MOVIE REVIEW: - 'GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: VOL. 3', The tear-jerkingly beautiful rollercoaster of a goodbye to the group of outcasts we all know and love.

- Written by Ethan Malka “The Mango Critic”

James Gunn delivers us the long-sought-after third and final selection of our beloved team of weirdos in ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: VOL. 3’, and my god—it is everything you expect and even more.

Closing the chapter on one of the most loved groups within the MCU, the hype for this film was through the roof. Not only because fans wanted to see how it would compare to its fan-favorite predecessors, but also because much of @marvelstudios recent content has been regarded as; “prioritizing quantity over quality”, for both critics and fans. This is seen as Marvel’s current Phase 4/5 has more films and shows than the last 3 phases combined (this film marks the second of Phase 5), and that Marvel’s previous movies have faced severe criticism and public outroar. Examples of this are in selections such as ‘ANT-MAN & THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA’ which earned some of the worst reviews for a Marvel movie yet (its 47% score on Rotten Tomatoes ties “Eternals” as the lowest-rated MCU title). As well as in ‘THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER’ which sparked a 63% making it the worst of its predecessors.

Throw this rough patch out of the window though, because I'm glad to say that this movie saves the MCU from its demise while simultaneously telling a beautiful story, one of the best Marvel has to offer. While the plot is filled with heavy stakes, it genuinely flows well, and it feels balanced in a way where it sufficiently caters to the other parts of the story. This makes it a 2-hour and 28-minute rollercoaster, jam-packed with heart-hurting emotion, constant comedy, and peak-level action sequences.

Regarding our characters, our Guardians are hilarious as ever, and feel almost like a group of cousins who are like siblings to each other, each who annoys one another so much, but loves them just as much. Chukwudi Iwuji as High Evolutionary delivers us one of the most hateable villains. He really capitalizes on the fact that this entry tells a surprisingly much darker story. Will Poulter as Adam Warlock was a highly anticipated character ahead of this release. He was even speculated to be a key factor in the story. But to our surprise, he is not what you expect, and in fact, a little underutilized (other than a really epic action scene).

James Gunn’s footprints are all over this film. Through its soundtrack, which I promise you will be stuck in your head afterward, the directorial work, and its well-written dialogue. I found that it goes even deeper than that though, you can feel the amount of love that was put into making this film possible. Gunn put his heart into this because this rag-tag team of misfits is a team he believes in. This selection is on the spectrum of longer films, and given, the runtime is felt around the second act. But the fact that that is the only issue I took away from a first watch, is self-explanatory.

But overall, this GOTG conclusion hand-delivers us a tearful love-letter goodbye of a film that brings the exact same magic from its predecessors. I can’t wait for you all to see it, (be ready to cry, laugh, and cheer), and make sure to see it on the biggest screen possible! #GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3 releases exclusively in theaters, this Friday, May 5th!

“the group of outcasts we all know and love”

-The Mango Critic

View the official trailer, here.

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