20 Best Superhero Movies Since The Dark Knight

It still seems kind of hard to believe Guardians of the Galaxy worked out as brilliantly as it did.

Let's not forget, this was an adaptation of a little-known group of characters featuring a sentient tree and a talking raccoon, so Marvel Studios really took a gamble on this one. To say it paid off would be an understatement, and its characters are now some of the most popular in the series.

The entire movie is a real tour-de-force by writer-director James Gunn, who not only offers beautiful visuals, fun action and hilarious comedy galore, but crucially treats the material with real maturity and respect. There is an absolute ton of heart in this movie and it gets surprisingly dark at times, ensuring that the film never becomes frivolous or feels like a joke, which is a mistake several other MCU films have made.

The finale is disappointing, but otherwise the original Guardians of the Galaxy is one hell of an action comedy that's very, very hard to resist. It'll be sad to see the Guardians leave the franchise after next year's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but they'll always be a treasured part of the series.