"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" - Film Review
The Guardians of the Galaxy have one last adventure before them in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The film picks up with the Guardians living peacefully (if unhappily) in Knowhere when they’re attacked by Warlock (Will Poulter). He has been sent by the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) to retrieve Rocket (Bradley Cooper), who was one of the High Evolutionary’s experiments. While they’re able to fend off Warlock for the moment, Rocket is seriously injured in the fight. Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Drax (Dave Bautista), and Groot (Vin Diesel), with some begrudging help from 2014-Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), vow to traverse the entire universe to save their best friend.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 falls into the same old traps of the MCU. It’s stuffed to the gills with plot, and the runtime far exceeds what is actually needed to tell the story. Speed bumps and roadblocks are tossed haphazardly at the Guardians to keep them from making it to the finale in record time. None of the stops along the journey feel essential to the main story. Sure, all action-adventure movies can be boiled down to an assortment of pit stops before the end, but the best of the genre are good at hiding that. As the age-old adage goes, they make the journey the destination. The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, journey is meandering and filled with inane bickering among the members of the Guardians. The film also shoehorns a prolonged introduction to Warlock to allow this world of the Guardians can continue on. To the film’s credit, however, the introduction is self-contained within its runtime, unlike other recent MCU fare where plot development pales in comparison to the scraps given to the audience in the mid-credits scene.
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There was something tear-jerking going on in this final installment. Not because of any warm or fuzzy feelings toward Star-Lord, but because Marvel banks the entire emotional impact of the movie on a sweet, big-eyed younger version of Rocket. The film takes an in-depth look at Rocket’s devastating backstory, where he was the subject of brutal tests in the High Evolutionary’s quest for perfection. Rocket is not alone. He has friends who are undergoing equally intense tests, and for those in the audience with animals at home with similarly large, dumb eyes, these scenes are simply devastating. But, upon reflection, the emotion experienced there is pure projection. It comes from seeing a small, sweet creature who resembles your own small, sweet creature being tortured. In the context of the film, there’s no explanation given as to why the High Evolutionary is convinced that animals hold the answer to perfection or why he craves perfection, other than the God complex all villains seem to have. It’s shoddy storytelling that only works because it goes for the cheap shot. Anyone can put a cute animal in a harrowing position and evoke emotion in their audience.
While the script falters, the production design soars. The world of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is vivid, bold, and exciting. The fight sequences are brightly lit and actually allow the audience to see the action. Slow motion is wildly overused, but a fight sequence set to Beastie Boys’ “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” is fun in the exact way a superhero movie should be. No one is asking these movies to be cinematic marvels, but they should delight in the world they create. There are some song choices that don’t work, and Rocket singing along to “Creep” is painfully on the nose, but when everything comes together, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 shines a little brighter than the rest of the MCU.
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