不能讓你死。我發現自己內心非常英勇──這並不是說大話。”這樣的宣言其實並不需要。我們知道彼得自得其樂，因此我們也會樂在其中。