Film Review – Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol.3 (2023)

There’s a lot to unpack with the third instalment in the hugely successful Guardians of the Galaxy series – in story, scope, characters, and more, but let’s begin by saying about it by saying, in a spoiler-free way, that it might, or might not, be worth bringing some tissues with you. That isn’t to say that the film doesn’t have all the zaniness of its predecessors, but Vol.3 is, for all intents and purposes, the last crusade with our mismatched yet totally meant for each other group of guardians. It almost never happened, of course, but thankfully it did and it’s hugely sad to say goodbye to what has been the most consistent trilogy amongst the MCU offerings.

Much has changed since we last saw the Guardians together in their own adventures: in 2017, Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) discovered his father was a planet, swiftly followed by the rise of Thanos and his obsession with Infinity Stones that led the death of Gamora, Star-Lord’s “anger” (yes, they mention it) and The Great Blip. Some time-travel shenanigans through the Quantum Realm later and they have all been reunited and their quest to protect the galaxy has continued. Timely, too, as they are presented with two new foes: the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), a sinister genetic biologist whose work across the galaxy is directly linked to Rocket’s (Bradley Cooper) mysterious origins; and Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), a cosmic entity unleashed by the Sovereign race leader Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) as revenge for the Guardians killing much of her brethren.

And, just like that, off we go again, hurtling through the galaxy through a plethora of strange characters and wonderful new worlds as our intrepid Guardians try desperately to find a way to save Rocket, whose origins are front and centre here with Gunn always suggesting that it was his story was the real backbone of the film and, thus, we need to be prepared to have the heartstrings pulled in this one. That isn’t to say that the final adventure is a downbeat one, far from it, but there certainly is a small step into more heartfelt territory here, more so than the previous two films anyhow, but you can also see why Gunn and co have charted such a course. There are plenty of jokes and fun bickering between the misfits as ever but in its overly expansive runtime, it does grate a little more than normal and the whole film feels bloated and suffers from a little too much indulgence when less perhaps might have been more.

It does, however, have its usual visual panache to fall back on and the film is a real treat for the eyes, whether the kaleidoscopic worlds visited or some extraordinary new characters whose designs are sensational, there isn’t a wasted moment on the screen, showcasing Gunn’s unique direction and his infectious love for the material. Performances, too, are uniformly good – Gillan and Klementieff, especially, relishing having more to do – but it’s the newer recruits who shine brightest, from Maria Bakalova‘s Cosmo The Spacedog to Poulter‘s Warlock, as well as Iwuji‘s sensational turn as the film’s big bad who is arguably the most compelling and formidable one of the MCU for some time.

And then there’s Rocket, the angry yet adorable raccoon dead centre of the film’s heart and soul whose moment in the sun is as brilliant as you’d have hoped for, and thanks to some wondrous animation, he and his furry friends of his earlier days, bring some of the most poignant and beautiful moments in the franchise’s history. Initially, it seemed that Guardians of the Galaxy was the biggest risk in the first few years of Marvel’s dominance. Now, almost ten years later, we can’t imagine a world without them, and we can’t thank them – and Gunn – enough for rescuing the meandering Phase 5. More like this, please.

★★★ 1/2

Superhero, Action | 2023 | Marvel Studios | In Cinemas May 3rd | Dir: James Gunn | Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Wil Poulter, Sean Gunn, Elizabeth Debicki, Sylvester Stallone, Maria Bakalova