Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) - 4/5

This movie walks a fine line between funny and light, and darkly serious. And most of the time it works. The music, action, and character building are easily the highlights of the film, far outstripping several previous MCU entries. The rich color palette and gorgeous visualization of deep space are a wonder to behold and worth the price of admission alone. The main issues with the film are about tone, with characters cracking jokes while dark or disturbing things happen just before or afterward. Beyond that, however, it’s a fun misfit adventure with occasional sincerity.

Closest comparison: It’s the crazy, silly, irreverent ‘youngest child’ of the MCU.

Setting: Gritty Sci-Fi
Plot: Adventure
Tone: Comedy

Avengers: Infinity War - 5/5

This film has all the great cross-over action scenes we've been waiting for. Each character gets a time to shine and dialogue that fits them well. If you haven't seen all of the other movies leading up to this I think most of it will still make perfect sense, but you'll miss some quips and inside jokes. Also, be aware that while this film is mostly fun there are some much darker moments, including a torture scene. All in all, though, the film is certainly worth the hype.

Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 - 3/5

First off, the good: lots of beautiful visuals and some great character moments with tertiary characters. The opening sequence is fantastic, and if the whole movie was like that it might have been a 5. Unfortunately, most of the humor in the film is mean-spirited, which for me is intolerable. And for a movie that is relying largely on the humor it's just painful.