We have been in Phase 5 of the MCU for a bit now, the midway point of the so-called Multiverse Saga. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was a grand experiment that started with Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man back in 2008, something that had never been done before, an interconnected mythology on a scale so big the classic comics company was betting everything. Now, the MCU is the biggest franchise in Hollywood, dominating the box office and pop culture for 15 years.
Yet, after so long, with thirty-two movies, eight shows, two specials, and more on the way quickly, it's not so new anymore. Trends have set in, and not the good kind. Many patterns have been plaguing the MCU in recent years, which weren't too much of a problem until after the climax of the Infinity Saga in Avengers: Endgame. The MCU is losing its prestige as audience fatigue has kicked in, seeing the same tropes make nearly every MCU film pretty dull and forgettable, with lower box office returns every time a Marvel movie hits theaters.
But Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has changed all that. With the best box office rates Marvel has seen since Black Panther, it's clear that James Gunn, director, and writer of all the Guardians films, knows how to shake it up. Vol. 3 is very different from most Marvel movies, breaking many bad MCU trends for the better.
Vol. 3 Is Funny but Serious
A big problem many fans have with the MCU is Marvel's tendency to undercut heavy moments with comedy, killing serious moments of importance with jokes.
This was actually started by Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1, the first real comedy of the MCU, when Marvel saw audiences enjoy the hilarious stupidity of the Guardians and decided to increase the hilarity of every movie going forwards. This worked for a while, helping the Thor franchise with the newfound spark in Ragnarok, then leading to problems in the same franchise in Love and Thunder.
Gunn in Vol. 3 does a fantastic job of balancing the serious with the funny, even though the funniest scene where Drax the Destroyer describes how his butt can poop in the shape of metaphors and the saddest scene where Rocket Raccoon nearly dies are literally right next to each other, they are very well-balanced and don't undercut each other.
Vol. 3 Is Small
Their journey extends across the whole galaxy, but the story is all about the Guardians. It's about Rocket in particular, as all the Guardians go to save not the galaxy, but a friend. At first, heroes in the MCU were just trying to save their friends, like Tony Stark in Iron Man. Then they went to saving the world in Avengers, half the universe in Endgame, the quantum realm in Quantumania, and now the whole multiverse. The stakes just keep getting bigger and bigger.
Vol. 3 takes a nice step back to lower stakes, which are actually higher due to the audience's love for these characters who are just trying to save a friend, and the whole film feels much more personal than other MCU movies in which one hero is fighting to save all of reality for the third time.
Vol. 3 Changes Things
A problem with MCU trilogies is that nothing really changes for the heroes, especially in the third film. Tony Stark destroyed all his suits in Iron Man 3, and then in the next Avenger film, he's still got a ton somehow. Peter Parker lost everything in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but that is just a magical reset of the character back to where he started, so he can keep swinging around New York City.
Thor had a significant character change in Ragnarök, but no real change comes until Love and Thunder. And literally nothing happens in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, as Scott Lang, his daughter, and the Pym family all get in and come out of the Quantum Realm with no differences in character, plot, or anything. Nothing ever seems to change in MCU trilogy cappers.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 definitely does more than change things; it changes everything. The original Guardians split up, each member going their separate ways to find their own path so that everyone knows that the Guardians trilogy capper stands out from the rest.
Vol. 3 Feels Like an End
Disney
What is especially a problem for the MCU is that trilogies never feel like an end. Tony's story doesn't end in Iron Man 3, but in Avengers: Endgame, the same for Steve Rogers. Ant-Man, Thor, Spider-Man, there are no heroes in the MCU whose story end in their own films - except for the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is definitely an end for the team, not because several actors and Gunn himself have all confirmed that they will not return, but because the film itself doesn't focus on setting up other heroes or state that "the Guardians of the Galaxy will return" or finish with a vague ending that's not really an ending - the beloved team split up and move on, giving their goodbyes to each other and the audience. That makes Vol. 3 one of the best MCU trilogy cappers ever and may even be the best.