Marvel Cinematic Universe: Soundtrack Scores Ranked From Worst To Best

23. Guardians Of The Galaxy

One has to feel a little bad for Tyler Bates. He created a full orchestral score for James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy, and ask anyone which music they remember? Odds are, they'll start to hum Hooked on a Feeling.

While Awesome Mix, Vol. 1 would come to dominate the Billboard chart and most other charts in the release of the film (for good reason), there is actually a score behind it all. Bates has worked with James Gunn on several projects and has courted controversy in the past. His score for Zack Snyder's 300 was accused of plagiarism, leading to a settlement out of court.

So, it was interesting to see what he could bring to the MCU, with its string of several strong scores already. Unfortunately, the answer was that there wasn't all that much new in what was being offered.

There is a lot of Remote Control influence going on here, something that had already been heard on previous scores. The main theme for the Guardians is suitably stirring, though this is one of the few highlights of the score. There is an awful lot of generic cues sort of flopping through the film. Groot Spores stands out but that is not saying an awful lot.

It's fine, it does the job. However, if one were to recommend the soundtrack to Guardians....recommend Awesome Mix instead.