Released: 5th May 2023 (UK and US)
Length: 150 Minutes
Certificate: 12A
Director: James Gunn
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Will Poulter, Elizabeth Debicki and Chuckwudi Iwuji
In the far-reaching realms of the MCU, the Guardians of the Galaxy went from being a relatively unknown group to super-stardom in 2014. Their popularity has grown exponentially over the last nine years as they joined forces with other superheroes. The third volume has been a long time coming and it delivers a poignant final bow.
Picking up where Avengers: Endgame and Thor: Love and Thunder left off, Guardians Volume 3 puts the titular team on a very personal mission. Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper) is in poor health and Starlord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Groot (Vin Diesel) all set out to save him. In doing so, they confront a megalomaniacal scientist (Chukwudi Iwuji) with some twisted links to their close friend. This third outing continues the personal tone of its predecessor, but focuses squarely on Rocket. Many dark details are revealed as his backstory is presented to us in various flashbacks. In the present, we’re given the usual slice of zany action across more imaginative locations which work just as well as the first two volumes. The comedy has been toned down in favour of a sentimental and reflective tone. This goes hand-in-hand with the narrative doing away with any unnecessary tie-ins to other Marvel properties. With no added baggage the third Guardians movie ends on its own terms, packing both heart and harrowing struggles.
The chemistry between the characters remains strong, though in a curious direction, Volume 3 features a lot of passive-aggressive arguing, especially when Gamora is on-screen. Some of it is humorous, but it does get a bit tiresome by the third act. Outside of the action scenes, many of the character interactions are driven heavily by stress; Peter Quill tries and fails to reconnect with Gamora, Mantis tries to hold the team together and Rocket fades in and out of his past life. Other characters like Drax and Groot mostly stay the course with every cast member continuing their strong performances. Chukwudi Iwuji goes all in as the High Evolutionary with his psychotic mannerisms and relentless cruelty to animals, making his brief appearance a memorable one. Unfortunately Elizabeth Debicki and Will Poulter are very short-changed by the script; there isn’t much reason for them to be here as Adam Warlock and Ayesha never rise above their servitude to the main antagonist. Their performances work well enough, but they don’t have much to do in the plot.
The sci-fi hi-jinks of the trilogy remains on top form from the colourful space suits worn by the heroes to the flashy space combat sequences. Once again, we have many creative scenarios that set Guardians 3 apart from other entries. A simple heist in an organic observatory has a great mix of humour and action with some wacky costume designs. The world of Counter-Earth is quite similar to our own, taking up a good portion of the runtime, but we do get some solid make-up work on the local denizens. As expected, a well-worn list of eighties music lines the production with the major highlight being “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” in a glorious hallway fight scene that cuts between every character. The gargantuan capital ship battle at the climax is another grand display of intergalactic destruction, cutting between interior and exterior sections. What ties everything together is the focus on computer generated creatures which convey a surprising amount of emotion. This element is fully in tune with the gut-wrenching tale at the film’s centre.
Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 is one of the better entries in Marvel’s fifth phase. Unburdened by forced connections and comedic relief, the story goes into some dark places while bringing every team member’s arc to a very satisfying close. Anyone who has followed these characters from the beginning will really appreciate how it all pans out. Just be sure to discount some wasted acting talent.
Rating: 4/5 Stars (Great)
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