Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Is this the best Marvel movie ever made? I've gone back and forth on it, but honestly, I keep landing in the same place: yes, probably. Guardians of the Galaxy is funny, heartfelt, action-packed, and genuinely, gloriously unexpected. And I mean that last word seriously, because when this thing came out I remember thinking, "who the hell are these fools?" A talking raccoon, a sentient tree, a green woman, a tattooed maniac, and Chris Pratt. Right. Sure. This is going to be great. Except it was. It absolutely was.

James Gunn had no business making this work as well as it does, and yet he smashed it. Completely. What he understood, which so many Marvel films before and since have failed to grasp, is that personality is everything. You can have all the explosions and world-ending stakes you want, but if the audience doesn't genuinely care about the people on screen, none of it lands. Gunn gave these characters actual weight. Actual history. Actual damage. And then he wrapped it all in a neon-coloured, gleefully weird space adventure and let it breathe.

The soundtrack. Where do you even start? Using a mixtape of classic pop and rock tracks as the film's emotional backbone was an inspired choice, and it pays off in ways that feel almost miraculous. The music doesn't just accompany the scenes, it is the scenes. It's the kind of thing that sounds daft on paper and then you're sitting in the cinema grinning like an idiot because it works so perfectly. Legendary is the right word for it.

And Chris Pratt. Look, I'll be honest, I had my doubts. But he's actually great in this role. Peter Quill is a character who could easily tip into annoying, but Pratt plays the buffoonery with just enough sincerity that you're fully on his side throughout. The whole misfit family dynamic just works, full stop. It reminded me, more than anything else in the MCU, of the spirit of Star Wars, that feeling of a ragtag crew thrown together who slowly, reluctantly, start to love each other. But funnier, with better music, and carrying more genuine heart than it had any right to have.

What really gets me is how the film handles its quieter, more painful moments. Rocket's anger and his refusal to let anyone close, the hints at what was done to him, it hits hard precisely because the film doesn't oversell it. And Groot's sacrifice near the end, I'm not made of stone. The film earns those moments because it hasn't spent the whole runtime winking at the audience. It knows when to stop being funny and just let you feel something. That balance is incredibly difficult to pull off and Gunn nails it.

It's colourful, loud, weird, and absolutely stuffed with charm. My only gripe, and it's a small one, is that the villain side of things is fairly standard fare. There's a bloke being menacing and talking about destruction, and I couldn't tell you much more than that. But when everything around him is this entertaining, it's easy enough to forgive.

I've since seen where the story goes, and I'd say have a look at my reviews of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 if you want to follow the full journey of these characters. But this first film remains the peak for me. The one where it all clicked into place and Marvel proved it could do something genuinely surprising.

If every film in the MCU had this much personality, this much soul, and this much confidence in its own weirdness, the whole franchise would be in a completely different conversation. Four stars, and I'm tempted to push it higher every time I watch it.

Rating: ★★★½  | Year: 2014  | Watched: 2025-04-25

View on Letterboxd →

Where to watch

Watch in the UK
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

Watch in the US
Stream: Disney Plus · fuboTV · FXNow
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US

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Related on Movies With Macca

More from James Gunn: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) · Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
More with Chris Pratt: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) · Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) · Jurassic World Dominion (2022) · Jurassic World (2015)
More from the 2010s: Wonder (2017) · Beautiful Boy (2018) · The Witch (2015) · What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
More action: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · The General (1926) · Hand of Death (1976) · Daredevil (2003)
More science fiction: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Fantastic Planet (1973) · Nightmare City (1980) · The Long Walk (2025)