'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' Review
Come and get your love
With gusto and intensity, the ultimate chapter of the Guardians' story bars no holds, taking and breaking its titular gang of misfits against dark depths hitherto undreamt of within the MCU - not antithetical to the MCU entire, more so using its own frameworks to counter its implicit perpetuity and the boundaries of the permissible; a story of how and when to let go. Vol. 3 feels like a cork never before noticed being abruptly unstuck, or a door no one realized was merely ajar being kicked all the way off its hinges, unleashing a flood of uninhibited emotion which carries its capable cast through both choked throats and whoops of unrestrained triumph with aplomb. Visually grandiose as its predecessors yet twice as intimate, buoyed all the while by Gunn's trademark reverent irreverence, Vol. 3 feels like a maturation of its predecessors' rough rollicky style, and additionally gives a deserving spotlight to some of the most underrated MCU underpins in Bradley Cooper and Karen Gillan, and makes a fella wish Chukwudi Iwuji might have conquered the Quantum Realm instead, if only for the promise of seeing him more than the once. Jam-packed in more senses than its characteristic soundtrack, Vol. 3 avoids overindulgence as a culmination, referencing the past but never feeling redundant, exploring new corners yet satisfyingly capping what came before, powerful in ways a satisfying send-off should be.
As with both floods and emotional outpours, though, not everything comes to rest in impeccable order; not every switch between grim and groovy sticks the landing, nor does every spot of exposition or Character Moment™ obscure itself, and some plot developments and characters get swept away by the stronger currents - Adam Warlock feels more like an obligation to continuity than anything. No quibbles, though, mar Vol. 3's strengths: its managed pace and use of back-at-the-ranch, its chemistry between characters, its confidence in conclusion without losing focus on what made the trilogy so memorable even in its earliest entry: the earnest heart. Imperfect yet earnest - the perfect way to go for a team like this.