There are a lot of superhero films — some, such as director Martin Scorsese, might argue too many. And most are often positioned as “the greatest superhero film” made.
While such a bold statement will always spark an impassioned debate, it would be challenging to find anyone who doesn't agree that director and writer James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy has been one of the most refreshing, hilarious and entertaining superhero franchises to date.
Which is why the last instalment, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, was bittersweet.
Warning: this review contains spoilers
The film is a testament to Gunn’s singular vision where action, comedy and emotional storylines meet powerful music for a gripping cinematic experience.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how Gunn’s cacophony of cultural references creates such a specific and yet widely understood style of storytelling. It is simultaneously rich yet easy to digest.
Unlike the previous films, the Guardians aren’t facing off one ominous villain whose plan is to eradicate half of all life in the universe.
This time the threat is much more personal.
The film’s villain, played by Chukwudi Iwuji, is the High Evolutionary — a delusional, narcissistic geneticist obsessed with creating a perfect world. He sends one of his creations, the gold-skinned Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), to attack the Guardians of the Galaxy in their home at Knowhere.
Specifically, the High Evolutionary wants to kidnap Rocket (Bradley Cooper) for unknown reasons. And while he fails, the wise-cracking raccoon’s life hangs in the balance.
This prompts the remaining Guardians to proceed on an epic quest to save the life of their comrade and friend.
Quill, also known as Star-Lord, played wonderfully by Chris Pratt, is also facing his own heartache. For him and the rest of the Guardians to save one of their own, they must team up with Gamora (Zoe Saldana). The green-skinned powerful fighter is the love of Quill’s life who, due to events in the previous films, now has no memory of their time together.
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Then there's Groot (Vin Diesel), a tree that utters the same three lines throughout the films but somehow adds an emotional depth to how the group interacts.
Mantis (Pom Klementieff) is an innocent but ultimately wise empath who can control other people’s emotions through touch, but is confused about her place in the world.
Dave Bautista plays Drax, a massive blue warrior with an equally big heart who doesn’t usually think things through. His comedic timing, loyalty and haunting past makes him one of the most beloved characters in the film.
Nebula (Karen Gillan), the unstoppable antihero turned protagonist, demands perfection and is continuing to evolve.
From the first scene, the power of the story is in the strong bonds between this unlikely group of misfits. They have become a surrogate family to one another and in this film audiences see them dealing with their own past traumas while working together to unravel the mystery of Rocket’s past and save his life.
As they travel through space to face off with a number of strange aliens, the film’s pace is fast, jam-packed with flashbacks to Rocket’s childhood, with rapid-fire action sequences and visual effects.
Gunn’s imagination pairs with production designer Beth Mickle’s talent for bringing life to a variety of alien life forms and adding “humanising” emotional detail to CGI characters.
It’s odd that Disney, which owns the rights to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, hasn’t applied this same CGI character creation to the characters in their live action films. The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and most recently The Little Mermaid have all been criticised online for the poor quality of their CGI characters.
On the other hand, at times the action was a little chaotic and messy. The bold colour palate was also in some parts overwhelming, feeling like a blur of shapes and designs. And at slightly more than two hours the film was too long — almost all the action scenes could have done with a cleaner edit.
The flashbacks to a Rocket’s childhood were well placed and gave enough information to help people understand his character more thoroughly. However, many elements of the emotional storyline were predictable and felt spoon-fed to audiences who are much smarter than Gunn seems to assume.
It’s a shame that elements of the emotional plot are so cheesy when the comedy in the film is delivered with sophistication.
While the film did a great job at driving home the idea of unexpected friendships — conveying deep and transformative story arcs, and on many fronts broke stereotypes of the genre — there was one lazy trope that was surprising.
Iwuji’s performance as the High Evolutionary was brilliant. However, Gunn’s choice to have the villain marked with scars was incredibly unimaginative. This visual shorthand to indicate that a character is evil is outdated, especially through the rather animated way it appears in several ways in the film.
On the whole, however, Gunn has delivered to audiences what they expected and always loved about the Guardians of the Galaxy universe: an adventure full of heart, humour and friendship. Most importantly though, what Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 achieves is ultimately a satisfying finale to a story of unforgettable characters.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be released in the UAE on May 4.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
Results
Stage Two:
1. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 04:20:45
2. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix
3. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates
4. Olav Kooij (NED) Jumbo-Visma
5. Arnaud Demare (FRA) Groupama-FDJ
General Classification:
1. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix 09:03:03
2. Dmitry Strakhov (RUS) Gazprom-Rusvelo 00:00:04
3. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 00:00:06
4. Sam Bennett (IRL) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:00:10
5. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:12
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs: 2018 Bentley Bentayga V8
Price, base: Dh853,226
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 550hp @ 6,000pm
Torque: 770Nm @ 1,960rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.4L / 100km
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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LIVERPOOL SQUAD
Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner, Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Joe Gomez, Adrian, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Andy Lonergan, Xherdan Shaqiri, Andy Robertson, Divock Origi, Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Neco Williams
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
'Of Love & War'
Lynsey Addario, Penguin Press
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Types of fraud
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
* Nada El Sawy
I Care A Lot
Directed by: J Blakeson
Starring: Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage
3/5 stars
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
THREE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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