ScreenCrush: The Podcast! - Guardians of The Galaxy 3 REVIEW: Did It Work? | ScreenCrush Rewind

Episode Date: May 6, 2023

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Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. I'm going to make great machines that fly. And me and my friends are going to go flying together into the forever and beautiful sky. Hey, welcome back Screen Crush. I'm Ryan Erie, and let's talk about Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3.

Was it great? Was it mid? And does it do justice to these characters? A little later, I'm going to be joined by Whitney Van Landingham from New Rock Stars and Screencrush Editor-in-Chief Matt Singer, but first, here is my take. This movie's great. It's not perfect. I got some gripes about it and James Gunn's style overall

that I'm going to talk about later. But this is by far the best Marvel movie since Endgame, and this is the best Marvel trilogy. The best trilogy? Really? Yes, even better than Captain America. I felt like the Captain American trilogy was like too reliant on the other MCU films, like you really could not understand Civil War without watching The Avengers and Age of Ultron,

and that took away from those movies feeling like an actual trilogy. and Thor the Dark World and Iron Man Superboat's soft spots in their trilogies. Plus, like this movie, actually brought this story full circle. So many themes and character arcs were introduced in the first Guardian's films that were not resolved until now. Peter's mistrust of Earth. Earth is the place where my mother died in front of me. Rocket's origins. Why didn't ask to get made?

And I loved how, unlike, say, the Star Wars trilogy, this trilogy was not about taking down a villain across three movies. This was about how these characters grow and learn to love themselves. But let's look at the whole of this frame. franchise so we can really get the context of Volume 3. We don't really talk about it, but Guardians of the Galaxy might be the second most important movie in the MCU after the Avengers. Er, why's that? Well, first of all, it introduced us to Josh Brolin-Thanos. It also widened the scope of the MCU into space, which we take for granted now, and it also set up the Infinity Saga. But most importantly, this was the first MCU movie about characters that nobody knew about

except for me and my friends. This franchise proved that audiences would turn out to see good good Marvel movies even if they weren't attached to big-name characters. Like 2014 was kind of a comeback year for the MCU, with Guardians and the Winter Soldier following up the first season of Agents of Shield. Mid. Door the Dark World. Bad. And Iron Man 3. Controversial to say the least. All right, Jarvis, but it's only half dumb. Uptown Doug. I'm just a little tiny uptown Doug. Doug, what are you singing right now? Billy Joel. It's my lifelong dream to see him play the garden, but I can't get tickets? I'm just a little dog. Dude, you seat geek. Seat Greek. What's that? No, no, no, man, seat geek.

They're the sponsor of this video. Seat geek is how I get all my tickets to see, God, comedians, theater, the WWE, sports. And look, right here, you can get Billy Joel tickets for 40 bucks. That's awesome. Or how do they have so many of these wonderful live events? Well, Doug, seat geek has more than 28 million downloads, and they're the number one rated ticket selling app. I mean, God, look at everything they have one here. It's crazy. I mean, that's how I got my tickets. to WrestleMania, to the Lord of the Rings in concert. I mean, look who's touring right now, Beyonce, Drake, and I'm actually hoping to see an orchestra perform the Black Panther score to accompany the movie. All this stuff is coming up and you can find it all on Seatgeek. You see,

Seek is great because they put all the tickets from around the web into one place, so you know that you're getting a good deal. Plus, they have a value rating system where each ticket is rated on a scale of 1 to 10, so look for the green dots. And most importantly, every ticket is backed by a buyer guarantee. Seat Geek is the only site that lets you return your tickets ahead of the event with swaps. And if you would like $20 off your first purchase with Sea Geek download with the link in the description and use the code Screencrush for $20 off. See, Geek is a great app. I use it all the time. So for $20 off, use our link in the description and use the code screen crush. Then I can get my bill of Joe tickets for just $20. See, there you go. And back to what I was

saying, this franchise has always been key to the MCU. Volume 3 was supposed to kick off the slate after Endgame, but thanks to the world's stupidest controversy, the movie was delayed for three years and Marvel lost gun to DC. This was also the first blockbuster franchise to give indie director James Gunn a runway to put his voice in front of a large audience. Guardians was also the first franchise to bring pop music into the MCU. And now all the movies do it with Dad Rock littering the soundtracks of Infinity War, Endgame, and a lot more. And this movie chose its soundtrack so perfectly. Now, I talked about some of these choices in our Easter egg video, but Gun is the master of the needle drop.

