Guardians of the Galaxy VOL 3 Review
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 begins with the gang back on the planet “Nowhere.” Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is still in a depressive funk due to the loss of Gamora (Zoe Saldana), while Rocket (Bradley Cooper) runs the show along with the rest of the Guardians. Groot (Vin Diesel), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Drax (Dave Bautista), and Nebula (Karen Gillan) seem to have found their footing on Nowhere despite Peter’s struggles with alcohol and his feelings. When Nowhere is attacked by Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) and Rocket is injured, the Guardians must pull themselves together to save him, which means diving deep into Rocket’s past to get answers.
I was invited to a IMAX screening of this film. All thoughts and opinions my own. This post contains affiliate links.
The film primarily focuses on Rocket Raccoon and Nebula. This is Rocket’s origin story, so we finally understand how he came to be and why he fights so hard against being called a raccoon. Rocket’s origin story is tough to watch, especially if you are an animal lover. This film shows a lot of animal abuse, so it may not be suitable for younger kids.
Nebula comes full circle as a member of the Guardians and a potential leader. She is still irritated with the rest of the group, and it’s funny to see her interact with her sister once again. Nebula and Gamora are some of the best characters in this series, and Nebula gets plenty of screen time and her story comes full circle in this film.
While writing this review, I realized that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 relies on emotional arcs to hold its audience captive. The lovable gang is up against a big baddie called the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), who was made for this role. He’s a brilliant and terrifying man, and anyone or anything that gets in his way of creating a perfect society gets eliminated. The High Evolutionary is a villain who indeed acts like one, with none of the cartoonish aspects portrayed in the previous films.
As a Marvel film, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is great. It has humor and action, but the gross factor is upped dramatically with shots to the head and planets made of gooey biological material. The bickering between the Guardians is a bit much, but since that’s just how they work together, it’s easy to overlook.
Director James Gunn created a film that ends on a thoughtful note, which explores what happens when people grow up and move on to discover who they truly are. Can a group of heroes who put aside their own desires for the good of the galaxy evolve into a younger and stronger group? Although this feels like the end, there is a small window that I hope will eventually answer these questions.
Note: I screened this film in IMAX and would not suggest this format. The screen was so large it was hard to follow and subsequently review most of the action so keep that in mind when you go to view.
Not surprisingly the music for the film is a fun collection of classic rock songs. The track list for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: Awesome Mix Vol. 3 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is a collection of 17 songs and is set for release on CD and Digital Download May 3. The soundtrack will also be available on 12” 2-LP vinyl on May 5 and will be followed by the cassette version on July 7. The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Original Score digital album featuring music by composer John Murphy (“The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special,” “Suicide Squad”) will be released on May 3.
