So this weekend Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe launched with the release of Guardians of the Galaxy. (Phase One lead up to Avengers, Phase Two leads to Avengers: Age of Ultron.)

Guardians of the Galaxy (GotG) must count among the strangest concepts ever used to launch a major franchise. GotG concerns a collection of criminals and riff-raff that are thrown together with conflicting motives with the fate of the galaxy resting on their actions.

There is one actual human character for the audience to identify with, Peter Quill, and the rest of the main character cast are various aliens. Some or rendered with traditional make-up effects while other exist solely as CGI creations. When major characters include a modified raccoon and a talking-tree, you know that you’ve taken a journey to the far reaches of high-concept. The amazing thing is that it all works.

My reaction to GotG is very similar to my initial reaction to 1977’s Star Wars. This film is also a space-opera, not science-fiction, and one it gets going it never slows down. The action speeds like a meter heading for planetary impact. The non-stop action however is masterfully paced keeping from numbing the audience and allowing enough space so that each and every one of the major characters has moments to shine not only in physical prowess but also in heart-touching scenes of inner motivation.

This is a film I keeping thinking about not in a deep philosophical manner, but rather in a ‘wow I had fun’ mode. Your mileage, of course, may vary, but if you remember the sense of scale and deeper universe that the original Star Wars created while giving  thrilling action then this film is for you.

My biggest complaint is that for the first time the post-credit scene exists entirely for laughs and in no way sets up another story in this expanding universe.

(This post has been edited because the author is overly fond of typos.)