Each song not only sets the tone for the scene, but its lyrics or the backstory or the album of the song, some special meaning for the characters in that moment. For instance, no sleep till Brooklyn slaps, but Gunn chose to play it right when the Guardians come together for the last time. And this song is about the Beastie Boys powering through their national tour until they get home to Brooklyn. Just like the Guardians have one last hallway fight and the Beastie Boys have one last show. You ready for one last ride? Guardians One is also so close to perfect. Every scene flows perfectly into the next, kind of like a new hope, and it's so funny and inventive.

place to look like a Jackson Pollock painting. You got issues, quilt. And damn, if this doesn't get me every time. We are grew. And the movie left you wanting more. And I always thought that volume two was a bit clunky. It felt like a director who was suddenly able to do whatever he wanted and maybe like indulge things a little bit. It slows down in the middle with everybody taking long periods to sit still and talk.

I mean, it's still great. But it drags a bit. And volume two also has more heart than most other MCU. movies. He may have been your father, boy, but he wasn't your daddy. And then Volume 3, which has more heart and soul than a lot of movies I've seen in a long time. You can tell that everybody involved in this movie cared about the story, from the script

to the acting, to the visual effects, the direction. This feels like a family of professionals who wanted to give this franchise a proper send-off into the Great Beyond. I mean, look at the arcs of these characters. They all begin as loners and criminals, people who don't see the value in themselves, let alone see the value in others. The first movie is about them becoming friends, but the second one is about them becoming a family.

You know, like raising baby Groot and saying goodbye to grandpa. And then the franchise had this weird sidebar, Infinity War. A main cast member was killed, and then all the cast members were killed. So this kind of handicap might have made another director walk off the project. James Gunn was even fired. He had the perfect out.

He didn't have to find a way to bring Gamora back. But instead, he incorporated Gamora's death brilliantly in this movie. He could have used her soul world self to give her back her memory, or retconnor death. You're Snowball 5. But to save money on a new dish, we'll just call you Snowball 2. And pretend this whole thing never happened. Instead, he used Gamora's death to teach the other characters how to cope with laws.

And yet, this Gamora feels like a new creation. She still has her own character growth, and she gets a happy ending with her newfound ravager family. Kraglan steps out of Yondo's shadow to fire the arrow. Drax becomes a father again. Mantis makes Nebula realize that she focuses on the flaws of others because she can only see the flaws in herself. Manthus also leaves to go become her own woman, and Peter finally confronts his fear of returning to Earth.

And most importantly, Rocket finally embraces his tragic backstory and stops running from who he is when he takes on the name Rocket Raccoon. And this movie got me more emotionally invested in Rocket than I have any character in The Guardian's movies. It was really sad that Peter's mom died, but I felt way more sympathy for Rocket and his flashback, because, you know, like cute little animals and stuff. I draw the line at Animal Cruelty. But we also see this version of Rocket evolve. I mean, his first word is hurt.

And then he turns into this little guy with these big dreams that every young person has. And then to see those dreams ripped away, it's just heartbreaking. So it is perfect, perfect that the villain in this movie is somebody who wants everybody to be perfect. This makes the guardians realize that their imperfections, their flaws are what makes them special. Mantis has that whole monologue about Drax being dumb, but that is why they love him. In other words, our imperfections make us unique and they make us perfect. People call these things imperfections, but they're not. Oh, that's the good stuff.

