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James Gunn (Slither) co-writes and directs one of the best Marvel movies ever. The plot is simple, nothing new or groundbreaking. Good guys gotta stop bad guys from literally destroying the world. Been there, done that, right? And like most Marvel movies, the bad guys are pretty generic and forgettable. And there are, like, what? Three or four bad guys here? Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Because Guardians of the Galaxy makes up for its weaknesses in strong character and heart. Chris Pratt (TV’s Everwood) begins his climb to super-stardom with this leading role, and the rest of the cast all pull their weight as well. The two computer-generated characters (a raccoon voiced by Bradley Cooper and a walking tree voiced by Vin Diesel) leave the greatest impact. And when it comes down to it, I’ll throw the lion’s share of the film’s success at its core storyline — it’s about disparate people overcoming their differences for a common cause and becoming friends in the process. It may sound cheezy as shit, but Gunn pulls it off and makes you buy into it, hook, line, and sinker. And just at a time when I was beginning to question our humanity — both in the movies and in real life. Guardians bucks the trend of gloomy, doomy superhero movies (ie, whatever Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan lay their filthy hands on). This flick is decidedly fun, funny, irreverent, colorful, visceral, and action-packed. It’s the perfect summer popcorn movie — like something straight out of the ’80s.

With Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Michael Rooker, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, and Benicio Del Toro.

Oscar Nominations: Best Visual Effects, Makeup & Hairstyling