Final Guardians of the Galaxy Flick Might Go Too Dark For Some

Below is the spoiler-free review of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 revealing little beyond what you will have seen in the trailers, and nothing important.

The Guardians of the Galaxy movies have always been my safe harbor in the MCU. The deft mixture of comedy and heart has always made me like the team. The stakes of their movies have always seemed lower and more manageable and the lush universe they exist in has created some tasty visuals. Their dynamic has changed between movies but it’s always felt on the authentic side of the Marvel spectrum.

The last two films have really been about the team and their growth and friendship. They usually center on Peter Quill, AKA Star Lord. This film centers on Rocket, a genetically modified creature voiced by Bradley Cooper. The Guardians are setting up their headquarters on Knowhere. The team is working together and making themselves a new home and Peter Quill is drinking away the pain of losing Gamora. 

This sequence is used to reintroduce us to the team, and our cast has grown a lot. We have Drax, Groot, Quill, Rocket, Nebula, Mantis. Also on the team now are Kraglin, and Cosmo the space dog who is Russian, telekinetic and can talk (as was loosely established in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+). 

Within the first ten minutes Adam Warlock literally smashes into the movie and all hell breaks loose.

Let me talk about the things I liked before I get into some of the things I didn’t — and there’s a lot of both. It was really nice to see the team again — Drax and Nebula I feel especially popped throughout this film. The soundtrack of this film is also excellent — the addition of the 2000s music was a nice twist. The performances are really solid as well. The aesthetics were also very bright and fun, often looking like a 60s/70s comic coming to life. The flashbacks Rocket experiences are harrowing and we learn very much about him through them. 

That said, a lot of the jokes in this film feel more mean spirited than previous installments. There is an extended set piece that boils down to “women can’t drive.” One of the running jokes is Mantis getting hurt the same way multiple times (a joke that rubbed me the wrong way when a similar one was present in Guardians Volume 2). The film doesn’t seem to trust the audience to understand tone so it fairly aggressively telegraphs how the audience should feel instead of trusting them to feel it out on their own. The film was also really inconsistently mixed, which may have been a theater specific problem, but the action sequences were often so long and so loud I missed dialog in quieter moments due to my ears ringing. And there’s a lot of long action sequences. 

With an hour left I checked my watch assuming we must be almost out of there. Imagine my disappointment in being so disappointed. 

There’s also a ton of vivisection and body horror in this joint — if that bothers you I might advise sitting this out. There’s also animal cruelty coming out of every pore of this thing. While the film condemns it, it can feel suffocating at times. 

I give Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Marvel Studios; PG-13; 2hrs 30mins) a 3 out of 5.

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