Gunn reintroduces this theme again and again, but always in like really subtle ways, like how Mantis treats this ugly little thing. I was screaming at something scary behind you, not you. You look really cool. It's a beautiful way to bring the team full circle, kind of like how in Guardians 2, the team had to learn to set aside their own personal egos

to defeat ego the living planet. Not to mention that Gunn is a filmmaker at the height of his powers, the action, the CGI, the direction. Like, I am so pumped to see what he does for Superman. But now I'd like to nitpick a little. little and then bring on Whitney and Matt to get their thoughts on this. Like, I love Adam Warlock, and Will Poulter was perfect casting for the character. This guy is one of my favorite characters in the comics, but the movie didn't really do him justice. In the books, Warlock is

this intense cosmic presence, somebody who is so frightened of the evil that he could wreck on the world if he ever turned to the dark side. And in this movie, eh, he's basically a bruiser for the bad guy who gets a second chance and joins the heroes. Oh, he's sloth. He is kind of like sloth, yes. Now, Adam probably would have been better introduced in a movie that wasn't so crowded so he could get more focus. The thing is, though, he worked perfectly within this actual movie. So I guess what I'm saying is that Adam did more to help the Guardians movie than the Guardians movie did to help Adam. And my other quibble with the movie is that James Gun characters yell like all the time now,

and it escalates with each movie. In Guardians One, they fought, but they didn't always scream. And then in Peacemaker, God, man, people were always shouting with actors always trying to be louder than one another. I couldn't think of anybody else. What about Ariana Grande or Drake? What? Ro, you sound like so old right now? Ha ha! Yeah, seriously.

Your kids stop yelling. Get off my lawn. Oh, thanks, Obama! No, guys, seriously, like, hear me out. It does get old when every actor is constantly trying to up the volume of each other. Yeah, but these are all misfits and criminals with contentious personalities. I mean, they're going to scream some. But it's not just them. the High Evolutionary yelled all the way through the movie.

Like Chuck Woodyy Woojee gave a great performance, but I think his louder moments would have meant more if he dialed it back just a bit in some scenes. A little bit more like Gus Frank. I will kill your wife. I will kill your son. I will kill your infant daughter. Yeah, dude, I think there's enough child murder in these movies.

Oh my God. Oh my gosh, what are you wearing? Oh, this? Why, this is my new Doug Oh Yeah t-shirt in the style of Rocket Raccoon. That is so cool. Hey, do I get a cut of that? Hmm. And by the way, everybody, if you like what we do here at the channel and you want to help support us, then please shop at our merch store where we also have awesome shirts like this, Doug the Founding Tea, our somehow Palpatine Return T shirt, of course, the classic original trilogy tea,

and Not the Bees. Not the Bees! Just check out our link in the description to get yours today. But right, seriously, I don't get a cut of that? But come on, this movie's great, and the next time I watch it, I'm sure I won't even care about these little nitpicks. And now James Gunn is at DC making a family of hit franchises, and God, Marvel is going to miss him. I miss you.

But that's just what I think. I am extremely lucky to be joined here by two of the best. From new rock stars, we have Whitney Van Lendingham, and we have Screencrush's own editor-in-chief, Matt Singer. So, Matt, I want to start with you. Just like me and Whitney, I think you love the movie. We're not all going to have very many bad things to say about the movie. I pretty much think it's one of the best Marvel movies I've ever seen. But you also ended your review where you gave it 8 out of 10,

with a quote that I thought was really interesting. You said, after the movie ended, I thought about the way Harold Ramos used to describe the team dynamics within the Ghostbusters. Egon was the brains, Ray was the heart, Peter was the mouth. You can't graph that rubric onto the Guardians because you very quickly realize they're all the mouth. There are no straight men or raccoons. It's a group of eight Lou Costello's if Lou Costello was occasionally stricken by an existential crisis about the meaning of life and is placed in the galaxy.

A pretty great summary of the team, and it's kind of like what I talked about earlier about, like, God, they yell at each other a lot. So do you think that is a strength or a weakness with the Guardians, particularly in this movie? And what did you think of the movie as a whole? No, I think it's a strength. I just, I wasn't really saying that as a criticism, more just an observation because the Ghostbusters, you know, work so well and their chemistry is so interesting and unique. And that's one of my favorite movies.

And I started just kind of trying to think about team movies or movies about groups, ensembles, because they can be tough to pull off, especially when there's a lot of characters. And how do you make the characters feel different and unique and work as a collective? And Ghostbusters was one way, and the Guardians movies are just another way. And I do think they work really well. And I thought this one was, you know, I think we were, Ryan, talking at the screening, we saw each other afterwards. And I was saying, you know, I think it's definitely better than the second one. kind of really close to the first one in terms of how much I enjoyed it.

