Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Movie Review
Nathan Swank
May 2nd, 2023
Dark, emotional and pure joy, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 stays true to its origin as a thrilling and entertainingly wild journey that covers an array of feelings. Overall, The Guardians franchise has become one of the best fully realized film trilogies in the superhero universe.
Volume 3 sees the return of our favorite lovable scoundrels, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), Drax (Dave Bautista), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), and Nebula (Karen Gillan) as the Guardian of the Galaxy. Gamora (Zoe Saldana) shows up to help also, but technically is not part of the Guardians since she is a past version of herself before being a part of the team. This film centers around a rescue mission of sorts, as Rocket has been injured to a degree in which he only has hours to live. The rest of the crew must race the clock to find his origins to find the key to saving his life. The problem is they must face a dump but dangerously powerful Warlock (Will Poulter) and a sadistic evil villain, The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), who wants Rocket to continue his attempt at creating the perfect species.
The stakes are much more urgent and darker this go around. But the laughs are still plentiful. Rocket takes center stage while being mostly unconscious through the film, but his plot is juxtaposed with his sad and horrific origin story. Guardians have always been a bit edgier than the other superhero movies, but GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 will definitely be a tough watch for little ones. Some of the experiments run on Rocket and other animals are quite difficult to endure visually and emotionally, which might get the old tear ducts flowing. Peter is still suffering the loss of his love, Gamora and can’t seem to convince this current Gamora that they actually had something special. But each of these reckless, rebel characters have unique personalities that are both heartfelt and funny, which is so delightful and refreshing. They truly are charming in the way they are both mean and loving.
I would go so far to say, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 is the best Marvel film since 2019’s AVENGERS: ENDGAME. Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s saying much. My feelings on Marvel movies have definitely soured since ENDGAME and I think the product has diminished significantly. Maybe it’s the attachment to old characters and the build to something bigger. We don’t really have that same heft anymore. Nonetheless, it was nice to get one last ride with our lovable, rock-n-roll misfits. Great art direction, emotional storytelling, impressive action, and some truly inspiring 90’s musical needle drops all make for a fantastic time and a fantastic sendoff to some of our unexpectedly favorite Marvel characters.
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