Guardians of the Galaxy 3: Spoiler talk

[Username taken]

Now the movie is out, I think folks can talk about the movie.

I just finished watching the film. It was quite dark, heartbreaking and uplifting all at once.

Rocket's back story was terribly tragic and if you have problems with animal suffering, DO.NOT.WATCH.THIS.FILM. It was a little upsetting but worked in the context of the movie. The movie didn't directly show the animals being vivisected but the outcomes of what happened to them was troubling.

The one-take action scene at the end was amazing. It seemed Marvel saved their FX budget for this film (and Ant-man 3 suffered for it..LOL), the expressions on Rocket's face looked so real especially when he saw that vision of Lyla.

That being said, the movie was somewhat grotesque and that scene of the High Evolutionary without the mask was.... horrifying. Definitely not the sort of body horror stuff you see in a PG-13 movie. Also, the destruction of Counter-Earth and everything on it was also quite dark. The imagery of the cyborg animals was quite disturbing.

As for the villain, the High Evolutionary was just an evil bastard with no redeeming qualities. I would have liked to learn a little bit more about him.

What surprised me about the film was just how mean it was at some points. The "kill em all" line from Quill was unexpected and what he did to that scientist was quite brutal. Although, it must be noted how scummy a lot of those guys were considering what they did to those animals.

Interestingly, the weakest aspect of the movie was its humor, a lot of the jokes didn't work. Honestly, it seems like Gunn just filled up the movie out of obligation and was not necessarily what he wanted to focus on here (unlike the first two).

All in all, I'd give the film an 8/10. It was brilliant ending to this version of the GoTG.

[80sbaby]

I pretty much agree with everything you said, UT. The one thing I'll add is the final takedown of the High Evolutionary was also dope! I love how each Guardian got a shot in, it was like a video game super lol and Rocket finally embracing his racoon name got cheers from my audience.

[Username taken]

I pretty much agree with everything you said, UT. The one thing I'll add is the final takedown of the High Evolutionary was also dope! I love how each Guardian got a shot in, it was like a video game super lol and Rocket finally embracing his racoon name got cheers from my audience.

Yeah, Rocket finally acknowledged that he was a raccoon!

The action scenes with the Guardians united were pretty spectacular.

I was surprised they actually left HE alive but looking at him, the guy was already f..ked up.

[Phoenix Raptor]

Waaaaaaay better than Vol 2 but not quite on a par with Vol 1 for me. I confess to shedding a tear or two in the cinema over Rocket!

I agree that the "modifications" to Lylla and the others were pretty unsettling (spider-rabbit, anyone?!), as was killing them off in the past. I'd hoped Rocket would get the stereotypical Happy Ending but in a way, I'm glad they subverted that expectation and went the way they did. Pete didn't get Gamora, Rocket didn't get Lylla, Nebula didn't get her sister and the team essentially went off in separate directions, so it was fairly bittersweet all round.

The film's biggest strength for me was that it had nothing to do with the multiverse or variants (Gamora aside) whatsoever. It just focused on the core characters and tied their stories up for the most part. This is where the current MCU is falling down for me; leaning so hard on the multiverse. Whilst seeing 3 Spider-Men together in No Way Home (for example) was great from an audience viewpoint, it didn't advance anything for me personally. It almost says to me that Marvel/Disney feels they have to rely on what other companies did with their characters to try and fill the void left by RDJ, Evans etc leaving the roles that put the MCU on the map in the first place.

Also, Thor: Love & Thunder should've been as dark as Vol 3 was. Screw all Taika's shit jokes - double down on the cancer and child abduction / god killing storylines and that movie could've been very dark but absolute gold at the same time! This is, for me, by far the best MCU film since Endgame; there was humour in it, yes, but it was essentially a very serious story and it was told that way. From Rocket's backstory (pretty heartbreaking!) to rescuing the children and, much more poignantly, rescuing the animals, it was a serious tale that was told seriously, but in the form of a space opera.