And I do think the team dynamics are a big part of it because after three movies now, like, and well, I guess more movies because they've been in Avengers and Thor and they had a holiday special and all that jazz. I just think that James Gunn did a terrific job of, while they can all be joking all the time, like all of the characters are so rich and complicated. and screwed up. They're all just, you know, emotional messes.

And that makes... No one has parents who are still together in the gardens of the galaxy. Everyone's a child of divorce. Yeah, they're all screwed up. They're all... They've all got issues. All they have is really each other,

and that's part of what made them a team in the first place. And I think that's what makes them so enjoyable to watch, is that they are, you know, screw-ups. So, like, you know, there's no Superman on this group who's a perfect god who walks among us. They're all weirdos and outcasts and misfits and they just happen to have these cool powers and huge emotional traumas that are destroying them from within. And so yeah, I think the way that he has developed the team, the dynamics, the chemistry,

the characters, it all works really well in this film. Whitney, how about you? What were your overall thoughts on the film? Well, the first thing I thought, real quick, when you guys were both just talking about the ghostbusters of it all with the brains, the heart, and the mouth, obviously the first place my brain went was the Wizard of Oz, and I was thinking about it, and I was like, you know what, there is no brain, heart, or mouth. They're all the flying monkeys. All of the guardians are just the flying monkeys. That's 100% them.

And I wouldn't have it any other way. I really liked it. I really enjoyed the movie. I also, I agree. I think that this is the best Marvel movie that I've seen in a very long time. I always have fun at Marvel movies, but this was the first one that made me feel something other than just fun. It was such a love letter to anybody who has spent any amount of time sitting on the floor, crying about a girl, reading lyrics from the inside of an album cover. I mean, that's how James Gunn makes you feel with all of his music and with all the emotion that he puts into this. And yeah, I was really hyped on this movie. I agree that it's almost up there with one, definitely better than two, and definitely the best movie since Endgame for sure. Yeah, and Whitney, over at New Rock Stars, you covered the MCU a lot and you have throughout your career and we're fans of the MCU.

And so it's cool to have you here to help celebrate it and to talk about this. Like you said, the best Marvel movie we've had in a long time. One thing I'd like to hear your opinion on is just how James Gunn overcame the weaknesses of being an MCU fan, of an MCU film. And what I mean by weaknesses of an MCU film is we did have this weird thing where in a movie James Gunn didn't write, one of his main cast members was killed. It would be like if Amadala died between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith and in some cartoon or something, and then they had to like talk about that in the movie. So what do you think about how James Gunn dealt with?

that that and like what gamora became in this movie at first i was really kind of sad about losing the gamora that we had i was pretty bummed out i actually thought based on like all of the like trailers and everything that we saw i actually thought that they were going to try to maybe put peter with nebula and i was like no please no just just let them let their relationship have had its time. And what I thought was so beautiful was the ending of the movie when Gomorra is just loved on and embraced by and just laughing with all of her new Ravager family. And I just thought that that was like the most spectacular way to end her story. I think that that was like a masterclass in taking a character that died in not even your own movie and having to bring them back and having to

make their story actually means something because we were, you know, we were going to see Peter lose her again and we didn't want to see her lost. We didn't want to see her lost in the same way, right? We wanted to see her lost in a new way, but with a happy ending. And that's kind of the perfect way to do it. She has a newfound family. She has a new group of, you know, people that she really loves and really cares about. And just because her path wasn't the same path as the previous Gamora. She didn't, you know, she didn't, like, make up with her sister. She didn't, you know, find Peter. She didn't find the guardians. She did find her family, ultimately. She still found that just in a different way. And I thought that that was really, really cool of them to do.

