Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Peter Quill rallies his team to defend the universe and one of their own - a mission that could mean the end of the Guardians if not successful. It is highly important to note that the Guardians themselves have been through quite a lot ever since they had their last standalone film back in 2017. They fought Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, losing Gamora in the process. After being snapped out of existence in the climax of that film, they all returned for one final tussle with Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. Once the dust settled, the Guardians temporarily teamed up with Thor only to part ways with the God of Thunder and head off to make the planet of Knowhere their main headquarters in the Disney Plus Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. With all of that said, James Gunn brings us Vol 3, which has been marketed as one last hurrah for the Guardians team we’ve come to know and love over the past 8 and a half years. It brings me great pleasure to tell you all that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 delivered on almost every level I wanted it to. I would like to respect the many Marvel fans who don’t want to know anything going in, so I will just be vaguely talking about some of the characters, the technical aspects, the tone, and the themes. First off, this is easily the darkest and most depressing entry in the Guardians trilogy, with Chris Pratt’s Star Lord getting blackout drunk, as he is still unable to come to terms with Gamora’s death. Pratt is on the top of his game here, giving a dramatically stirring performance all while still nailing the comedic beats we know him for. Whereas in Guardians Vol 2, Quill had to face his daddy issues, in Vol 3 he must deal with his inner turmoil that has created problems for both himself and the team as a whole. As for the rest of the Guardians squad, Gunn does an excellent job at giving every member their own fitting arc that feels logical with how they were set up from the very first GOTG movie. Bautista’s Drax and Klementieff’s Mantis are two characters that have had such an offbeat dynamic ever since they met in Vol 2, and they are both unexpected standouts in Vol 3. I can’t talk much about Zoe Saldana’s Gamora in this, but she turns in a strong performance and has a much different relationship with Quill than in previous MCU entries. Sean Gunn’s Kraglin has been one of the most underrated characters in the entire Guardians franchise and he gets his own full circle arc following the devastating loss of Yondu. Cosmo the Spacedog from the 2008 Guardians comics finally gets some time to shine and Maria Bakalova accurately voices the telekinetic dog. Karen Gillan’s stoic Nebula has always been one of my favorite supporting Guardians characters, and the way her relationship with the rest of the team evolved over the last 8 and half years and through the course of this film completely works. Baby Groot in Vol 2 was clearly a method for Disney to sell toys, but in Vol 3, Vin Diesel‘s Groot returns to form and has some of the most badass and crowd pleasing moments in his MCU history. Before I get to the character that everyone has turned their attention to, I’ll briefly touch on Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock. Although there will definitely be some hardcore Adam Warlock purists who’ll be disappointed by his limited role in Vol 3, I think that as an introduction to the character in the MCU, Poulter sold me on his take and I look forward to seeing more of him in future Marvel movies. Alright, here we go, let’s talk a bit about Rocket Raccoon. In Vol 3, we finally get a deep dive into Rocket’s tragic backstory and how he came to be. If you are like me and love animals, you may have some trouble viewing certain sequences that pertain to Rocket’s past which involve cruel experimentation on living creatures and utterly horrific abuse of animals. Children under 10 are likely to be traumatized during these intense sequences, so parents beware. Bradley Cooper deserves tons of recognition for his dedicated voice work on the talking raccoon and the depth he has brought to this character. Hats off to the astonishing job the VFX artists have done to make the lovable rodent come to life in such photorealistic fashion. Rocket is the connective tissue, the glue that binds the Guardians together and every aspect of his arc is deeply impactful, tugging at the viewer’s heartstrings in an emotionally gutting manner. The High Evolutionary played by Chukwudi Iwuji may not be Marvel’s most three dimensional villain, but he adequately serves the purpose of being a sadistic, barbaric, and heartless antagonist that the viewer will love to hate. Sadly, there are still “scientists” and “doctors” in real life who perform such cruelty on innocent animals, and unfortunately those individuals get away with these heinous crimes, just like the High Evolutionary, who seeks to create the perfect utopian society on Counter Earth. It’s very important and effective commentary by Gunn that feels appropriate for the story he tells here. The stakes are high, the mission is personal, and Gunn strikes a far better balance between irreverent humor and dramatic moments than he did with Vol 2. While it clocks in at a whopping 150 minutes, Vol 3’s pacing benefits from the time sensitive urgency of the team’s main task at hand, allowing the film to move with purpose. The soundtrack once again doesn’t disappoint, with song choices ranging from the depressingly self reflective “Creep” by Radiohead to the head banging “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” by the Beastie Boys. A few of the jokes don’t land and there are times where it may feel a tad overstuffed, but other than those small gripes, this is a real winner across the board that reminded me of the magical early MCU era. There are two post credit scenes and they are both worth staying for. Overall, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is a deeply touching, sincerely heartfelt, visually dazzling, hilariously zany, gleefully irreverent, unapologetically wacky, action packed, and emotionally satisfying farewell to James Gunn’s beloved intergalactic rag tag band of weirdos and misfits.
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