Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Swan songs don't come as more emotional than with James Gunn's final MCU outing in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. After Rocket is attacked by Adam Warlock, the Guardians must find a code related to his creation in order to heal him. They, alongside the alternate timeline version of Gamora, have to contend with the corporation that created Rocket, including its founder the High Evolutionary. Meanwhile, as Rocket clings between life and death, flashbacks to his past reveal his tragic origins and his connection with the Evolutionary. While Gunn continues to have as much fun and energy as the two previous entries, often a bit too much, there's a sense of brutality and honesty that gives it a more dramatic sense. Rocket's origins and much of the High Evolutionary's motivations have a lot of parallels to how cruel animal testing can be and the corruption of large scale corporations. The flashbacks are just as important as the main story, introducing other animals that Rocket befriended and all leading to how he became a loner who has a hard time trusting others after the High Evolutionary killed them. While the returning cast all shine, Bradley Cooper delivers the most not only as the present Rocket but the younger version as well, making it so gripping and tragic. Zoe Saldaña may be reprising her role of Gamora again, but she does it differently due to being from another timeline. While Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, and Sean Gunn all return in spectacular fashion. Newcomers Will Poulter as Adam and Chukwudi Iwuji as the Evolutionary are great additions thanks to their charm and menace. But much like with the younger Rocket, the best performances come from the other animals that Rocket befriends voiced by Linda Cardellini, Asim Chaudhry, and Mikaela Hoover. While a few recent entries in the MCU have had problems with their cinematography and effects, not only is there a good mix of practical and digital effects but Henry Braham does a stellar job with how the movie is photographed. Thanks to Gunn's keen eye for action scenes and love of music, you get some incredibly stellar set pieces, edited seamlessly by Fred Raskin and Greg D'Auria, with either phenomenal songs from the 90s and 2000s or John Murphy's rousing score. With the members of the team going their separate ways at the end, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 not only sees the end of an era for the MCU but in a way that is highly satisfying. Over all: 100%

2023 top list so far:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

2. Air

3. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

4. Creed III

5. John Wick: Chapter 4

6. Scream VI

7. M3GAN

8. Cocaine Bear

9. Knock at the Cabin

10. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

11. Renfield

12. Shazam! Fury of the Gods

13. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania