A Review of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)”

 

Guardians of the Galaxy was one of the best and most surprising things to come out of the MCU. They were an unknown group with heroes that were even more unknown than Iron Man (at the time). However, thanks to director James Gunn, he made them one of the most popular Marvel characters and team. I loved the first one and it is still up there in one of my favourite Marvel films. The second one is a great movie but not as good as the first one. There is a joke that the 3rd movie is always the worst which did occur with Ant-Man recently. Does Guardians of the Galaxy fall into this or does it deliver an epic trilogy?

One of the core themes in the Guardian of the Galaxy movies is family and loss. This is still prevalent here and still as powerful. We see the Guardians feel closer as a family than ever but also argue a lot like family too. In terms of character arcs, Peter is still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Yondu and even his mother which is making him go to the bottles. His struggles stem from self-blame for those losses and becoming more protective of his current family, The Guardians. He has conflicts with alternate Gamora who he still sees as his Gamora which she is having none of. Nebula is also a stand-out character this time with her being a member of the Guardians and not an antagonist. She has great interactions with everyone and her character arc is a great one. The character that is the major focus of GotG3 is Rocket. We finally get his backstory which is so dark and heartbreaking that it genuinely brought a tear to my eye. Mantis and Drax are still the idiot duo but they get some emotional moments and even cool scenes where they shine. Likewise, Groot, Kraglin and talking dog Cosmo are mostly just there but they get moments to shine too.

On that note, the return actors continue to do a great job in the role. They all get to flex more of their emotions due to this more emotional entry. Special praise to Bradley Cooper as Rocket who gives a stunning voice performance. Additionally, I must praise Chukwudi Iwuji’s performance as the villain High Evolutionary. He gives a full-on narcissistic, zealous and unhinged performance that makes him so hateable. Another standout element from this series is the music and its incorporation of non-mainstream pop songs. James continues to use great songs such as “In the Meantime” by Spacehog and he uses them in great ways that benefit the movie. One difference this time is the use of some more popular songs such as “Creep” by Radiohead and “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence and the Machines. Nevertheless, they are used satisfyingly that I don’t mind their use.

There are a couple of awesome action scenes. The ones that come to mind are the fight against Adam Warlock where we get to see the guardians struggle against a powerful foe. Moreover, there is a phenomenal one-shot-looking action scene that illustrates all the Guardian’s fighting prowess and it was so cool. The costumes and set design are well-designed. I love how creative the world is with the unique-looking planets and different alien species. Most of the aliens are done using prosthetics and they look great! The story itself is quite basic as it is mostly a fetch quest but the emotional payoff to all the characters’ arcs is extremely satisfying. We get what feels like a proper ending to the original Guardians team that I wouldn’t be angry if this is the last we see of these characters.

However, I do have some minor gripes with the movie. Adam Warlock who was teased since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 is finally here but he doesn’t feel that meaningful to the plot. He is just there to be a nuisance rather than a significant antagonist. Him having the mindset of a child just makes him slightly lame. One common superhero movie issue is the vague villain powers which are also here. The High Evolutionary seems to be able to use telekinesis or emit giant energy blasts but never seems to do it against the Guardians when he should. Alternate Gamora was one of the biggest challenges as it was a Gamora with none of the character development from the first 2 films. In this film, she comes off as way too cold and aggressive than the Gamora of previous films which makes her not that likeable. Although, you could argue that was the whole point as she isn’t the same Gamora, plus she does have her character arc. There is also a weird Nebula and Peter subplot that is hinted at but never amounts to anything.

Overall, what an amazing end to the trilogy! With MCU projects lately being kind of subpar, it was great to finally have an entry that delivers. We now have another entry in great MCU trilogies with Captain America, Tom Holland’s Spiderman and now Guardians of the Galaxy. I don’t know what is going to happen with the Guardians of the Galaxy movies now that James Gunn is done and moving to DC. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to what James does as head of DC and I can’t wait to see what new direction the Guardians go in.