Make way for the next big Super Hero franchise, Guardians of the Galaxy will blast its way into your heart and stay there — for at least three more episodes, according to moi. Who can resist a sassy super raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), a powerful talking tree (Vin Diesel), a green, not blue super heroine (Zoe Saldana) and a buff but self deprecating “Star Lord” (Chris Pratt)? Add onto that the fact that the Star Lord constantly plays a rocking ’80’s mix tape with all your favorite tunes of that era, and you have one space-age action movie that adults as well as kids will enjoy.

Sure, there are plenty of intergalactic chase scenes, fights and explosions—the kind you see in far too many of in sci-fi films, but these are relieved by plenty of wink wink nudge nudge fun sandwiched in between. It’s a rollicking ride that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and deserves major kudos for that alone.

Co-writer/director James Gunn, perhaps best known for writing the Scooby Doo movies and Dawn of the Dead,  handles the fun, frolic and adventure much better than the drama (as is demonstrated in an excruciatingly sappy opening sequence), but he can be forgiven for that, because the rest of the film is just so darn entertaining. Special effects are superb, and this is one movie worth shelling out the extra bucks to see it in 3D and IMAX as well, if at all possible.

No, it’s not an Academy Award contender, but yes, it is a lot of spacey fun for the whole family.

Rated PG-13

121 Minutes

Update: Apparently, a lot of people agree with my assessment of this film. Over the Labor Day weekend, it became the year’s highest earning film domestically, with a total so far of $279 million. Perviously, that title was held by Captain America: The Winter Soldier, another Marvel super hero flick.