Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

 

It's hard to believe that it's been nearly 10 years since we were first introduced to the Guardians of the Galaxy back in 2014. I knew little to nothing about these characters at the time and was a bit skeptical about how much I'd really enjoy the film. It's funny because I still remember sitting in the cinema with my friend Curtis and being just absolutely floored by the mixture of humor, adventure and heart that tied all of these larger than life characters together on their first big adventure. I loved it and yearned for more and we eventually got that with the subsequent sequel in 2017 and their involvement in the Infinity War and Endgame films in the Avengers series.  It's fair to say I've lived a lot of these past 9 years with these characters and grew closely attached to them, so to gear up to say farewell to them in their third and final outing under James Gunn; it was a lot to prepare for and I was clearly not prepared because by the end of the film I was a teary eyed mess.

Directed and written by James Gunn with cinematography by Henry Braham and composition by John Murphy; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was released worldwide on May 5th 2023. It features a lot of returning cast including Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Batista as Drax the Destroyer, Bradley Cooper as Rocket Racoon, Vin Diesel as Groot, Karen Gillan as Nebula,  Pom Klementieff  as Mantis and Sean Gunn as Kraglin.  New additions to this film include Will Poulter as Adam Warlock and Chukwudi Iwuji as the High Evolutionary. This entry in the trilogy serves as the final outing for the characters and seemingly for James Gunn himself who will be focusing his efforts on leading DC's next line of cinematic movies.

The narrative of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 centres around Rocket, as we take a deep dive into his origins at the hand of the narcissistic High Evolutionary. After their actions in Vol. 2, the Sovereign's own Adam Warlock is enlisted by the High Evolutionary to attack the Guardians and kidnap Rocket but after a failed attempt Rocket is left in a critical condition. Unable to operate on or heal him due to the cybernetics in his body, Quill and the other Guardians venture out from Knowhere in order to find the code to override the cybernetics in his body to let them heal him before it's too late.  To do this they enlist the help of the Ravagers and their newest recruit Gamora, who is finding her own path after the events of Endgame. As all of that's happening Rocket is forced to revisit his past through flashbacks of the time of his creation and control by the High Evolutionary. It's in these flashbacks we learn of the cruel treatment he and his fellow animal test subjects were made to endure as they found solace in each others company. 

Just from that description you can probably tell this film pulls no punches in treading on some seriously heavy subject matter. Animal abuse and testing is a very real thing many animals suffer through in our  modern day. To see James Gunn put a laser focused eyeglass on this concept in line with the universe he created wounded me majorly. Rocket has always been a solid supporting character who avoids emotional moments as every opportunity, yet in this film he's given no choice but to face that brutal past head on. As an audience member I never felt more vulnerable then I did during those sequences, the way those scenes are crafted keeps you level with Rocket and his friends in the confines of their cage, fearing for their safety at every moment. To see the way James Gunn uses such hard hitting stuff as a way to fully explore Rocket as more than just a supporting character is beyond phenomenal. His story and character truly is the foundation for which this film stand on. His vulnerability makes the stakes truly personal for the Guardians and it actually forces them to confront aspects about themselves on this journey that they've either been burying and not been paying attention too. 

I love how each of the main Guardians get an equal amount of work here when it comes to developing their characters. They are all on the same mission to save Rocket, but everyone has their own arcs to face during that mission. Peter is forced to confront the reality behind Gamora no longer being a part of his life. Nebula has to learn to become a caring leader in spite of her harsh nature. Drax and Mantis come to learn about their own reputations and try to prove they are more than what they are perceived to be. Gamora tries to find her own path despite being pulled into a mission with people who have deep ties to a person she never was. There's not a single character in the core Guardians group who doesn't get a lot of definition here and it's really appreciated. The High Evolutionary himself feels like a compelling character too, just based on how evil and cold hearted a person he is under all that vain self-importance. My only gripe with the film is Adam Warlock, who I feel always felt like an after thought in the course of the stories events. I would have liked him to be either more involved with the plot or potentially not included at all, because his relevancy to the story feels incredibly small. 

It's not just the narrative that this film excels at either. On a visual and audible level, you can see James Gunn's fingerprints all over this movie. His inherent style is what has made the Guardian movies so unique and recognizable up this point and he'd be damned if he was ending this trilogy any other way. For just as much color and trippy sequences there were, Gunn was also injecting some of his trademark darkness and maturity into this entry. There's a surprising amount of violence and profanity in this one which is surprising when you consider it is a Marvel film before anything else. I think though with the narrative Gunn was trying to explore, you needed a lot of hard hitting themes to come to the forefront for it to be impactful. The stuff Gunn is showcasing here isn't nice or friendly, it's a twisted mirror to the type of stuff that is happening in real life and Gunn uses the visual and audible end to give it as much respect as possible. From a musical end I feel Gunn also nailed it with the song choices here as well. Creep, In the Meantime, No Sleep till Brooklyn are just a few of my many favorites. 

It's really bittersweet to consider this may be the last time we see this group of fun and loveable characters together on the big screen. It's even sadder to consider that this may be also the last time we see James Gunn penning and directing these films. It really is a film about closure, not only within it's narrative but from a more literal sense. We grew up over the past 9 years with these characters and have experienced every range of emotion along with them. We may be saying goodbye but that's okay, things have to end at some point but the joy comes from experiencing it for what it was. The Guardians of the Galaxy took us on one last trip into the forever and beautiful sky and while the journey may be over, the ride was one hell of a experience.