Do you feel like Gamora's death in Infinity War was a fitting end for the character, like for that particular version of her? Or do you think that it's, you know, good that we were able to come back and actually have a little bit more closure with Zoe Sal Donna? It's not that I think that it was a bad idea. I think that, honestly, for the character of Thanos, it was kind of one of those things where, like, Gamora's character got sacrificed, literally and metaphorically, to define something about Thanos. And that was what they were trying to define, was that he would even kill the person he loved most in the world. And that's how, that's one of the reasons, not the only reason,

but that's one of the reasons why Thanos was such a fearsome and effective villain was because you knew that he had, there was absolutely nothing that he had to lose that you could talk him out of his plan. Like, you couldn't, like, hold Gamora hostage and be like, well, kill your daughter if you don't give back the Infinity Stones. Like, there was literally nothing holding him back. There was nothing tying him down. And I think that it was really impactful for Thanos's character to have that element to it. Do I wish that she had a better, send off in the moment than just falling off a cliff. Yeah, I mean, yeah, I was really sad when she died. I wanted to see more of her with the Guardians. I felt like after Guardians 2, we had

just started getting into like Peter and Gomorra's relationship where they both actually admitted that they were in a relationship. They had just started like calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend. And I wanted, I did want to see that explored a little bit more. They were just getting started. And I do kind of feel like we got a little bit robbed of that relationship, but in the end, Ravanger Family Man, I'd take Ravanger family, I'd do it. Yeah, and like I said before, a little bit earlier, that she's a different person, and I think that it just helped everybody else cope with grief. So I'm also very happy with where she ended up. So, Matt, you know, I love talking to you about these comic book movies

because you're, you know, a professional movie critic, you're great, you review, things that aren't comic book movies, whereas that's all I get to talk about, but you're also a massive comic book fan. And you begin your review with this really interesting tidbit that, I did not know that in the first 30 years that Rocket existed, he only appeared 10 times, usually as a supporting character. And it's a great review. You guys should really check it out on Screencrush.com, because Matt talks about how James Gunn saw something in Rocket, like some kind of kinship, and Rocket was the secret protagonist of these movies. You also talked a little bit about Adam Warlock. And like I said earlier, this was the only thing about this movie. If I'm going to really be like, oh, man, it's that I love Adam Warlock so much, and I just want to see more of him.

He was very good in the Guardians movie, but maybe the Guardians weren't good in a movie for him, if that makes sense. Do you feel like the movie did, did the movie have a benefit that it wasn't trying to make all these MCU connections, or would you have liked to have seen a little bit more, a little bit of a warlock tease other than him joining the Guardians at the end? Well, it's almost like two separate topics. I mean, on the one hand, yes, I did like the fact that this really felt like a movie. And I mean, I think, you know, I certainly do not disagree that this was the best Marvel movie in a while and probably since end game. And, I mean, I think there have been a lot of Marvel movies lately that have been so focused on teasing and setting things up and, and there's a place for that. I mean, like, I like that stuff too, but it can, you know, overwhelm the movie.

It can kind of distract, and it can just take up a lot of time and space that then doesn't get to go towards the characters and their stories and their growth. And it was pretty refreshing to feel like you were watching, like, a movie that was a movie first. You know, like one of the things about comics that's sort of a double-edged sword is that they never end, right? And, you know, there's always going to be another issue next month, even when the cover says final issue, probably there's going to be a number one down the line. And the odds are there probably will be another Guardians at some point. But the nice thing about Endgame, which we haven't said, but maybe that's why we're comparing it, is that really was an ending. And it felt conclusive, and it was able to tie up so many different storylines. And that's satisfying.

And this movie gets to do that, too. It really gets to wrap up a lot of the stories that have been told through the previous movies. and, you know, if we never saw these characters again, that would be disappointing, but you would feel like you, you, they got a fitting send-off. You felt like you went on a journey with them that had a pretty emphatic conclusion. And so that is one of the benefits of not having to constantly tee. This movie is not, you know, not about Kang or the multiverse or a hundred different things. It is about the Guardians of the Galaxy and what they're going through and what they've gone through before. I mean, all this stuff with Rocket, you know, that's not about setting up Rocket and his weird, kooky pals.

That's about showing this horrible thing that this character endured that made him who he was. So that's one thing. And then in terms of Adam Warlock, I think you hit the nail on the head. It's like the way he's using the film is fun, he's funny, it's a good performance, but if by some chance you are like a hardcore Adam Warlock fan. And I have to admit, I've never met a hardcore Adam Warlock fan, but I'm sure they exist out there and more power to you. Like, that's someone I could see being a little annoyed by this movie, because it is not like, you know, it's not sort of what you envision when you envision Adam Warlock, or at least I don't. Maybe I'm not a huge fan or a super expert, but certainly it wasn't what I was expecting. And he is basically like comic relief.