I'm sad to see this iteration of the GOTG go after this. I know Quill will be back at some point, as per the final stinger, but I honestly hope they can tempt Bradley Cooper to reprise his role in the future as I think Iron Man, Captain America and Rocket Raccoon are the breakout characters from the whole MCU since 2008. If they can get me to give a serious amount of shits about the fate of a CGI raccoon then they've pulled off a blinder there!

[Scott Taylor]

Might be my favorite GotG film, even better than the first one. Its at least right there on par with that one. And I think my favorite part was the whole sequence of invading the corporate headquarters, from the descent to the big fight in the weird goo chamber. Nathan Fillian was great in his role there as well.

"You didn’t want to make things perfect; you just didn’t like the way things are" worked perfectly in context at the end of Rocket's journey. In fact, there were some other really key moments at the ending revealed in the trailers but you wouldn't know it, same as how there were scenes in the trailer that seemed like the ending but were at the beginning. Just goes to show how good trailers can drum up excitement while also being a bit misleading and still not ruin the movie.

"Good dog" was such a great bit.

Loved the Gamora arc, it made a ton of sense and had a ton of heart.

For a movie that ends with everyone going their separate ways, it was still an amazingly satisfying way to end the story. Tears were shed a few times!

[BeastieRunner]

I about died from strong emotions when:

- Rocket's friends all died
- "We're pretending to be angry again? Mantis, you're an asshole!"
- Rocket sees his friends again
- Beastie Boys used in the hallway fight
- "You never asked."
- The reaction to Rocket's voice by the team
- Rocket's bad ass embracement of being a raccoon
- The moment Rocket says the animals have to be saved

Crazy emotional rollercoaster.

[bat39]

Definitely one of the best MCU movies after Endgame (honestly, I think only Wakanda Forever could potentially rival it, maybe No Way Home, but the latter has the 'unfair' advantage of being a nostalgia-fest with an army of beloved legacy actors/characters returning!) And probably in my Top 10 list for the MCU overall!

The opening scene reintroducing Rocket and the other Guardians alone is worthy of being a Best Short Film nominee at the next Oscars

This simply had everything you'd expect from a near-perfect superhero film. Loads of action, great visuals, a powerful soundtrack, hard-hitting plot twists and dialogue, great character development (every Guardian, from Rocket to Drax on down to even Kraglin got their moments to shine!), a compelling and hateful villain...really, what's not to love!

There's been a lot of debate about superhero films (and other franchise genre films) getting into socio-political commentary. I actually think GOTG3 does this the right way - subtle enough not to inspire a million 'think-pieces' replicating the same talking points, but strong enough to get you to actually think during the course of the film and appreciate that what you're watching isn't just another spandex and CHI-infused slugfest but something a little more. Personally, I felt the High Evolutionary and his quest to create the perfect society was an allegory for the kind of political and corporate leaders who seek to leverage advanced technology to play around with societies and change the world 'for the better'. He really did give the vibe of a tech CEO or scientific genius with a God complex, without it being too in-your-face.

I was a little disappointed that we didn't get a happy ending for Peter and Gamora. But I guess that's the point. It's where a healthy dose of reality sets into a movie with a talking racoon and a psychic dog. Life is messy, and you don't always get what you want...but maybe along the way you learn something about yourself from tough experiences.

I also have to commend Gunn for giving us an ending that did not revolve around a major character dying. Between Endgame, Logan, the Star Wars sequel trilogy, and hell even the last James Bond film - killing off major characters is no longer the unique flex it once was. There (usually) are no 'endings' in real-life - people move on to do new things, or sometimes continue to do the same things with other people. And that's what the Guardians got to do.

[Omega Alpha]

One of the many things I enjoyed is that this bucked the trend of "villain isn't that bad, gets redeemed in the end". The High Evolutionary was just evil,.with no redeeming qualities, doesn't get better, learns nothing

[mace11]

Grace here talks about adam warlock,ikaris and the sentry.
She said she seen the sentry's costume and said it's so comics accurate.

