Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

There’s bound to be a lot of tearful goodbyes amongst Marvel’s Phase 5 output.

Sadly, a lot of that will be down to boring ‘real world’ stuff like contracts and existing characters not fitting into the upcoming slate, but one component that we do look to be losing in their current incarnation is the Guardians with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 supposedly representing their last hurrah.

It’s a shame as, barring Captain America and Spider-Man, these films sit at the top table of trilogies in the MCU and these characters have given us some of its greatest moments.

All good things must end and it’s the right time for James Gunn to wrap these films up. Again, that’s partly down to real world business so he can focus on the overhaul of the DCEU but, also, because there’s a sense that, moving forward, these characters are going to work better as vital parts of an ever bigger whole.

Vol. 3 does feel initially, like its predecessor Vol. 2 before it, like a ‘Tales of the MCU’ film rather than a narrative pusher but the stakes here are higher and there are some tantalizing prospects for the wider universe moving forward at film’s end.

Like the other two films in the franchise, this threequel stands out from the superhero mélange like the eye-poppingly colourful, laugh-out-loud hilarious, bogglingly inventive and impeccably soundtracked sore thumb that it is.

*slight spoilers ahead*

We’re finally introduced to the long-awaited Adam Warlock (Will Poulter brilliant, even with limited screentime), get a gut-wrenching and frankly traumatic look into Rocket’s backstory (although side-lining him for most of the film is a shame!) and an intense and frightening new baddie The High Evolutionary who, like Gorr the God Butcher and Killmonger before him, stands as one of the best ‘one film’ villains.

Any small flaws of Marvel pulling a few punches in terms of big reveals, twists or shocks and a slightly ‘convenient’ Return of the King-aping long-form ending, which just about works on an emotional level but doesn’t hold up too well under scrutiny, are redundant because of how uproariously, gloriously, gosh-darn entertaining this film is.

Above everything, Marvel know how to make a bloody raucous trip to the cinema feel like the most exciting thing in the world for kids and adults alike and the Guardians of the Galaxy do it better than most.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️