Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Review – a totally rad and bittersweet sendoff

By Marc Miller
Published: May 5, 2023 (Last updated: 4 weeks ago)
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Review
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Summary

Take a walk on the wild side in James Gunn’s rad final chapter. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is an exciting, often hilarious, and exhilarating ride.

We review the MCU film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which does not contain significant spoilers.

Say what you want about the self-proclaimed “auteur” James Gunn, the peculiar director who has always channeled his inner Nelson Algren. His Guardians of the Galaxy franchise has always been a bit of a raccoon in sheep’s clothing. A “tragi-comedy” masquerading as a comic book franchise is no easy task.

We have followed the freaks, geeks, dumbasses, introverts, weirdos, eccentrics, and lowlifes for over a decade by walking on the MCU fair’s wild side. Yet, there has always been one thing at the heart of this franchise’s vision, and even more so in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Community.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Review and Plot Summary

Gunn’s script picks up with Quill (Chris Pratt) still reeling from losing the love of his life, Gamora (Zoë Saldaña). The rest of the team is down in the dumps with him, as they call Knowhere home.

Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) is growing into his own, his branches growing stronger by the day. Nebula still barks orders and puts people down, particularly toward Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax (a hilarious Dave Bautista). Then you have Rocket, who feels restless because the team has no direction.

That’s when the Sovereign Warrior Warlock (Will Poulter), sent by the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), arrives to capture the beloved trash panda. Why would someone who many think of as a “God” want with the ill-tempered, foul-mouthed mammal?

It turns out Rocket is one of his greatest creations and a key to building a perfect world that the galaxy has never known.

With Gunn moving on to be the Paul Feig of DC Studios (and the cast showing him a remarkable amount of loyalty), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is being billed as the final ride. And what an exciting, often hilarious, and thrilling final chapter it is.

Gunn has written a script that unifies his horror roots with a touching and, at times, moving story about family and community by exploring the origins of one of its most unlikely characters, Rocket.

This gives the third chapter unexpected depth. The ultra-cool soundtrack and eye-candy radiant cinematography by Henry Braham continuously dazzle the viewer. Still, it’s the ballad of Rocket’s beginnings that draws the viewer in and won’t let go.

Gunn layers his script with themes of absolute power and views its comic book characters through a sharp lens of intersectionality. Then, more often than not, Gunn has no trouble showing us the dark side of the human condition.

Is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Good or Bad?

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is an exciting comic book movie in an unexpectedly great trilogy. One that finally feels complete, emotional, and, strangely, at the same time, liberating.

James Gunn and the company have put a stamp on the honest-to-God wackiest and most heartfelt Marvel franchise ever.

Is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Worth Watching?

Yes, take a walk on the wild side in James Gunn’s totally rad final chapter. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is an exciting, often hilarious, and exhilarating ride. And more often than not, bittersweet.


What did you think of the MCU film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3? Comment below.

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