Talk start around 25:44

[Username taken]

Definitely one of the best MCU movies after Endgame (honestly, I think only Wakanda Forever could potentially rival it, maybe No Way Home, but the latter has the 'unfair' advantage of being a nostalgia-fest with an army of beloved legacy actors/characters returning!) And probably in my Top 10 list for the MCU overall!

The opening scene reintroducing Rocket and the other Guardians alone is worthy of being a Best Short Film nominee at the next Oscars

This simply had everything you'd expect from a near-perfect superhero film. Loads of action, great visuals, a powerful soundtrack, hard-hitting plot twists and dialogue, great character development (every Guardian, from Rocket to Drax on down to even Kraglin got their moments to shine!), a compelling and hateful villain...really, what's not to love!

There's been a lot of debate about superhero films (and other franchise genre films) getting into socio-political commentary. I actually think GOTG3 does this the right way - subtle enough not to inspire a million 'think-pieces' replicating the same talking points, but strong enough to get you to actually think during the course of the film and appreciate that what you're watching isn't just another spandex and CHI-infused slugfest but something a little more. Personally, I felt the High Evolutionary and his quest to create the perfect society was an allegory for the kind of political and corporate leaders who seek to leverage advanced technology to play around with societies and change the world 'for the better'. He really did give the vibe of a tech CEO or scientific genius with a God complex, without it being too in-your-face.

I was a little disappointed that we didn't get a happy ending for Peter and Gamora. But I guess that's the point. It's where a healthy dose of reality sets into a movie with a talking racoon and a psychic dog. Life is messy, and you don't always get what you want...but maybe along the way you learn something about yourself from tough experiences.

I also have to commend Gunn for giving us an ending that did not revolve around a major character dying. Between Endgame, Logan, the Star Wars sequel trilogy, and hell even the last James Bond film - killing off major characters is no longer the unique flex it once was. There (usually) are no 'endings' in real-life - people move on to do new things, or sometimes continue to do the same things with other people. And that's what the Guardians got to do.

This bolded part is very important.

Death as a storytelling tool has become very misused IMO. The last James Bond movie ending with his death was silly to me. James Bond will always come back, so what really was the point?

GoTG 3 showed that ending=/=death. The characters and the audience felt a sense of loss due to the end of a chapter BUT it's also a new beginning for all of them. I think more filmmakers should look at this. The way I understood it, simply killing a character at the end of the story seemed like an easy shortcut, it's much more difficult to craft an ending like the one we saw in GoTG vol 3.

[Noodle]

- Beastie Boys used in the hallway fight

Between this and the trailer for The Marvels, someone at Marvel's been on a Beasties kick as of late. And I'm all for it.

[juan678]

a delete scene shot

https://twitter.com/Lunwi88/status/1655854373157879809

[inisideguy]

Just got back. Any critic that thinks the 2nd movie was better than this one is out of their flipping minds. This was easily the best marvel movie since No way home and probably better than that. Maybe since Endgame.

[BeastieRunner]

Between this and the trailer for The Marvels, someone at Marvel's been on a Beasties kick as of late. And I'm all for it.

Same!

My wife pointed out you know your old when the Bboys are considered classic.

Sad panda.

[Username taken]

Just got back. Any critic that thinks the 2nd movie was better than this one is out of their flipping minds. This was easily the best marvel movie since No way home and probably better than that. Maybe since Endgame.

My thoughts exactly.

I find myself sharply disagreeing with critical consensus these days.

For example, Evil Dead Rise got rave reviews and I think it's the best reviewed Evil Dead movie ever. I watched it and I only found it ok. I thought the 2013 was far superior (that movie is criminally underrated).

Maybe it's just me but it's something I've noticed quite recently. Maybe its because there are more critics on RT and Metacritic than ever before.