This article is part of MCU Ranking Week on ScreenRant, during which we’re rolling out our official ranking of all 37 Marvel Studios’ movies. We’re also diving deep into the MCU franchise and the films themselves. Check out our MCU Ranking Week launch article to find out more!
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is never the first movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, nor the Guardians trilogy, that comes to mind when thinking of standout installments. To me, though, that is a crying shame. This week, my colleagues and I at ScreenRant have been conducting our official MCU movie rankings.
Each of us submitted our own individual rankings, which were then aggregated into a definitive list. When looking at the lists my fellow writers submitted, I was, somehow, both shocked and unsurprised to find that I had ranked Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 the highest out of everyone involved.
The shock came from the love I have for the movie, yet I am also aware that many do not enjoy it as much as I do, hence the equal lack of surprise. Even within my own personal ranking of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, the second movie is my “least-favorite”. Nonetheless, I still rank Guardians of the Galaxy 2 as the 11th-best MCU movie.
After being combined with other lists, though, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ended up 26th in ScreenRant‘s MCU ranking. Naturally, I am here to delve deeper into James Gunn’s 2017 sequel and explore its defining MCU moments, performances, soundtrack, character work, and, most importantly, intense emotion.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 deserves better, and I intend to explore exactly why.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 Is The Most Emotional Of The Trilogy
It is worth mentioning that the broader elements of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 all work, typifying the MCU at the peak of its powers. Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the unequivocal king of the franchise, with Marvel Studios firing on all cylinders.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, like the rest of Marvel Studios’ Phase 3 movies, proves exactly why the MCU was the king of all franchises for several years in the 2010s, across various levels of franchise filmmaking. It looks beautiful, sounds even better, has incredible acting, and doesn’t feature the production/CGI issues prevalent in the MCU of late.
This is all well and good, but it is diving deeper into Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 that my love for the movie is truly found. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is emotionally charged in many aspects, and the first movie often brings me to tears at several points. Despite that, I think Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the trilogy’s most emotional installment.
The third movie focuses a lot on Rocket, as the first does with Quill. In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, though, every single character gets a heightened emotional arc that solidifies the group as a family. James Gunn overtly wears his heart on his sleeve in this movie, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2‘s multiple hard-hitting, memorable lines make that clear:
- “Sometimes, the thing you’re searching for your whole life is right there by your side all along.” – Star-Lord
- “When you’re ugly and people love you, you know they love you for who you are.” – Drax
- “He says, ‘Welcome to the frickin’ Guardians of the Galaxy!’ Only he didn’t use ‘frickin’.” – Rocket
- “I know who you are, boy, because you are me.” – Yondu
- “You were the one who wanted to win, and I just wanted a sister.” – Nebula
- “Just… some unspoken things.” – Gamora
- “He may have been your father, boy, but he wasn’t your daddy.” – Yondu
This list could go on and on, but these are a few standout moments that truly exemplify how unabashedly emotional Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is.
Every character gets a major moment, either alone or with another, to show their deepest, most vulnerable sides. The Guardians were among the most beloved characters in the MCU’s Infinity Saga. Guardians of the Galaxy established why, but it was Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2‘s overwhelming emotion that solidified it.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 Feels Like James Gunn At His Most Sincere
This unending emotion is a testament to James Gunn. In 2025, I consider Gunn as perhaps the best superhero movie director of all time. His quality never wavers, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was when I first started to consider Gunn among the greats. More than any other project in his filmography, Gunn feels at his most sincere in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
The aforementioned emotional moments prove as much, but the film’s comedy does, too. Not every joke works, but they all feel straight from the mind of Gunn. In a franchise that has long been criticized for not allowing directors to truly display their voice and vision on-screen, this is a big benefit for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
An element that has always been synonymous with James Gunn is his choice of soundtrack. I love the songs Gunn chooses in all of his movies, but Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 takes the cake as the best. Any film with two separate needle drops of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” automatically has my heart, the second being immensely cathartic.
Beyond that, though, several action sequences are brought to vibrant life against the backdrop of songs like “Southern Nights” and “Come A Little Bit Closer.” Then there is the use of “Father and Son,” beautifully concluding the film’s emotional arc. However, the use of “Brandy” by Looking Glᴀss is the shining example of Gunn being unleashed in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Tying “Brandy” so inherently to the story being told about Quill, his father, Ego, and his mother, Meredith, was a stroke of genius. It sums up Gunn’s biggest strengths: his ability to compose an emotionally resonant story with fantastic characters, all held together by thematically relevant music.
This is without mentioning Gunn’s overt love of filmmaking. Nebula and Gamora’s confrontation on Ego’s planet emulates Stanley Kubrick’s crop duster scene in “North by Northwest,” notably with no music at all. Rarely does the MCU include such explicit displays of inspiration, proving how Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 typifies Gunn’s sincerity.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 Is An Underrated Gem
Overall, I think it’s clear what my opinion is: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is incredibly underrated. The father-son dynamic resonates with me on a level no other MCU story ever has, solidifying Yondu as one of my favorite characters in the franchise.
Again, there are elements, like some jokes that undercut emotion or go on too long, that do not work for me in the film. I still think there are 10 MCU movies better than Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but when comparing that to how there are 25 movies above it in ScreenRant‘s final MCU ranking, I felt the need to defend a film that resonates so emotionally with me.
Gunn continues to find ways to speak to me as a person. Be it the love I have for my mother being reflected in Guardians of the Galaxy, my animal-loving tendencies in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, or the kindness I like to embody in Superman, Gunn’s films simply work for me. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has all of that in one, and I will never stop loving it like I do.
Vulnerability, care, and love for one another will never be something to overlook in life. Quill’s reply to Ego’s remark that if he kills him, he’ll be just like everyone else is, “What’s so wrong with that?” As Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 repeatedly teaches us with its beating human heart so firmly on its sleeve, absolutely nothing is wrong with that.
