Guardiões da Galáxia Vol. 3

"There is no God. That's why I stepped in." I have to admit, this is one of THE best lines ever spoken by a supervillain - it concisely captures their whole reason for being. (Seems like that would have been a perfect thing for Thanos to say.) Oddly though, for once there's no real backstory for the High Evolutionary, as there usually is for Marvel villains, but that might have been just too much material. Quite appropriately, all the attention is really on our scruffy, argumentative, and lovable heros, the Guardians.

I liked that all of them, this time around, get their well deserved fair share of screen time, and if doing that means sitting through a pretty long movie, then fine. Mantis and Nebula in particular are better characters than they were before, Quill and Gamora and Drax are as good as ever, and the choice to make Rocket and his very extended backstory the mainspring of the plot was clever -- and by the end, it carried real weight. Rocket is now elevated to a tragic, substantial figure at practically the same level as Spider-Man, and that's saying a lot.

The whole Guardians series owes director James Gunn bigtime, and it's a shame to see him move on (but I'm looking forward to seeing what he'll be able to do over at DC). He set in motion a group of characters that really worked, and this 3rd instalment builds very effectively on top of its predecessors. Going in to the theater I knew what I expected out of them, but we got more than that. That's a big compliment.

At the same time, what was done with Warlock and High Evolutionary was kind of odd, in the end. I was disappointed that Warlock especially was kind of trivialized. He's capable of becoming a major character if they would just follow the path set out in the original comics. That one criticism aside, this is still one of the MCU's best and we can thank them for letting James Gunn do what he had in mind.

Having sat through some phase 4 films that failed to inspire... Guardians feels like a breath of fresh air. It's less a run of the mill superhero film and more a out of world space adventure handled with care by James Gunn.

At its heart, Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 is a story about family, loss and technology all of which are prominent in today's zeitgeist. These themes sometimes cause you to forget that you are watching a Marvel movie. The movie's backstory is dark but it helps to hammer home the themes and the villain.

The universe is full of characters that are both weird (sometimes very weird) and unique when compared to the rest of the MCU. That's mostly a good thing. Despite the movie being dark at times, there is also a lot of humour which fits especially well with the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise when compared to other Marvel franchises. The action and of course the music was up to level we now expect from Guardians of the Galaxy movies. This is one of the better Post Endgame movies and a fitting end to the trilogy.

The ending to the guardians of the galaxy movies didn't miss action, comedy or romance. The way it played with the soundtrack was on another level. You'll notice it's filming techniques are up to date and the cgi had nothing to complain about, no goofy ahh MODOC cgi (quantumania) or scenes that looked like they were filmed on a blank green screen, it truely was a work of cinema and lacked nothing in this way. Although it was your typical villain from the past coming back for revenge, this story was probably the saddest marvel project to date and hit harder than I was expecting.

Watch this in the biggest screen you can, completely worth it.

Up to this point, there has been one trilogy in the MCU that has been excellent from start to finish. It's time to add another one to that list. "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is a more than fitting conclusion to the narrative of these characters. James Gunn (writer/director) took his time creating connections and depth to each of the individual story-arcs.

While recent films in the MCU have felt like "filler episodes" whose purpose is solely to set up a future entry in the franchise, this film stands on its own. The story is isolated, which gives the illusion of finality. In more ways than one, "Guardians 3" is a unique entry in an otherwise convoluted extended film universe.

The filmmakers were not afraid to take their time telling this story, which caused the film to drag at times. Though it felt lengthy at 2 hours and 30 minutes, I do not know what they could have cut out. In typical superhero movie fashion, the climactic battle had plenty of explosions to go around.

Between the villains and the bickering within the Guardians, there was an excessive amount of yelling in this movie. A headache was imminent, as much of the third act was screaming match after screaming match. While these scenes were emotionally heavy, the yelling distracted a bit from the strong acting.

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is one of the better entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since "Avengers: Endgame". Though more chaotic than the other two films in the trilogy, it is a beautiful conclusion to the Guardians' story. Boasting stellar set pieces, an excellent soundtrack and perfect chemistry between cast members, this is a film that I am eager to re-watch.

Best Character: Drax Best Quote: "She is to us." Best Scene: Infiltrating Orgocorp Best Piece of Score: "I Love You Guys"

It all leads back to where we once started off as all great trilogies have indicated from the past. But GOTG surpasses expectations with what is nothing short of phenomenal performances by the cast and truly well written and does not shy away from what could only be understood from what requires a sense of maturity to understand. Rockets back story alone is on occasion dark and incredibly sad it had me in tears at a few instances during the film. Honestly I did not expect this, James Gunn yet again provides an absolutely beautiful piece of cinematography and I have to say I really hope in the future they dive back into the story of the colony . With Adam warlock finally in the MCU it's most likely there will be some cameos. But it does deliver in the traditional guardians humor but this film is meant about more for the mature audience of marvel. Trust me this is a great film.