The Marvel Cinematic Universe (or MCU for short) began in 2008 with Iron Man starring Robert Downey, Jr. (Oppenheimer). Phase One ended four years later with The Avengers. Towards the end of Phase II, a team of bandits banded together in 2014 to become the Guardians of the Galaxy. Three years later they returned in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and this past April, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 completed the trilogy. Less than four months after its release, the third installment is making its way to retail stores on 4K, Blu-ray, and Digital.
When we left our Guardians at the end of Vol.2, Ego (Kurt Russell; Escape From Ney York) was defeated and Yondu (Michael Rooker; The Suicide Squad) received a full Ravagers' funeral. Unfortunately, Thanks to Thanos (Josh Brolin; No Country For Old Men), the 2018 Gamora (Zoe Saldana; Star Trek) is dead and the 2014 Gamora is a ravager who wants nothing to do with the Guardians. As Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 begins, Rocket (Bradley Cooper; Limitless) is injured and the Guardians, including 2014 Gamora, must face off against The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji; Peacemaker) to save Rocket's life.
The Guardians' cast have now worked together in 4 different films so their on-screen chemistry is evident. Joining them this go around are Iwuji, Will Poulter (We're the Millers), and a hilarious cameo from Nathan Fillion (Serenity). Saldana has done a terrific job of adapting her character to a completely different version of Gamora and Director James Gunn (The Suicide Squad) displays his signature style while moving his160 minute film along at a decent pace.
The 4K, 2160p resolution is outstanding displaying incredible detail. From Rocket's fur to Nebula's mechanical parts and Mantis' Antennaes, each line is clean and sharp. The color palette varies and is sometimes warm and inviting while at other times expresses the cold, darkness of space. However, even the darkest moments offer different hues of black, giving texture to an otherwise bleak and silent place.
Complimenting the video in every conceivable way is the Dolby Atmos audio. With layer upon layer of dialogue, sound effects, and, as always, an eclectic and enjoyable soundtrack, the audio is made for a multi-speaker system to fully be experienced. Unfortunately, the biggest disappointment in this combo pack is the lack of extras. While there is about 40 minutes of extras, it seems there could have been even more. The extras include Audio Commentary by director James Gunn, The Imperfect, Perfect Family, Creating Rocket Raccoon, Gag Reel, and Deleted Scenes.
While the first film was focused on action, humor, and character development, movie number two concentrated more on family and loyalty, as opposed to action but did still include the type of humor we were used to from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1. This latest installment had a much darker tone with Peter mourning the Gamora he fell in love with and Rocket fighting for his life as the Guardians try to find a cure for what ails him.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 still carries an undertone of family but this time it is much more Rocket's film. In fact, the movie has used the alternate title, "Rocket's Origin Story". It certainly explains why Rocket tends to be angry and distrusting and a scavenger by nature and, while his story is interesting, it makes the viewer wonder," what about the others?" Will we learn about Drax and his family or Mantis, etc?
This third film in the trilogy seems a little more like "guardians adjacent" rather than continuing the journey they were on previously and while the change is a little refreshing, the movie is darker in nature than the previous two films which may be off-putting to some viewers. However, the 4K combo pack offers the finest quality available which makes the movie enjoyable to watch regardless if you like the plot or not. This is one 4K that will fly off the shelves so grab one before they are all gone.
Grade: B+
