CREDIT: WALT DISNEY STUDIOS MOTION PICTURES
A rag-tag team of misfits won the hearts of many and soon you can pick up this movie for your loved ones this holiday.

Back in March I wrote an entry in this column proclaiming Marvel the masters of comic-based cinematic fun over their rivals at DC, a claim that I was backing up primarily using the then-recently-released trailer for Marvel’s newest endeavor, Guardians of the Galaxy.

A movie based on characters that I knew nothing about bar some quick googling and a passing familiarity with some of James Gunn’s earlier work, yet I based an article on it, which in hindsight was kind of dumb, because the movie could have been terrible. After all it was a hell of a gamble to make it in the first place.

Holy crap, what a good movie. If you haven’t seen it yet, drop what you’re doing and watch it immediately.

There’s a reason that this movie is still in some cinemas a full three months after its debut despite the fact that it’s phenomenal – I swear I’ll try to stop gushing about it – it is one of few movies, in any genre, that truly satisfies the phrase has something for everybody.

Cliché though it may be, the film is a master class of casting, music, writing and visual splendour that rivals all the Marvel films that came before it.

Set in a bit of a side universe known in the comics as cosmic Marvel, Guardians takes the tried and true formula of a gang of arguing misfits overcoming their differences for the greater good – except these misfits are a snarky human, a deadly green woman, a giant who doesn’t understand metaphors, a talking raccoon and a tree.

As I said before, it’s utterly insane to write down, yet somehow it all manages to work – and work ridiculously well – predominately down to the excellent casting of these bizarre characters.

Led by Hollywood’s new favourite leading man Chris Pratt, supported by Zoe Saldana, exuding her usual aura of super womanly confidence and WWE’s David Bautista, whom I groaned about when learn would be a primary member of the cast, but apparently has fabulous comedic timing and his powerful frame made his character, Drax the Destroyer, the film’s best surprise.

As good as the live action characters are, and they’re exceptional it’s the two computer generated members of the team that made the film so special, Vin Diesel’s botanical darling Groot, and Bradley Cooper’s take on nerd favourite Rocket Raccoon.

The proper execution of these two were integral to the success of the film, and James Gunn and the two actors absolutely knocked it out of the park. A gun-toting, smart talking raccoon in a sci-fi sounds like a modern day ewok, but Cooper turned Rocket into one of the most loveable, hard edged characters in Marvel’s roster. And as for Groot, you’ll never fall more in love with a character that only speaks three words.

Guardians of the Galaxy is the best movie I’ve seen in years, and a better Marvel movie than The Avengers. It will be released to home media on December 9.

Find a way to watch this movie.