When a quirky sense of humor. However, pundits were surprised when the movie resonated with a huge audience. And the 2017 sequel was even bigger.
There are Guardians Of The Galaxy Is The MCU’s Best Solo Franchise.
There are no weak links (yet)
The the standard set by the franchise or simply being considered a tad “meh.”
The first Guardians solo franchise is the only one where every installment is an all-time MCU great.
Relatable characters
It’s hard to make superheroes relatable, because they’re “super” by nature, but he’s not even shown to be a particularly good outlaw.
But that just serves to make him relatable. And this goes for the rest of the characters in the Guardians movies. Anyone with a sister can relate to Gamora’s rivalry with Nebula, while people dealing with personal loss can identify with Drax. Rocket pretends not to care, because he has the biggest heart of all, and we can all relate to that.
Rewatchable origin story
Origin stories, by their very nature, don’t make very rewatchable movies. They’re interesting the first time, but after that, you just want to see your favorite heroes in action. Batman Begins spends an hour explaining how Bruce Wayne became Batman, whereas The Dark Knight has no such burden and can just dive right into the superhero action.
However, the first it’s so wildly entertaining, but also partly due to its streamlined plotting. It wastes no time setting up the characters, getting them in prison together, establishing why they need each other and how they end up working together, and sending them off on their first adventure.
A recognizable theme tune
One of the most common criticisms of the MCU is that there aren’t any instantly recognizable musical pieces like there are in franchises like Star Wars and Back to the Future. However, there are some memorable ones. The five-note Spider-Man theme is delightful.
But Guardians movies’ soundtracks are famous for their use of ‘70s pop music as opposed to a traditional orchestral score.
It actually has its own genre
Kevin Feige says that every movie in the MCU fits into a different genre: Captain Marvel is a ‘90s-style action movie etc. But on the whole, they all fit into the same category of superhero cinema.
The Guardians of the Galaxy movies the best MCU solo franchise is that they stick out from the rest of the MCU. They could literally exist as an entirely separate franchise and stand on their own.
Memorable villains
The MCU is often Guardians of the Galaxy films have that.
In the first one, the Guardians are pursued by Gamora’s sister Nebula and her father’s loyal servant Ronan the Acc. In the second one, although the twist could be seen a mile off, Quill’s biological father Ego turned out to be a genocidal psycho.
Iconic soundtracks
The blasting the sounds of AC/DC from his armor for years before Peter Quill and his Walkman came along.
But there’s no arguing that the all of the songs featured on them are classics: David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Cat Stevens, the Jackson 5, George Harrison, Sam Cooke, and many, many more.
Well-developed character arcs
The MCU’s success lives and dies with its characters’ arcs, and the character arcs in the meet his biological father and realize Yondu was a loving dad all along.
Gamora has been trying to leave her past as a Thanos-worshipping killer behind; Rocket has learned that it’s okay to let your guard down and care about people; Drax has found a new family to make life without his own bearable. These characters and their arcs are very clear-cut and well-developed.
Actors with chemistry
Whoever is in charge of casting for the MCU is doing a damn fine job. There isn’t a single actor in a major role in the MCU who isn’t perfectly suited to that role. But the casting of Guardians of the Galaxy goes one step further. Not only are all the actors the ideal choices for their characters, they also have impeccable chemistry with one another.
Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana have built a real, honest relationship in these movies, and even the actors who give vocal performances as CGI characters, like Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel, share on-screen chemistry.
The perfect balance of heart and humor
All of the MCU’s movies have a healthy balance of heart (Guardians of the Galaxy movies.
Usually, an MCU movie will veer more one way than the other; the Guardians movies have both in equal – and equally effective – measure.
