Comically Serious

Marvel has been in weird place lately, following the climactic finale that was Avengers: Endgame, critics and fans have found Marvel’s Phase 4 to be both bloated with films and tv shows, and largely directionless aside from a few gestures toward the larger “Multiverse Saga” that Phases 4 to 6 will encompass.

We are currently in Phase 5, which started with a middling entry in the form of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. It seems that aside from Spider- Man: No Way Home, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has failed to recapture the same fervor that was present pre-Endgame.

Until now. Guardians of the Galaxy was a massive risk back in 2014 as it was a property that was incredibly obscure, even to comic readers (not to mention the big sale of having a talking raccoon and a tree as main characters). But nonetheless, director James Gunn along with the stellar cast and crew managed to put something together that was a smash hit. Its sequel, also managed to stick the landing and the Guardians quickly became some of Marvel’s most successful characters.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is billed as the final film in this series and with this current iteration of the Guardians.

Without wasting any further time, let’s jump right into the plot.

Following Avengers: Endgame and the Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Special (required viewing), the Guardians have settled into a rebuilt Knowhere. They are soon attacked by a superpowered being called Adam (Will Poulter), a creation of the Sovereign from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. During this attack, Rocket (Bradley Cooper) is seriously wounded and the Guardians are unable to tend his wounds due to a kill switch embedded within him.

The Guardians now must race to save Rocket’s life by going to the headquarters of a being called the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), Rocket’s creator that is obsessed with both retrieving Rocket, and creating a perfect society.

Upfront, this movie is really good and heartfelt. This feels like an Endgame style for the Guardians with many of their character arcs coming to a close.

Performances have been strong as always, this cast has had time to grow into their roles after all. While group dynamics are largely what one can expect, there is a certain level of maturity amongst the various characters. If the first movie featured a ragtag crew of misfits coming together as they run away from their problems, this movie is about that group facing those problems, flaws and darkness head first and growing as a group and individually.

Rocket gets a significant focus as his past is directly tied into the main plot. While incapacitated due to the aforementioned injuries, we see a significant amount of flashbacks that really puts the character’s actions and disposition into perspective.

It is at this time I should mention that this movie deals with some very dark subject matter, mainly the subject of animal cruelty and experimentation. It doesn’t shy away from the brutality of this, and will likely make you despise the antagonist even more (this is by design I might add).

Speaking of said antagonist, Chukwudi Iwuji’s portrayal of the High Evolutionary might be the most vile villain in a Marvel film. Certainly Black Widow had an antagonist that was a misogynistic monster, but the High Evolutionary is like the twisted mix of Dr. Moreau and Sid from Toy Story with a Celestial-sized god complex and zero sympathy at all. I’d say its refreshing to have a no-holds-barred bad guy in a Marvel movie, but when you think about it, the Guardians have faced off against: 1. A religious zealot 2. A filicidal living planet 3. A big purple genocidal Malthusian despot So an animal torturing egomaniac is kind of familiar company.

As with previous Guardians movies, the musical choices are a combination of very well-known tracks and some more “interesting” choices (there is a freaking Vocaloid song in this movie!).

This film might be a contender for the best Guardians movie, and possibly one of the MCU’s best as well. It is a fitting finale, and a selfcontained story that puts its characters front and center with its heart on its sleeve.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 gets a 9/10.