Marvel’s newest release, “Guardians of the Galaxy,” balances explosion-packed fight scenes with clever humor. Though this latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe includes some unconventional characters (a talking raccoon and a tree-like humanoid), it also features an all-star cast and an intriguing story.

“Guardians of the Galaxy” begins in 1988 when Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), a young human boy, is abducted by space pirates after his mother dies. The story picks up in the present day with Quill on the run from the authorities from the planet Xandar after stealing a strange orb. Ronan (Lee Pace), a villain who wants to use the orb to destroy the galaxy, also pursues Quill in order to obtain the orb.

The story really begins when Quill is forced to join forces with a rag-tag group of misfits: Rocket (Bradley Cooper), a genetically altered talking racoon and mercenary, Groot (Vin Diesel), a tree-like humanoid who is Rocket’s accomplice (spoiler alert: you will get emotionally attached to the tree), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), an assassin, and Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista).

Although I’d never seen Chris Pratt in anything but comedy before (and he does an excellent job in Parks and Recreation), he does a good job of bringing life to an unconventional hero. Quill isn’t some altruistic warrior, but a scavenger who wants to sell the treasures he finds to the highest bidder; he’s a hero with a sense of humor (think clumsier Tony Stark). None of the members of the guardians start out with the best of intentions; that’s what endears the audience to them.

“Guardians of the Galaxy” is not just “The Avengers” in space, but a witty action movie (which you don’t see too many of). The writing doesn’t just rely on slapstick comedy, but has good comedic timing that results in great one-liners that you’ll be quoting for days.