I'm one of the few that finds the MCU movie franchise to be a tired product and for me it happened really early on. Iron Man 1 was fresh and exciting and I loved it at the time. But since then it seemed like every subsequent film just tried to copy that formula with diminishing results. By the time the first Avengers movie came out, I was pretty much done and never saw any other Marvel film in theatres again.
But there have been 3 exceptions, that being all three Guardians films. The first film I went with a friend with zero expectations and I loved everything about it. To me it was not a Marvel film it was just a great sci fi action film that worked on its own. It was exciting, had a great soundtrack and most of all it had heart which I can't say any other Marvel movies have. Each of the 4 main characters is well defined and a common trait among them is that they are all dealing with trauma which I think is the main reason people are so attached to these characters. We root for them to succeed when we ourselves know what it means to be at your lowest point in life.
Guardians 3 takes the trauma to a whole new level and I would not recommend any children watch this as even for adults it has content that is incredibly difficult to watch. Thanos may have been the big bad guy but in my opinion The High Revolutionary is so evil and twisted that his actions leave a sick feeling in your stomach, easily the best written Marvel villain to date. What happens to Rocket is so incredibly sad and definitely tugs on the heart strings of people who love animals. While there is serious content in this, there is well balanced humor which is more subtle than Vol 2 which had a lot of overplayed jokes that didn't land. The action is also more subtle compared to other Marvel films but the way it's shot feels a lot more exhilarating and like there are real stakes in it. While Rocket is the main focus, all the characters get their due having built them up over prior films and without spoilers I'll just say that the ending is incredibly satisfying.
I'm actually a bit sad that this is it for most of these characters but if it is the end it was a fantastic send off for them. I'm happy to have taken the journey with them cause that's what it has felt like.
But there have been 3 exceptions, that being all three Guardians films. The first film I went with a friend with zero expectations and I loved everything about it. To me it was not a Marvel film it was just a great sci fi action film that worked on its own. It was exciting, had a great soundtrack and most of all it had heart which I can't say any other Marvel movies have. Each of the 4 main characters is well defined and a common trait among them is that they are all dealing with trauma which I think is the main reason people are so attached to these characters. We root for them to succeed when we ourselves know what it means to be at your lowest point in life.
Guardians 3 takes the trauma to a whole new level and I would not recommend any children watch this as even for adults it has content that is incredibly difficult to watch. Thanos may have been the big bad guy but in my opinion The High Revolutionary is so evil and twisted that his actions leave a sick feeling in your stomach, easily the best written Marvel villain to date. What happens to Rocket is so incredibly sad and definitely tugs on the heart strings of people who love animals. While there is serious content in this, there is well balanced humor which is more subtle than Vol 2 which had a lot of overplayed jokes that didn't land. The action is also more subtle compared to other Marvel films but the way it's shot feels a lot more exhilarating and like there are real stakes in it. While Rocket is the main focus, all the characters get their due having built them up over prior films and without spoilers I'll just say that the ending is incredibly satisfying.
I'm actually a bit sad that this is it for most of these characters but if it is the end it was a fantastic send off for them. I'm happy to have taken the journey with them cause that's what it has felt like.