All Three Guardians of the Galaxy Movies RANKED!
The Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy is easily my favorite of the MCU due to its brilliant casting, charm, characters, setting, narrative, and so much more. The three films are all fantastic, but not made equal, so in today's article, I, Brighton Nelson of The Reel Ranker, present to you: All Three Guardians of the Galaxy Films RANKED!
3: Guardians of the Galaxy - S Tier
The Reel Ranker Score: 77%
Year: 2014
Critic Consensus: 84%
Audience Consensus: 87%
This movie does a perfect job of introducing the Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as being perfectly charming and hilarious! This movie is a nearly ideal origin story with tons of fun character action and great moments. So what's the problem with this practically perfect superhero comedy with tons of heart with tons of heart? The plot and the villain both suck. Ronin is honestly so bad I'd say Thor: The Dark World's Malekith looks good compared to him. While the dance battle and "we are Groot" scenes are fantastic, the lack of a compelling conflict makes this an outstanding comedy but a mediocre superhero film. Luckily, that second aspect only gets better from here on out.
2: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - S+ Tier
The Reel Ranker Score: 81%
Year: 2017
Critic Consensus: 76%
Audience Consensus: 83%
This movie has more heart and humor than the original volume—an excellent example of bigger being better. At least, this applies to most of the film. Bigger climax? More heart? Better character growth? All of that is fantastic. However, in a way, this movie has the opposite problem of the original: there's almost too much going on with the plot and villains. This movie has three villains associated with the three acts: Taserface, Sovereign High Priestess, Ayesha, and the living planet, Ego. The first? A rather funny villain but nothing overtly special. Ayesha? It is engaging in the third film but stupidly annoying here. Now, Ego? Absolutely awesome. At least, until you think about how his mass killings are brushed off as a joke instead of taken seriously. And then you realize it feels a little too cartooney to do something like that, and then you wish the movie chose one of the other. In the end, with better, well, everything than the original, this film is unfortunately still lacking in the villain department.
1: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 - The Reel Tier
The Reel Ranker Score: 93%
Year: 2023
Critic Consensus: 73%
Audience Consensus: 86%
This film has the heart and brilliance of the first film and the grandeur and humor of the first—all while introducing fantastic characters and finally fixing the villain problem with The High Evolutionary, who's easily one of the best villains of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. This movie has some of the most brilliant fictional characters ever put on the silver screen and one of the most emotional character backstories I've ever seen with Rocket. This is practically a perfect superhero film due to its impeccable humor, action, storytelling, emotional scenes, and brilliant characters! For that, it is not only my favorite Guardians film but also my favorite Marvel film.
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The Verdict
The Reel Ranking:
3 - Guardians of the Galaxy (77%)
2 - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (81%)
1 - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (93%)
Common Critic Consensus:
3 - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (73%)
2 - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (76%)
1 - Guardians of the Galaxy (84%)
Common Audience Consensus:
3 - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (83%)
2 - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (86%)
1 - Guardians of the Glaaxy (87%)
