Marvel fanatics rejoice as ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ not only fills the superhero void while we wait for ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’, but is one of the funniest, action-packed superhero features to date.

Set in the not so distant future, Peter Quill aka Star-Lord, a wise-cracking, ladies man of a cosmic adventurer who was abducted from Earth as a child, finds a bounty on his head after stealing a rare and mysterious orb. Unbeknownst to Quill, the orb has the power to destroy all life in the galaxy if it fell into the wrong hands. Even worse for Quill, super villain Ronan has his eye on it for that very reason.

In order to save the galaxy (and his own life), Quill teams up with gun-wielding raccoon, Rocket (Bradley Cooper), skilled assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana), vengeful convict Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) and gentle giant humanoid tree-thing, Groot (Vin Diesel). The reluctant team set off across the cosmos in the best sci-fi adventure since Star Wars: A New Hope.

This adaptation of the relatively new 2008 comic of the same name is the first time Marvel Studios have tried to expand its universe beyond planet Earth (Asgard doesn’t count). With a track record of great movies in recent years (Iron Man, Avengers, Thor, Captain America) they have well earned the right to experiment with space travel. However, one obvious challenge is that Guardians of the Galaxy isn’t as widely know in the mainstream media as the other iconic superheroes.  Luckily for superhero fans, they have hit the nail on the head – perfectly balancing action, humour and heart – as only Marvel can. Add an all-star cast (Glenn Close, John C. Reilly, Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin are also on the bill) and an unassuming ’70s soundtrack and you have a winner.

Unlike other sci-fi’s, GOTG doesn’t rely solely on it’s stunning visual effects to carry the movie.Writer and director James Gunn (Dawn of the Dead, Movie 43) takes these four stock characters – cocky ladies man, troubled tough girl, cynical voice of reason and dumb sidekick – that we have seen a thousand times and brings them to life as if they were brand new. This perfectly crafted sci-fi shoot ’em up will no doubt have cinema goers gagging for more, leading the way for an entire GOTG franchise.

Guardians of the Galaxy is on general release from July 31

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lVH3ogPE0w