Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Chukwudi Iwuji, Vin Diesel (voice), Bradley Cooper (voice), Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Maria Bakalova (voice), Sean Gunn, Will Poulter, Nico Santos, Miriam Shor, Linda Cardellini (voice), Asim Chaudhury (voice), Mikaela Hoover (voice), Sylvester Stallone, Elizabeth Debicki, Judy Greer (voice), Seth Green (voice), Michael Rosembaum, Nathan Fillion, Michael Rooker, Gregg Henry
Directed by: James Gunn
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
2023

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: When Rocket (Bradley Cooper) is seriously injured, the Guardians must dig into his tragic past and face off against the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) if they hope to save their friend's life.

Review:

Tim: MCU movies these days always have so much to unpack- there's the movie itself, and then what it means for the sprawling series as well. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has a fascinating place in the broader MCU. The 32nd film comes during the worst phase of the megaseries. None of the films Marvel has put out have been less than really good, but it's been a couple of years without a great movie. This film doesn't reverse that trend, but the movie is so entertaining, so heartfelt, so memorable that it feels like a win regardless. This is definitely one of the MCU's strongest entries since the conclusion of the Infinity Saga.

There was a lot of built-in emotion as this film was advertised as the Guardians of the Galaxy's final ride. They completed a trilogy and two Avengers movies in a span of 9 years. During that time, we've fallen in love with these rambunctious renegades. The first Guardians movie was viewed as Marvel's biggest risk to date and it ended up one of the most fun films in the entire series. The second movie wasn't as good, but this one improves on that entry. I found much to like here (and a few things to criticize, too). The whole film feeling like a swan song definitely gave the movie different vibes. The big question on everyone's mind was- Who is going to die? (and, please don't let it be Rocket).

Focusing on Rocket for the third film was a brilliant move. He's perfectly voiced by Bradley Cooper and has emerged as a true fan favorite. Rocket's past is tragic, but it's absolutely worth digging into. The character spends much of this film unconscious, but we learn about his story through a series of flashbacks. The movie may deserve some criticism for these scenes, as the animal cruelty is a bit hard to watch. I think Gunn was mostly right- we needed to see the brutality of Rocket's origins to understand the character. It makes an interesting contrast with the rampant humor that fills the rest of the film. His story is certainly emotional and it gives him a far greater depth than we've seen to this point. This isn't always an easy movie to watch, but it's memorable.

The High Evolutionary is an interesting villain. I've been reading through the old Marvel Comics and it was fun to see him pulled from the pages, along with Counter Earth and Adam Warlock. The story has changed much since its origins, but it was surprisingly faithful to these characters, even though much was changed in the actual story. Chukwudi Iwuji does a fantastic job of making him one of the most despicable villains in the MCU. He may not be the most powerful, but he's easily one of the most awful characters. You cringe and hate him for his actions, which is exactly what the film needed. The Guardians movies haven't had the greatest villains, so it was nice to see the trilogy end with a solid one.

The main draw of this film is the cast, though. They really feel like a family after almost a decade working together. The film is long- 2 hours, 30 minutes- but Gunn uses that time to give all the characters their moments and us a chance to say goodbye. Chris Pratt worked really well as Star Lord. His character has received a bunch of criticism since the Avengers movies- some of it deserved, some of it due to Pratt's personal life. I thought the film did a nice job of redeeming this character- at one point, he mentions the events with Thanos and it felt like Gunn was asking us all to acknowledge the character made mistakes and move on. I felt good about Pratt's performance here. He also, consequently, gets to utter the first "F" word in the MCU in quite memorable fashion. I mentioned Bradley Cooper, but you can't overstate how wonderful his voice work is in bringing Rocket to life. He's easily the best character in these movies and so much of that comes from Cooper. Dave Bautista and Pom Klementieff continued their brilliant comedy duo. I'll miss Frax and Mantis and all the shenanigans they get up to. Gunn gives them some hilarious exchanges throughout this film. Karen Gillan has really come into her own and it was great fun to see Nebula's character development in this film. Gillan got even more to do here and the whole movie is better as a result. It's easy to overlook how wonderful she's been in these films. Vin Diesel actually got to sound like himself a bit here, which was nice.

Zoe Saldana had a tough role here. The Gamora we all love is dead, yet this other version lives on. I felt like Gunn did what he could to reintegrate her into the Guardians, but he wisely kept her separate. That doesn't help the movie- she never feels a full part of the team- but, given the internal logic of the MCU, this was the only path available that would make any kind of sense. I was glad she was part of this, but I certainly missed the original Gamora. Sean Gunn plays a larger role here and he really delivers a strong performance. It was fun seeing his exchanges with Cosmo and Maria Bakalova did nice work bringing that character to life. I love that we got to see Sylvester Stallone again- I just wish we had a lot more time with his character. Nathan Fillion was a great add and contributed a lot to the humor. Will Poulter made for a terrific Adam Warlock. I sincerely hope we haven't seen the last of his character in the MCU. I love that Judy Greer voiced a character named "War Pig". It was nice seeing Howard the Duck in one scene and Seth Green's effective voice work for him. I appreciated Gunn bringing back Michael Rooker for one scene, so we could properly say goodbye. As a whole, this cast is extensive, but Gunn uses them all in a way that felt like he gave each actor a chance to bow out well.

The story outside of Rocket is fine- the villains, the action, the explosions, all of it works well, none of it is truly remarkable. I did love the Army Hallway "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" fight scene- out of 32 films in the MCU, that's one of the best choreographed and most effective fight sequences we've ever had. It was brilliant. The rest of the movie works, delivering one of the strongest Phase 4 films. I didn't always love the movie, but I appreciated the care and concern Gunn had with saying goodbye to these characters. I did think the final wrap up worked, setting the stage for potential future films (the "Will Return" line at the end was surprisingly and cool).

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 might not quite have been great, which extends the MCU's "not great" streak to 5 films now. The bar it raised during the Infinity Saga might not have been sustainable, but big questions are rightly being raised. These movies are all so good, so I don't think panic has yet to set it- I still believe every MCU movie has been exceptionally good. It's just that the series has plateaued below where it should be. I do think as we move into Phase 5, this movie will remain one of the highlights. It's a nice reminder of how good the MCU can be. I wish the film was tighter and more consistently funny, but it deserves mostly praise.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5


If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Thor: Ragnarok