Movie Review: 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. #3'

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. #3

Directed by James Gunn

Written by James Gunn

Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Pom Klementieff, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn, Will Poulter, Vin Diesel, Chukwudi Iwuji

Release Date May 5th, 2023

Published May 3rd, 2023

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. #3 arrives at a strange time for a Marvel movie. The Marvel film universe appears, in many ways, to be in decline in relevance and popularity. The biggest stars such as Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, and Chris Evans, have left the MCU and the fan base is growing impatient with how the latest phase of this universe is unfolding. Add to that, Guardians writer-director James Gunn who has already abandoned Marvel to take over the leadership of the D.C Film Universe even as his final MCU movie is only now arriving in theaters.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. #3 is a bit of an afterthought as Gunn begins work on Superman and shapes the future of Marvel's biggest rival. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 was always intended as a coda to James Gunn's little corner of the Marvel Universe but rather than feeling like a cathartic changing of the guard in the MCU, the film feels off-brand and, well, like an afterthought. This extends to the plot where the too many cooks of the Marvel Universe tossed Gamora off of cliff with seemingly no thought as to how doing this would kneecap a pretty significant plot thread for the Guardians.

The story of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 picks up on an outpost called Knowhere. The Guardians and their allies are regrouping for their next gig saving the universe when someone brings the fight to them. Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), glimpsed in a post-credits sequence in Volume 2, comes to Knowhere with the intent of kidnapping Rocket (Bradley Cooper). He's here on the orders of the Grand High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), the man who created Rocket many years earlier.

The Guardians turn back Warlock but not before he nearly kills Rocket. The rest of the plot will center on the gang having to enact a heist to steal the plans they need to save Rocket's life. This will involve a reunion with Gamora (Zoe Saldana), now a member of The Ravagers, who has no memory of her other life as a member of the Guardians. She's a completely different person than the Gamora the Guardians knew and she angrily asserts just how much she doesn't know the family she'd had in another life. She's willing to help the Guardians out of sympathy for her sister, Nebula (Karen Gillan), but she'd rather killer Peter than listen to any of his memory of who she might have been before.

The hostility between Gamora and Peter is deeply unpleasant and while I understand the logic, it makes perfect sense, that fact doesn't make watching Gamora be a completely different and generally unpleasant character any fun to watch. The outsized cruelty and anger of Gamora softens as part of the plot but I won't be the only fan who finds her hostility more unpleasant than a realistic portrayal of who this alt-universe character really would be. It's a personal preference, I just wish they'd found another, more entertaining way to communicate how this Gamora differs from the original Gamora.

That said, there is still plenty of fun to be found in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Both Karen Gillan and Pom Klementieff take big steps forward in this adventure. Gillan has done understated work to bring new positive qualities to Nebula. Over the course of three movies, Nebula has shown the most organic growth while remaining true to the awkward, deeply traumatized character who began as a dangerous antagonist and is now a permanent member of the Guardians family dynamic.

As for Mantis, Klementieff continues to be a comedic highlight while also mixing in moments of graceful compassion that go beyond her comic relief status. Mantis has a lovely moment with Nebula and Drax that may appear to be deeply problematic but, be patient, the moment pays off and we see Mantis learn and grow. Klementieff is still the least well known of this group of actors but, as she shows here, she's got the talent and presence to become as big of a star as anyone in this cast over time.

As for Chris Pratt's Peter Quill/Star Lord, he's been side swiped by the death of Gamora. Much of the growth and maturity that Pratt's Quill brought forward in Volume 2 has been wiped away by the loss of his love interest. In its place, Quill is mopey and a great deal less funny than in the previous films. That said, he does bring a great deal of emotional depth and sincerity to his scenes with the seemingly dying Rocket and the broad emotionality that Pratt brings to these scenes is genuinely moving. Star Lord is very much a mixed bag of a character in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and mostly, he's just not the fun loving, adventurous Peter we fell in love with. Forced to wrestle with Gamora's death, his downshift to a mopey goof feels like a sad compromise forced onto this character by what happened in the other Marvel movies and not an organic outgrowth of his Guardians story.

I do recommend Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 but it is a slightly muted recommendation. Where I adored Volume 2, I felt Volume 3 was a step down from that high. Volume 2 deftly mixed adventure, humor and emotion, especially in that powerhouse ending that brought tears from even the most hardened Marvel fan. Volume 3 has similar emotional stakes in learning the backstory of Bradley Cooper's Rocket, but it lacks the sense of fun and wonder that has been what made the Guardians different from the rest of the Marvel Universe. That said, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 is still better than most other massive blockbusters and it's a step above Marvel's last outing, the disappointing Quantumania.

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