In this latest release from Marvel, fans from all over the spectrum will find something to enjoy in the new epic, “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

The film starts out by introducing us to Peter Quil(played by l, a young boy who has just lost his mother to cancer. Unable to cope, he flees the hospital only to be abducted by an extraterrestrial vessel and is never seen again on earth. All he retains from his life on earth is a Walk-Man with a mix tape his mother had made him of her favorite hits from the 80s and 70s, appropriately labeled as “Awesome Mix 1.” Years later, Quil, now aspiring to known as ‘Star Lord,’ is shown as an intergalactic pilot, outlawed for his trade as an expert thief in space.

Star Lord is sent to retrieve a mysterious orb located in a seemingly barren wasteland in space when he is first captured by Ronan’s guards. He quickly outsmarts his captors and takes the orb to be traded, which the audience quickly learns is no ordinary orb when the shop-keeper won’t even touch it.

Moments later, Star Lord is approached by a smooth-talking Gamora(played by Zoe Saldana), who is the adoptive daughter of Thanos and sister of Ronan; a murderous, scheming group that seeks the orb for planetary destruction and domination. Although she was trained to be a weapon, Gamora seeks to pull away from the family she was adopted into and stop their evil plans by retrieving the orb herself. This of course means that Star Lord and Gamora end up fighting over the orb and a wild chase ensues.

Meanwhile, a pair of bounty hunters have spied Star Lord and the price of his capture. The two decide to go after him, one being a violent, bossy, and talking raccoon named ‘Rocket’(voiced by Bradley Cooper), and the other a sweet talking tree named ‘Groot’(voiced by Vin Diesel), who can only say “I am ‘Groot’.”

Despite their bumbling ways, Rocket and Groot prove to be more than efficient at their task. However, they only add more chaos to the chase and the whole group ends up captured by the police and sent off to prison. Of course, they escape together, once Gamora explains her plight and mentions she plans on selling the orb for 4 million units, from which she promises an equal divide amongst the group for their help in stopping Ronan. The rest you will have to see for yourself, I don’t believe in spoilers!

What I personally liked most about this film is it’s ability to be unique and still pay homage to other facets of science fiction that have succeeded it. Star Lord/Peter Quill is practically the new age Han Solo for this generation. The green ladies from Star Trek have their day as the kick-ass Gamora. You can even find a touch of Lord of the Rings inspiration with the verbally-limited Groot. Then you have a character like Rocket, who is unlike any other character in the whole film or any I can recall. My only complaint(s) would be the Stan Lee cameos; while we all love him, he doesn’t need to appear in every Marvel movie. He just doesn’t. I can appreciate them in any Spider-Man film for the obvious reasons. But the added cameo for the sake of unthwarted sensationalism that isn’t necessary for the film’s plot is annoying and counter-productive. Other than that, I highly recommend this film to any movie -goers, whether they are comic book fans or not. Fans will get a unique treat as will any other new comer to the superhero genre. The film is packed with humor, stunning visual effects, and one really awesome playlist.

B+