Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 review

Maybe some of the shine has faded from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Expanding an impressively cohesive movie universe to include TV shows and films that failed to wow audiences like The Infinity Saga will help diminish some of the luster. Good thing Marvel had Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 waiting on deck with a thrilling, epic emotional finale to recapture some of that lost MCU magic.

Two big takeaways from Vol. 3: Disney/Marvel will miss Guardians director/writer James Gunn and his unique way of crafting a likeable family dynamic outside of the Fantastic Four. Secondly, Gunn (with co-head Peter Safran) might actually be able to provide the MCU some legit competition as he steps in full-time to his role leading the direction of the DC Universe.

Vol. 3 packs the expected amount of wacky, quirky humor from its assemblage of characters including a talking tree, raccoon and dog. By far the bigger surprise was how it earned every pull of heartstrings in one of the MCU’s most emotional installments yet. There were moments that on paper would hardly seem like Gunn could get audiences choked up or outright weepy, but those scenes land hard and feel tremendously well-earned.

Save a far too brief cameo in Thor: Love and Thunder and a Holiday Special, all has been quiet on the Guardians front. Their fun, cool adventures post-Avengers: Endgame have largely been off screen while the team has settled into its base on Knowhere.

Peter Quill aka Star-Lord (Chris Pratt, The Super Mario Bros. Movie) is nursing his heartbreak over losing Gamora (Zoe Saldana) by heavy drinking. Technically, Gamora isn’t dead…kinda.

She’s Gamora from the timeline before she met the Guardians and established those deep, familial bonds with Drax (Dave Bautista, Knock at the Cabin), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Groot (Vin Diesel), Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and her sister, Nebula (Karen Gillan). The Gamora that did have all those connections with the Guardians? She got killed by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. It’s a little complicated.

But at this point, audiences that aren’t well-versed in the MCU lore don’t need to start with this installment anyway. One of the core strengths of The Infinity Saga was its well-woven, interconnected storyline that rewarded viewers who happily indulged on every film throughout the arc.

Still, it might not hurt viewers who can’t immediately recall what Infinity Stone the Guardians encounters in the first film or who joined the team in Vol. 2 to a quick binge refresher on all things Guardians before watching Vol. 3.

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This isn’t the Quill/Gamora story. The spotlight falls on Rocket, who’s always been loathe to share with his teammates his traumatic origin. Usually, waiting until the third film to tell a mainstay’s origin means all worthwhile stories have been exhausted. That’s definitely not the case here as Rocket’s tale is incredibly emotional.

Rocket was genetically altered by The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji, Peacemaker), a being convinced that he alone can create the perfect society to match the ideal world of his creation.

While in captivity, Rocket befriends fellow captive and altered animals Lyla (Linda Cardellini, Avengers: Age of Ultron), Floor (Mikaela Hoover, Guardians of the Galaxy) and Teefs (Asim Chaudhry) dreaming of a day when they can be part of the perfect world and have adventures together.

At times, Gunn can lean too heavy on obnoxious humor, but the scenes with Rocket and his pals are tenderly done creating genuine feel-good moments even in a terrible setting.

Upon learning Rocket is still alive, the High Evolutionary dispatches Adam Warlock (Will Poulter, Maze Runner: The Death Cure) to bring him back regardless of who gets in his way.

The ensuing battle leaves one of the Guardians severely wounding, forcing the others to rally to track down the one item that can save their teammate.

What’s always been true about this series is the unceasing charm of this band of misfits coming together for a common goal and how well their personalities play off each other. The constantly cheerful Mantis constantly butts heads with the always disagreeable Nebula while Drax is never at a loss for confidence while Star-Lord battles his survivor’s guilt.

Gunn’s take on the Guardians has certainly been influenced by the acclaimed comic book run of writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, who took cosmic Marvel outcasts and made them one of Marvel’s top teams.

Over the course of his trilogy, Gunn has incorporated as much as he could from the DNA run into his films. DNA fans should appreciate much of what Gunn accomplishes with this installment.

The action remains just as bombastic as the previous two volumes including one memorable gloriously carnage-filled hallway battle scene that even Netflix Daredevil would appreciate. Colors explode off the screen and the set designs are fantastically creative. If possible, check this one out in IMAX 3D to get the full experience. And as usual, prepare to tap your toes with another imaginative playlist/soundtrack.

While it might not beat out the Captain America and Spider-Man trilogies, Vol. 3 is certainly in the conversation for the best MCU trilogy.

Gunn ends his Guardians run on a wonderful high note with a loving, fond farewell to the team and the MCU fanbase. Equally commendable, Gunn leaves the franchise wide open in the event Marvel Studios wants to do future Guardians adventures — can you say Avengers: Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars?

Rating: 9 out of 10

Photo Credit: Disney