Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the perfect farewell to this quirky group of rogues we never expected to love so much.
Our faith in the Marvel Cinematic Universe waned throughout Phase 4 with films that felt hollow, rushed, and insincere. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 rekindled my hope as James Gunn and the cast’s love and passion for these characters shined in every moment of this beautiful, heartfelt send-off. Gunn reminded us of the magic of comic book movies when the storyteller cares more about the characters than the box office. Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista, and the rest of the cast pour themselves into entertaining and genuine performances. This film is surprisingly emotional and had me wondering how they convinced me to care so deeply about such a zany group of goofballs, but that they did. Vol. 3 is one of the best conclusions to a film trilogy that had me leave the theater full of satisfaction and nostalgia. While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is wonderful in nearly every way, if I had a complaint, it would be the soundtrack felt forced at times rather than complimenting strong moments in the first film. The villain wasn’t exceptional but was better than the average Marvel villain, and honestly, Vol. 3 wasn’t about the villain or battles as much as it was a farewell to a family of heroes we have all come to love. This movie is well worth your time, and the fantastic effects and cinematography warrant a trip to the cinema to enjoy it to its fullest! MCU doubters need to set aside their skepticism and enjoy saying goodbye to these beloved characters with this outstanding film.

What a disappointment! The first one was great fun, the second almost as good , but this film is just a poor cousin that really struggles from a weak storyline that never really gets going. The megalomaniacal "High Evolutionary" (Chikwudi Iwuji) has set his sights on retrieving "Rocket" after having discovered that our feisty raccoon is a product of sophisticated genetic engineering - and that has enabled him to think and grow as a being; a skill that is hugely valuable to this global-scale cloner. Snag is, "Rocket" has been laid low after a rather violent visit from "Warlock" (Will Poulter) who is working with his mother to apprehend our ursine pal. "Quill" (Chris Pratt) and the others have determined to save him, though, and are soon on the trail of his origins and of a special pass key that could reset him and get him back to fighting fitness. Can the "Guardians" put aside their petty differences and unite before it's all too late? This is far too long and it also tries to involve all of the characters in such a fashion as to leave the whole thing with a rather superficial feel to it. Pratt actually features quite sparingly, and that robbed this of much of it's humour and punchiness. The visual effects are great, but that's nothing remarkable with Marvel - they are vivid and colourful but that's no substitute for a well written and characterful narrative that this film simply lacks. It does quite feature quite an engagingly eclectic soundtrack, but the rest of this is terribly unremarkable fayre that I found my self struggling to stay interested in as it meandered more into a realm of sci-fi sentimentality that ensured a minimum of jeopardy in a denouement that featured a fair degree of ham - especially from Iwuji. If this is to be the final instalment, then I fear it will not be one that I will ever bother to watch again. Pity.