Guardians of the Galaxy is a fantastic movie. Critics, audiences, Marvel fans, everybody seems to like this movie. What I want to discuss is, why?
I don't know much about actual movie theory, but whatever. Let's have at it!
Since we're discussing the workings of a movie, this discussion will probably involve spoilers.
Things that movies should do, and GotG actually does:
It respects the storyline from the comics while also making a good standalone movie AND tying in nicely to Marvel cinematic continuity.
They didn't put any useless filler scenes in. Each scene either ties in directly to the plot or provides a necessary amount of character background, and in addition many scenes have some combination of foreshadowing or payoff.
The title sequence showed us Starlord's character, linked the child actor to the adult actor, and showed us his toys.
The scene introducing Ronan gives us his motivation, his weapon, and his goal.
The scene with Thanos gives us Nebula's motivation, and gives a face to the name.
Most plot holes were spotted and addressed in a way that makes sense.
Why didn't Starlord just take the money and run? He tried to two or three times, but plot events prevented it.
Why didn't the Guardians kill each other? They started to several times, and decided the money or other payoff was better.
Why didn't Rocket abandon Starlord? He thought about it, and decided not to.
Why didn't Nebula betray Ronan? She wanted to use him to betray Thanos.
Why didn't Starlord open the package earlier? He opened the letter earlier, but until the climax he hadn't attained closure with his mother.
Why didn't Yondu ... actually Yondu's motivations and actions are some of the best parts of this movie.
Why do the ravagers protect the civilians? There are some motivating factors, albeit sort of weak. They're following Rocket's example, and he's being heroic because he's overwhelmed with peer pressure from the other Guardians. They need to keep the mothership from hitting the ground in order to get the stone to get paid, and the only action they can take in support of that goal is to prevent the police morale from degrading.
There are only a couple plot holes that aren't resolved.
When Starlord mentions four billion credits in front of the crowd, nobody tries to horn in on their payday.
Why the heck does Gamora try to recruit Nebula?