They made him a hymbo. They hymbo-fied Adam Warlock. I was so happy. They just made him kind of like a dumb, pretty, shiny little boy, and I liked it. I thought it was great. Yeah, and like we've said, like, I think he works really well in the film, but if you, like, really care about his mythology and his history and all of his weird stuff with all the various versions of himself and all of the cosmic grandeur that was in those comics, that's not.

in here. Like, at the end of this movie, I, you know, I'm sad if I never get to see Rocket again because they have done such an incredible job with that character. And that's part of what I talked about in my review that you mentioned, Ryan. It's like, they have turned this, you know, D-List Marvel character into one of the best Marvel characters. I mean, he's fascinating and funny and tragic and human, even though he's a raccoon, even if he doesn't want to admit he's a raccoon. So, like, that's a character that you really hope that they get to use and explore again. You know, when I watch the movie, because I'm not just watching the movie to review it, I'm watching for Easter eggs and teases and what other things we want to talk about.

And one thing I kind of thought was, oh, wow, James Gunn just did a mic drop. Like, this doesn't really tease anything or set up anything. And then I looked back, and he never has. Like, in all of the Guardian's movies, all of the post-credit scenes are either gags that relate to the movie, or they're just kind of self-contained in his universe. Like, in hindsight, the post-credit scenes and Guardians 2 all did a really good job setting up Guardians 3. So, Whitney, that being said, you know, just as an MCU fan, what after this are you most excited to see happen next if any of these characters do go on and appear in other movies or things? I mean, I don't even, I would love, honestly, if we got like a little, another little, like, Christmas special or something about Gomorra and her new Ravenger family, I think that'd be really fun and really cute.

just to do like a little holiday time with the ravagers instead of holiday with the guardians. It's just a different. I think that'd be fun. But yeah, I, it's not, I agree 100% with Matt. I'm not like a diehard Adam Warlock Stan or anything like that. But I do love the concept of what if you tried with everything in your heart and your mind and your intelligence and your being. to make a perfect person or creature or human. And then they come out and they're just a little dumb.

Like, what would you do? I love that. I love that Aisha from The Sovereign was like, He will be perfect. I think that I will call him Adam. And then he's just kind of a little dummy. I love that so much. I love that character.

I actually am really excited to see, because that would be so fun to see his dynamic. with Rocket. Like, are you kidding me? Rocket is not going to suffer that fool gladly. He's going to have to teach him. And I think that that would be really fun to watch. I will be very disappointed if we never see Rocket again. As for the other characters, I mean, obviously, we're not going to, we're not going to see Drax again. He's done. He's out. He doesn't want to come back. I think Zerisalda also said she's finished with her. Oh, she's also out. I believe that's what I read. Yeah. Forget my Ravenger Christmas.

special, though. I mean, in hindsight, that holiday special was really the kind of thing I'd like to see out of these Disney Plus shows where, hey, we have this set. We've got a goofy plot. Do you want to go walk around the LA Chinese theater, film a couple of scenes and makeup? And they just gave us this nice little side adventure that I think a lot of these big movies, it was probably like fun. You kind of get the feeling like for the past and for everybody else that they just had a good time doing this silly little side adventure, which is a lot like in the comments. They kidnapped Kevin Bacon. How could that not be fun. So do you think that Adam Warlock in this movie is dumb or do you think he's just young? Because I kind of went, oh, okay. I'm calling him dumb, but what I really mean is like naive, not with it, not, he's not like trained enough. Like he hasn't gone through enough yet to be good at what he does. And I think that he needs just like, he needs more time to cook, baby. He's not done cooking yet. He's just a little guy. He needs more time on the on the stove, more time in the oven. I'm sorry. If I'm upsetting any Adam Warlock fans by calling him a cute little dummy, I apologize.

I call my dog that, and I love him too. That's not what I meant. I was really just curious, because, like, they could go that direction with him. He could be, like, the dracks of the group who's not that intelligent. He could. In the comics, he did start off as this blank slate. And I like that in the movie, they're kind of going back to, like, Jack Kirby's original thought for the Silver Surfer was that he wasn't some guy who became the Herald.

