'Guardians of the Galaxy': What the reviews are saying

Millions of dollars spent on filming and hyping "Guardians of the Galaxy," and at last Marvel's big science fiction superhero gamble is in theaters. Before heading out to your movie theater, though, take a look at what critics are saying.

The general consensus is highly positive, but it's not a 100% approval rating:

Newsday, one of many publications that compares "Guardians" to "Star Wars," got a kick out of the movie's unique tone and genuine laughs:
"Pulp Fiction" meets "Star Wars" in this rock-driven, tongue-in-cheek space-opera. Refreshingly smart and funny.

Rope of Silicon was one of the film's detractors, and it wasn't a simple matter of disliking the movie. Rope's reviewer downright hated it:
...boredom set in early and only a few chuckles here and there sustained me for the duration.

Serial movie reviewer Leonard Maltin agreed that it's hardly Shakespeare, but he still had plenty of fun watching it:
Marvel's latest mega-movie is big, noisy, and fun to watch.

Like Rope of Silicon, the reviewer at Village Voice found it to be not her cup of tea:
"Guardians of the Galaxy" is proof that a picture can have a sense of humor yet have no real wit. It hits every beat, but it hasn't got the beat.

Unfortunately, this reviewer was the victim of some rather vicious Internet trolling, as her review drew comments from "angry comic book nerds" who hadn't even seen the movie yet.

The Wall Street Journal was enamored more with the movie's humor than its spectacle:
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.

Geek royalty Harry Knowles of AintItCoolNews, who fans know as given to liberal heaps of gushing praise when he finds a movie he likes, was typically overjoyed with "Guardians of the Galaxy":
I really do feel folks are going to lose their minds over this one. You've never seen anything quite like it before -- and that's fantastic.

Perhaps The Verge sums it up best:
More emotional than "Captain America," more awe-inspiring than "Thor," more genial than "Iron Man," and more playful than "The Avengers," "Guardians of the Galaxy" has the same downside as a lot of franchise-starters in that it mostly sets the table for presumably bigger future installments.

So there you go. "Guardians of the Galaxy" is a solid hit among critics, but don't expect anything too deep or complex. Just enjoy the ride.