With the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 capping off the Guardians franchise in the MCU, here is every installment ranked from least good to best. Firstly, it is worth pointing out that there is not a single bad entrance in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, with writer-director James Gunn amazingly capturing the lovable team's dynamic perfectly in every appearance they have had in the MCU. Regardless, there are some projects better than others, especially with the expansion of the franchise on Disney+ in 2022.
The Guardians franchise began as somewhat of a risk for Marvel, with the studio opting to include one of the much lesser-known teams of the comics into the MCU as a core group. Besides the Avengers, the Guardians have had the most impact on the more expansive Marvel Studios universe concerning superpowered teams, which proved to be a stroke of genius from Kevin Feige and James Gunn after the reaction to the Guardians projects in the franchise. Now, the Guardians franchise is ending with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and here is the definitive ranking of the series to commemorate the beloved MCU found family's swan song.
4 The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
Coming in last on this list is The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Despite its bottom placement on the list, Marvel Studios' second Special Presentation is still an incredibly heartwarming, festive, fun time. Clocking in at only 42 minutes, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special was the perfect way to reintroduce the titular team back into the MCU after they were mostly absent from the MCU's Phase 4. With only a brief cameo in Thor: Love and Thunder, the Guardians Holiday Special served as a way to catch audiences up with the team before their final appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Aside from being a simple memory refresher to audiences of the MCU, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special succeeded in being a short film full to the brim with heart, festive cheer, and the wacky humor now-synonymous with the Guardians. From the touching revelation that Mantis and Star-Lord are siblings to the generally heartening story of the other Guardians trying to cheer Quill up after his loss of Gamora by delivering him Christmas in space, The Guardians Holiday Special only continued in the same emotionally affecting, hilarious vein that James Gunn previously established with the Guardians in the MCU.
That being said, the Marvel Studios Special Presentation only ranks the lowest on this list due to its mostly inconsequential nature. Aside from the affecting character moments and interactions, the Guardians Holiday Special is largely disconnected from the overall story of the MCU. Naturally, this would be the case given its short-film nature, and that was certainly the intention of Gunn and Marvel Studios. However, a reason must be found to place The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special lower than its film counterparts, despite the short film being a Yuletide-infused good time.
3 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Next on the list comes the Guardians' second installment into the MCU, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. After the incredible reaction to the first Guardians film, a sequel was placed into production almost instantaneously. Serving as a way to bridge the gap between Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Infinity War all while delving further into the characters established in the former, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 proved to be another successful outing for the titular team. Embodying the same goofy humor of the first film while somehow being even more emotionally resonant, Guardians 2 was a sequel worthy of its predecessor.
However, arguably the biggest issue with Guardians 2 simply comes from the inability to recapture the intangible "lightning in a bottle" feel of the first film. Guardians of the Galaxy was a breath of fresh air for superhero cinema, meaning the sequel lost that overwhelming feeling of uniqueness and originality, therefore not reaching the incredibly lofty heights of the first movie. That being said, Guardians 2 is arguably one of the MCU's most emotional films from the exploration of Quill's family through his father Ego and found-father Yondu to the further development of characters like Rocket, Nebula, and Gamora.
The emotional core and massive amount of heart present in the film make up for the lack of originality that comes with any sequel, making Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 another incredible entry to the franchise. While the jarring nature of the more wacky humor of the second film can cause some emotional whiplash with the more intense drama, some MCU-best cinematography, action sequences, and acting performances allowed Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 to stand alongside its predecessor. The sequel only ranks lower than the first due to the lack of originality that altered the landscape of superhero cinema, especially concerning the blend of comedy and drama.
2 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
The silver medal on the Guardians podium goes to the final entry, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Much like the second film doubled down on both the humorous and dramatic elements of the first film, Guardians 3 does the same, resulting in an even greater sense of emotional whiplash. Outside of this critique though, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 stands above its predecessor due to the immensely satisfying ending the story serves its titular characters. Aside from Avengers: Endgame, no MCU movie has provided a sense of closure to the series it belongs to.
With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, however, this is not the case. Providing an emotional journey into Rocket's past, the film manages to tie up the story of the MCU's weirdest found family in an extremely bittersweet adventure. Given Marvel Studios has such a hard time with letting go of franchises, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's willingness to properly end the trilogy with an added dose of Gunn's humor, emotion, and one all-timer MCU one-take action scene is enough to see it claim the second spot in the Guardians of the Galaxy ranking.
1 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1
Coming in at the top spot on this list of MCU Guardians properties is the film that started it all, Guardians of the Galaxy. The film was released in 2014 to overwhelmingly-positive reactions from fans and critics alike. From the exceptionally realized characters to the film's emotional heart, Guardians of the Galaxy blew the MCU wide open in of scope, scale, and potential. With Guardians 1 being the MCU's first proper step into the cosmic side of the universe, Gunn was enabled to craft a quirky, eccentric film with equally surreal characters, all while somehow managing to ground it in the emotion needed to invest in the film.
As a result, Guardians of the Galaxy ended up among the best of the MCU and has remained there to this day. While the subsequent installments in the Guardians franchise have still managed to maintain the first film's success, none have quite managed to capture the perfect balance of drama, over-the-top humor, action, and character moments that the original film did. Combined with other brilliant elements like fantastic CGI, acting, voice-acting, and an MCU-best score from Tyler Bates, Guardians of the Galaxy stands tall among its MCU peers as the best installment in the series to date leading into the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
