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Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper. © 2023 Marvel Studios. Directed by James Gunn.
Watched it in IMAX @ AMC Theaters
It's Time to Face the Music. After almost 10 years since the first film in the trilogy, the final film in the Guardians franchise is here and it delivers every aspect. Filled with emotional stakes, amazing action, and a wonderful cast that truly deliver a jam-packed superhero film. This is the film that Marvel Studios really needed since Spider-Man: No Way Home and I'm happy to say that it delivered and exceeded my expectations. James Gunn is really going to kill it at DC Studios. Let's hop on onto the Bowie ship and let's explore the galaxy one more time before Adam Warlock smashes into us. Story: Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Peter Quill must rally his team to defend the universe and protect one of their own. If the mission is not completely successful, it could possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them. Right from the beginning of this film, we knew we were going to be on a wild ride. However, we all knew we went into this film expecting emotional stakes and high action because of the wonderful directing from James Gunn. Gunn cares about his characters and wants every character to be developed with emotional depth including his smaller side characters and animals. The animals' man. Gunn really loves animals and this film really served a message about animal cruelty. Even PETA approves this film which says something a lot. Besides the animals, the characters in this film are amazing and every character gets a satisfying conclusion or receives a distinct send-off in this trilogy finale. Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) is so much better developed here than the second entry. I really loved how he owned up to his mistakes but he is still a complete douchebag in serious situations. However, he always helps his crew no matter what the cost. His arc from the beginning to now is satisfying and with Pratt's performance, his ultimate decision in the film is unexpected yet natural to his character. Without any spoilers, the whole cast really gets a chance to make their own decision which affects the team in a negative and positive way. However, it's done very well and when the team is together, they shine together and bring out their team's energy on the screen. Obviously, the biggest member that stood out in the film was Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper). His character backstory is so tragic that is filled with every emotion that makes his arc so devastating yet hopeful. I really loved Cooper's voice acting performance and while Cooper doesn't get a lot of VA time in this film, the character is centralized throughout this story. Without any spoilers, he's one of the few characters in the MCU including Star-Lord that really affect the MCU as a whole. The other side characters are amazing including Mantis, Nebula, Drax, Gamora, and newcomers like Adam Warlock and the High Evolutionary.
The side characters really grew over time since the first or second entry in the series. Mantis really grew a lot as a character and she really has a lot of screen time in this final entry and she delivers the emotions throughout the story. Her relationship with Drax is so sweet and I love their duo-dynamic. Drax is also great in the film and while he doesn't do much in the first half, he gets to grow more as a character in the second half. Nebula was also great and I loved that she got used to the Guardians and her relationship with Rocket has grown expediently. She feels like a co-leader in certain sequences and her ending is very satisfying from the beginning we met her until the ending of this film. She really grew as a character and I love that everyone in the cast grew more positively in the end. However, there's one new character that really stood out which is the High Evolutionary. He's very evil. Like straight-up evil. He doesn't flinch on one positivity and he's very cruel with his actions. His character is so interesting from a psychological standpoint and his small backstory really made me hate him a lot. Chukwudi Iwuji gives a chilling performance and with his performance makes this character more believable and chilling. He's easily the best villain in the trilogy without a doubt. Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) is also pretty good and I like his quirky humor and weirdness of the world. However, he receives little screen time in the film until the end. Overall, all the characters are amazing and they were developed very well with everyone having a shining moment and a satisfying ending.
The plot of this film is also well-developed. A lot of unique set pieces and plot points that connect to the end of the film. Plus, a lot of flashbacks that some of it worked and there are some unique moments that keep you guessing on who's going to die. Without any spoilers, it's heartbreaking and the film twists your expectations very often in a good and bad way. James Gunn's writing and directing are very strong in this film and I loved his interesting coverage of the action. The writing is definitely the strongest since his first film and I'm glad he focuses this film as a James Gunn film rather than a MCU film. There are barely any Marvel easter eggs which are great and the risks here are greater. This is definitely the darkest MCU film to date and we finally got the historic first F-bomb in a Marvel Studios project. The film's tone isn't that dark but the way the scenes were directed was pretty edgy and brutal. The action sequences are very entertaining and the hallway sequence is one of the best action sequences in the MCU. The cinematography is very good with interesting coverage. The CGI is finally not dogshit but very great. I loved the prosthetics and practical effects used in the film and the music is pretty good. I really liked the song choices in the film and it fits well in every scene. The pacing felt fast which is good since the film is almost two hours and thirty minutes long. Overall, the film delivered on the technical side, and James Gunn really went in a great direction to end off the trilogy and make first a superhero film rather than an MCU film. Love to see it. However, I still had some small issues. Some of the issues that I noticed at the end of the film was the underutilization of Adam Warlock. He felt like a McGuffin but not really a McGuffin. He just pops out of nowhere and leaves until he is needed in the end. I feel like James Gunn had to put him in there last second but I still liked his character but a little bit disappointed. Some of the jokes here didn't land with me. Some were force-laugh jokes and jokes that were supposed to be funny but not really, unfortunately. We all have our own comedy taste so it's on me. However, I felt like Gamora had a little bit of a downgrade. Even though she's a completely different character from the last time we've seen her, her character development was weak in the first half. In the second half, however, she really had a full 180 and her final moments with Quill were sad yet real. Also, the film felt bloated at some points with the tone and flashbacks in certain scenes. However, the performances really dust off the issues and I was fully engaged in the scenes. Some writing issues overall but I still had a great time with this film. This is a satisfying conclusion for the Guardians and I loved every second of this film. Filled with great action, great character development, amazing visuals, heartbreaking moments, and an ending that really feels like a true ending. I was crying by the end and I'm happy we got a true trilogy from Marvel. James Gunn really delivered every expectation and I cannot wait to see him handle DC Studios. I'm definitely going to miss this superhero team, but I want to see more of Cosmo in the future tho. Now Playing in IMAX and 3D. Vizeit Score: "A" (Share this review with your film friends and on social media! Thank you for continuing supporting my indie film website.) Copyright © 2023 Vizeit Reviews / Vizeit Studios. All Rights Reserved. Review Written By: Everardo Garcia Jr. (Chicago Indie Critics Member [CIC])
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