Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Review: James Gunn’s Last Hoorah With Marvel

Movies

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Review: James Gunn’s Last Hoorah With Marvel 

By Dylan Barbee 

 Image Provided by IMDb 

SPOILERS AHEAD 

With Marvel spewing out Disney Plus original series like the unwatchable Ms. Marvel and forgetful She Hulk, the comic book company has hindered the future of superhero movies. Even their most anticipated film releases in theaters like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantimania and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever quickly quieted down the hype around Marvel within what seemed like weeks. Luckily, director James Gunn has replenished viewers' love for Marvel with Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3 as it serves as his last hoorah before he officially becomes co-CEO for DC studios. 

 
The film starts at the Guardian’s Headquarters on a planet called Knowhere. Within the first five minutes you can tell Gunn is about to dive deep on Rocket’s (Bradley Cooper) backstory as the imagery goes from him being scared as a baby to him in the present day as he walks around the town square area mumbling the lyrics to the acoustic version of “Creep” by Radiohead. Rocket finds Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) drunk and unconscious as we later learn that he is suffering from heartbreak as Gamora (Zoe Saldana) has completely forgotten who he is and the love they once had for one another. The Gamora in this movie is not the same Gamora who was in love with Star-Lord in the 2018 movie Avengers: Infinity War as she died at the hands of Thanos with her memories. It seems like the Guardians have been living in peace until a surprise attack from Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) who is a genetically modified humanoid used as a pawn by the main villain The High Evolutionary to capture Rocket. This attack injures many of the Guardians and sends Rocket into a coma where he has an estimated 48 hours left to live. While the Guardians spend the whole movie figuring out how to bring Rocket back to consciousness we simultaneously learn about the Raccoon’s haunting past through memories and flashbacks in his subconsciousness.  

 

Rocket’s origin story is very well executed and solidifies him as being the most resilient member of the Guardians. Before Rocket was the tough gunslinging bounty hunter he is recognized as, he was raised in a traumatizing environment surrounded by other tortured animals. Through the emotional storytelling of how Rocket was raised in captivity and was taken advantage of by the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) through genetic modification, it shows the awareness needed around animal abuse. The High Evolutionary’s practices and tests on Rocket and other animals makes a viewer’s blood boil and the emotional damage inflicted on animals make this film a tearjerker. PETA has even named this film an “Animal Right’s Masterpiece”. If one thing is true about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 it’s that viewers will gain a lot of compassion and respect for what Rocket has been through and how he has coped with life’s trials and tribulations. Throughout the entire trilogy, Rocket denies he is a raccoon. “I ain’t a damn raccoon” Rocket says. However, by the end of the film Rocket’s full name is Rocket Raccoon after saving a bunch of baby raccoons from an exploding planet. It is a movie about coming to terms with your own identity and how having the right people around you can easily cause one to accept themselves more.  

 
While the emotional baggage of this movie is carried throughout Rocket’s origin story, the familiar comedy and character dynamics of the Guardians are very prevalent too. This familiarity can be felt on the Guardian's journey to Counter Earth which is their final destination where they must fight off members of the High Evolutionary’s army. I thought the cinematography of the fight scenes were unique as the camera zoomed in on the action while in slow motion making it one of Marvel’s most visually violent films. However, it’s a shame that with so much emphasis on Rocket’s upbringing the audience did not get any backstory on how the Raccoon became so close with his tree friend Groot (Vin Diesel).  

 
Another fault that this movie has is the character, Adam Warlock. Warlock’s role as an impish servant of the High Evolutionary was an embarrassing watch. It’s unfortunate that his lackluster introduction as a character in the Marvel Universe does not make me optimistic about his future, especially now that he is a member of the newly reformed Guardians of the Galaxy. Luckily, his minimalistic role as a clown did not steal the spotlight from the Guardian’s journey to save Rocket. I also really hope that this is the last time we see a group of Guardians in action as the end credit scene also did not tempt me to see them again without having their vital characters like Star-Lord and Drax (Dave Bautista). 

Surprisingly, no one in the Guardians died in this film despite the existential marketing of the film. In the end, the Guardian’s decide to part ways as most of them retire or take on new roles as protectors. Star-Lord goes back to Earth to live with his grandfather. Both Nebula (Karen Gillian) and Drax decide to rebuild Knowhere and raise a village of children that the High Evolutionary captured. Gamora goes back to being a Ravager and Mantis decides to explore the cosmos. That leaves Rocket and Groot to be the only two original members of the Guardians to lead the new group on new adventures.

 
If this is the last time, we see the Guardians of the Galaxy on screen together Volume 3 served as a heartfelt goodbye. In Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3 James Gunn teaches us that not everyone will be in our lives forever, but their presence can guide us to self-discovery on this journey called life. This film not only illustrates an emotional origin story and some good action, but it also solidifies the Guardians of the Galaxy movies as the best trilogy released by Marvel. 

 
Rating: 8.5/10