20 Comic Book Movies That Are Practically Flawless

Before James Gunn blew audiences away with Guardians of the Galaxy, the MCU had mostly been rooted in a world not unlike our own, focussing on characters that were implausible but easy to root for in their human complexities.

Guardians of the Galaxy changed all of that, taking the classic MCU formula and shaking it up with wonderful results to create a booming sci-fi action-comedy that expanded the universe in visually glorious and brilliantly twisted ways.

To date one of the MCU's finest achievements - as well as one of its funniest and most unique instalments - Guardians is an origin story unlike any other, bursting with exquisite performances, awe-inspiring visuals, and the kind of bonkers humour only James Gunn could effectively make pop.

The franchise may have gone bigger further down the line, but looking back it's rarely been this surprising and effortlessly fun.