Guardians Of The Galaxy ***

James Gunn directed this Action/adventure film. Watch Preview. Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio del Toro. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for some language. Running time is two hours and one minute.

A brash adventurer (Chris Pratt) finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe.

My initial reaction the first time I saw the preview for this film was: "you've got to be kidding". Who can take seriously a cast whose members include a gun totin' raccoon and a talking tree?  Well, seriously, if you're looking for some good escapist entertainment, you should see this film. Younger patrons and men will like the action, women will like the romance and family sentiment, some seniors (not me) will like the music track from the 80's, and almost everyone will enjoy the lighthearted banter and comedy. As much as any film can have something for almost everyone, this film does. This is clearly meant to be a tentpole pic for a series and in fact GOTG 2 already has a release date for 7/28/17. It's a little too violent to be called a family film but it's not far off that mark. I saw the IMAX 3D version and thought the 3D very good even though it's a conversion from 2D.

There is a short scene following the credits but it's not worth waiting for. This is clearly a film that will benefit from the largest possible screen. 2D Theatres/Times. 3D Theatres/Times. IMAX 3D Times.