Guardians of the Galaxy

This bright and breezy Marvel movie introduces a distinctly oddball set of space adventurers. Chris Pratt has no discernible superpower as Peter Quill, except to brilliantly wisecrack his way out of sticky situations after pilfering a mystical orb coveted by power-hungry aliens Ronan (Lee Pace) and Nebula (Karen Gillan). Zoe Saldana plays Nebula's adoptive sister, a green-skinned warrior determined to stop Ronan getting the orb and achieving galactic domination, and who also serves as a comic foil to the other, less principled Guardians. Threatening to steal the show is a tough-talking raccoon called Rocket (delightfully voiced by Bradley Cooper), while the gang is rounded out by revenge-seeking prisoner Drax (Dave Bautista) and talking tree Groot (a monosyllabic Vin Diesel). Playing out to a kitsch soundtrack of retro hits, the gags and action come thick and fast in writer/director James Gunn's fun, exciting and psychedelic spin on the Marvel Cinematic Universe.