Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Review: James Gunn’s MCU Farewell Packs a Dark, but Heartfelt Punch
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
The post Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Review: James Gunn’s MCU Farewell Packs a Dark, but Heartfelt Punch appeared first on Consequence.
The Pitch: One of the trademarks of writer/director James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy films has been the inclusion of wild characters with minimal explanation as to their backstory. But Vol. 3 puts Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper) front and center, as his origins are pivotal to this final film in the trilogy.
In fact, it’s Rocket’s creator who’s the big bad here: When a kill switch buried inside Rocket threatens his life, his chosen family rally to track down the technological cure he needs to live. However, this brings them into the direct path of The High Evolutionary (Peacemaker star Chukwudi Iwuji), whose quest to create a perfect society is the source of no shortage of pain and suffering throughout the universe, including Rocket’s own traumatic past.
So it’s the Guardians against an extremely powerful despot with legions of minions under his control. Can Peter (Chris Pratt), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Drax (Dave Bautista), and Groot (voice of Vin Diesel) save their friend? Will Peter ever manage to convince the resurrected-via-time-travel-loophole Gamora (Zoe Saldana) that because he and her “parallel future self” were once in love, she should give him a chance? Will there be some excellent needle drops? It’s a Guardians movie, so you know the answer to that last question will definitely be yes.
Call It Christmas in May: First things first — if you did not watch the Disney+ Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Gunn has no mercy in his heart for you. While there’s always a bare minimum of interconnectedness to be expected within the MCU, this film features direct references to big revelations and narrative shifts established in the Disney+ special. So if you’re planning to see Vol. 3 anytime soon and haven’t already, carve out 42 minutes for some holiday cheer first.
And then buckle in for a space adventure that is alternately funny and upsetting, featuring a literal menagerie of the strange and unconventional. Between the original Guardians crew, Peter’s old Ravagers friends, and some previously established or teased foes like Elizabeth Debicki’s Ayesha and Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock, there are a lot of players to contend with — and to the film’s credit a pretty decent balance is managed, mixing old favorites with the new for a heartfelt sendoff.
This is Gunn’s last MCU film before he officially begins reigning over DC, and he makes sure to bring his friends along for the ride: Sean Gunn’s role as Kraglin has gotten larger with each installment without necessarily proving unnecessary, and Nathan Fillion (a longtime Gunn associate) gets some actual face time as a security grunt. Iwuji isn’t the only familiar face from Peacemaker or The Suicide Squad to make an appearance, either; Gunn’s loyalty to his people adds a meta layer of enjoyment that’s only occasionally distracting.
The Galaxy Still Needs Its Guardians: At this point, Gunn has mastered the farcical melody created by these specific characters coming together, largely anchored by Drax and Mantis, who remain an all-star comedy pairing on screen. These are familiar rhythms in what is the team’s seventh appearance, but Gunn still finds new dynamics within the group, and the scenes which just feature the core cast interacting are reliably entertaining.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney)
That said, while it’s nice to see Vol. 3 function as a true ensemble piece, it kind of has to, as Peter’s so caught up in a self-pity cycle over losing Gamora that it frankly gets irritating at times, especially since we’ve already seen these beats played out in the final scenes of Avengers: Endgame. One of the qualities that made the first two Guardians films work so well is the way they subtly skewered Peter’s heroic posturing, but his arc in Vol. 3 is a one-note character story that leads to a sometimes one-note performance from Pratt (who never quite hits the highs he found in earlier appearances as the character).
Saldana’s presence is limited (in part due to how different this Gamora is from her pre-Endgame self), but she does get a few choice scenes that reveal just how good she is at emoting under all that face paint. As previously mentioned, Bautista and Klementieff’s chemistry together remains one of the best surprises to come out of these movies, and Cooper’s voice acting work has rarely been better. Even Diesel finds new dimensions to his signature phrase.
There Is No PETA in Space: There are plenty of other great tidbits that make Vol. 3 enjoyable in the moment; for example, all hail Cosmo the space-dog, a very good dog beautifully voiced by Borat Subsequent Moviefilm breakout Maria Bakalova.
But not all animals, talking or otherwise, are so lucky. It shouldn’t be surprising, based on what we already know about Rocket, that his path to becoming a hyper-intelligent cybernetically enhanced badass featured some dark moments. However, the full extent of that darkness includes a gut-curdling amount of animal abuse that becomes genuinely hard to take at times, especially for a film which technically squeaks by as PG-13.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney)
Yes, these are CGI animals on screen, but even so there are sequences in Vol. 3 which are easily the most disturbing things to happen in the MCU to date. And we’re talking about a franchise where a character once reanimated his own corpse and flew around on a cape made of souls.
The Verdict: So much of the above review is tangled up in discussing other MCU films, which might be par for the course with this franchise, but also reflects how Vol. 3 doesn’t have a lot to offer the casual fan, especially in terms of spectacle. There’s one beautifully choreographed action sequence — a dynamic one-shot fight in a hallway involving nearly every single character — that deserves recognition, and a sneaky spacewalk in decidedly un-sneaky rainbow space suits brings with it a certain level of grace.
Otherwise, there are a number of moments where the choreography of space ships feels muddled and unclear; the poetry of the first two Guardians films is lacking. And while Rocket’s journey as a character gives the film its strongest arc, there’s an overall lack of a core theme that brings the action together — instead, we play the same beats of the importance of found family in a scary universe, before Gunn brings things in for a landing.
The imagination is there for sure, though, and on an emotional level, there’s no sense of Gunn phoning it in — the genuine feeling he has for these characters is palpable on the screen, and the character-based catharsis plays well. Plus, as mentioned, the soundtrack does indeed pack in some choice tracks, keeping the spirit of Peter’s original ’70s and ’80s mix tape alive while incorporating some newer tunes. As a final chapter for this trilogy, Vol. 3 works. But of the three films, it’s the weakest.
Where to Watch: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 says come and get your love in theaters, starting May 5th.
Trailer:
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Review: James Gunn’s MCU Farewell Packs a Dark, but Heartfelt Punch
Liz Shannon Miller
Popular Posts
Crazy Town Members Beat Each Other Up in Bloody Fight After Disastrous Gig
Half of Vinyl Buyers in the US Don't Have a Record Player, New Study Shows
Bam Margera Turns Himself in After Warrant Issued for His Arrest
Hed PE Kick Crazy Town Off Tour Following Brutal Bandmate Brawl
Crazy Town's Shifty Shellshock Arrested for DUI Days After Violent Fight with Bandmate
