"Here, a pulse, wit, beauty and a real sensibility have been slipped into the fray, alongside the clockwork guffaws, kabooms and splats. Lifted by a cast of professional charmers and a “What, me worry?” vibe, Guardians of the Galaxy is one of those interstellar westerns about a motley group of appealing baddies who rise to the heroic occasion and ride to the rescue, on spaceships rather than Appaloosas. The John Wayne role here — or, really, the 1970s Harrison Ford one — belongs to Chris Pratt, an easygoing, comic performer who’s very good at putting up a persuasive cute-dumb front and then shifting into a slyer, more knowing register. … There are different ways to get lost in a movie, and while Guardians takes you down one after another crazy narrative turn, it also pulls you into — and, for the most part, keeps you in — a fully realized other world."