It was that he was a being of pure energy who had to learn how to feel, human emotions and love. So we might be seen that with Warlock. They had this great scene in this movie where he kills a guy and then goes, that feels bad because he did that for the first time. So like the Guardians, he's learning empathy. So I really like that aspect of it.

But I really hope this isn't like a last minute Star Fox Eternals, T's, where will we see Star Fox and Pimp the Troll again? Adam Warlock, much better character, I think, than Aeros ever was. And one thing we haven't talked about

that was also good about it and better than some of the other recent Marvel stuff was, you know, like visually, at least to me, looked a lot better too. You know, like there's been a lot of complaints lately about, oh, the effects aren't as good, and they don't look convincing. I'm sorry, but

that giant floating head in love and thunder, eish. Yeah, and the giant floating head in quantumania as well. Yeah. There's a lot, take it from somebody who has to rush out videos a lot. They're rushing out videos a lot.

So, like, I, for the most part, did not have that complaint about this movie. It looks great. They showed it to us in IMAX, and it's like full-frame IMAX, the whole movie. It's not doing the thing where they kind of jump up and down in terms of the aspect ratio, and it's colorful and weird, and, you know, there's like a space station that's like, what if David Kronenberg made a space station? there's, you know, kooky colors and space suits and, like,

it's just a fun movie to look at on top of the fact that it's a great story with these wonderful characters who you care deeply about. Like, you know, AKA, it is a movie. It is a good movie. It is like what you want. It's all, it's like that Marvel formula

that when it works, it really works, you know? And when it doesn't, it's unfortunate. So, yeah, it's like, it, like, This is when we seem disappointed by these movies. I think it's because they don't live up to the standards of the good ones. And this is one of the good ones, for sure. I was going to say, in addition to obviously being so visually brilliant and stunning, just the way that James Gunn incorporates music into all of his projects is so masterful.

It's next level DJing, man. I mean, he can, that dude can really pick. a soundtrack that makes you feel and I have in throughout every guardian's movie and even peacemaker man whenever they play songs that have that intrinsic meaning and tie in to the story like brandy you're a fine girl with you know quill's mom and and his and ego and all that I I mean it's just brilliant Yoshimi battles the pink robots in this movie yeah perfectly goes with the album, everything. Like, I was crying knowing the, it's so good. I know. It's, oh, God, all of his, all of his music choices are just so emotionally impactful because at the end of the day, right,

like, we all have that song that we put on in our car and cry at the grocery store parking lot. We all have that. We might have multiples of that song. We have songs that remind us of our friends, of our family, of past loves and current loves. We have songs. We have songs. We have songs, that explain the way that we feel when our own words fail us, when we can't think of, you know, what to say. There's always a song out there that does, that does capture what you're trying to say. And I think that James Gunn is brilliant because he merges exactly what he's trying to say with the song that reflects that. And it's just beautiful. It's real beautiful. Awesome Mix Volume 3 is gonna rule, oh sorry, is gonna freaking rule. Awesome Mix

volume three will freaking rule. I'm just going to bleep every single one of them, so it sounds like you said the F word three times. And you know what, you guys are both touching on the elephant in the room, which is everybody's like, oh, it's the best marvel's back. Well, James Gunn's back. And Superman is my favorite comic book character. It's my favorite movie character.

I am so excited to see his take on Superman and the new start to the DCU, like beyond excited. Okay, Whitney, where can the people find you? I am on Instagram, Twitter, at, at Whitney Puppy. And then I have a YouTube channel called Whitney Vision. You can look that up. I talk about cartoons. And otherwise, you'll find me on new rock stars. A fun, a fun little place. And Matt Singer, where can the people find you? My Twitter account is at Matt Singer. And you can find all the articles we were talking about

and lots more stuff over at screencrush.com. And we want to hear from all of you guys. Let us know your thoughts on the movie down in the comments below or at any of us on Twitter. And if it's your first time here, welcome to the channel. Please subscribe, smash that bell for alerts. For Screen Crush, I'm Ryan Erie. Thank you.