Against all the odds, the finest achievement of Marvel Studios is declared to come from the pit of despair that is Phase Five

The MCU‘s Phase Four was already plagued by a pandemic, release delays, and a whole heap of negative reviews, but somehow Phase Five has been even more of a bugbear for Marvel Studios in just its first half a year of life so far. The grand opening salvo didn’t exactly go to plan with the universally despised Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and it’s just supplied us with the worst-rated entry in the entire franchise in the Secret Invasion finale.

And yet somehow it’s now being declared that Phase Five has given us the ultimate Marvel movie of them all, one so good that the House of Ideas might as well shut up shop now as it’s felt that it’s unlikely to ever top this incredible cinematic achievement. As one Twitter user went viral for arguing, “No MCU movie released after Guardians 3 will be as good [as] Guardians 3.”

This tweet is yet more evidence that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is set to enjoy perhaps the best long-term reputation of any MCU movie released since Avengers: Endgame. Even Spider-Man: No Way Home has had to suffer a certain amount of decreasing positivity over time (as folks pay more attention to the plot holes as the glow of the Spider-Versal crossover dims), but James Gunn’s MCU finale just seems to grow in stature in people’s estimations week by week.

Although it remains the lowest-rated entry in the trilogy by Rotten Tomatoes critics, it’s clear that the emotional conclusion to the Guardians’ journey just hits the spot for fans so much more than everything else Marvel has supplied lately, and is likely to in the coming years either. While the above statement is bold, with the possible exception of Deadpool 3, the upcoming lineup of Marvel projects does suggest Guardians 3 will hold on to its status as most fan-favorite MCU outing of Phase Five for the time being.