6) The Insane Amount Of Self-Awareness
Not only is Guardians of the Galaxy aware of what romance could do to this band of misfits, it’s so self-aware in its humor and cheesy antics that it teases at breaking the fourth wall, a trend that has exploded in popularity due to our lovely maniac Deadpool. While other comedic films might rely on their surprise cheap jokes, this film relies on the knowledge that the humor is indeed silly.
Peter Quill’s obsession over novelty items from our world is an interesting breaking of the fourth wall, as he’s not directly doing so (he’s from our world and could easily be sitting in the theater laughing at Drax’s literal mind). He’s aware himself of just how unaware the rest of the Guardians are of the viewer’s gaze. He has an agency that very few Marvel characters have.
One of the most hilarious moments followed what seemed like a touch into the “taking itself too seriously” realm of films. When the group was talking about what friendship means to them and standing up one by one bathed in heroic light, Rocket thankfully brought it back to its self-awareness and commented on how ridiculous they looked standing up together like a “bunch of jackasses.”
