Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 - Review: The Best Marvel Has Been In Almost a Decade

 

While James Gunn (“The Suicide Squad,” “Super”) is not the first director in the MCU to handle his own entire trilogy, both Peyton Reed and Jon Watts got to do that first, he certainly is the first person to deliver a thoroughly satisfying and emotionally sound throughline for his characters. Because more than any others in the MCU, these are characters that really feel like they belong to Gunn. He's built our love of them up over the previous two films and now we get to send them off on a farewell tour that ends up being a fantastic swan-song. It's the best of the three films, due in no small part to Gunn's evolving emotional honesty, killer technical ability, and gorgeous visual style.

Like the previous two films, this one follows the Guardians, now consisting of Peter Quill/Starlord, played by Chris Pratt (“Parks and Recreation,” “The LEGO Movie”), Nebula, played by Karen Gillan (“Doctor Who,” “Dual”), Drax, played by Dave Bautista (“Knock at the Cabin,” “Glass Onion”), Rocket, played by Bradley Cooper (“The Hangover,” “A Star is Born (2018)”), Mantis, played by Pom Klementieff (“Oldboy (2013),” “Ingrid Goes West”), Kraglin, played by Sean Gunn (“Gilmore Girls,” “The Suicide Squad”), and Groot, played by Vin Diesel (“Fast Five,” “The Iron Giant”), as they team up with an alternate universe Gamora, played by Zoe Saldaña (“Avatar,” “Star Trek (2009)”), to face the High Evolutionary, played by Chukwudi Iwuji (“Peacemaker,” “The Split”), a scientist seeking to make a perfect species.

There is one major thing to make note of before going into this: Vol. 3 is the darkest MCU film by a large margin. If you’re overly sensitive to animal testing and mutations, you should probably wait until the home release for this one. But that darkness isn’t there just for set-dressing, its integral to the arcs present in this adventure. Without it, the threats on our heroes don’t feel as real or impactful, and likewise it doesn’t land as darkly as it does if we don’t already care about this crew.

Because that’s what Gunn does best in his films: he knows that if he puts his group through hell, it doesn’t land if we don’t care about what’s happening to them and we won’t care about what’s happening to them if we don’t care about them. So therefore, everything needs to be in service of building those characters through the story instead of to serve it. And that’s where Gunn excels, as this ends up being an extremely emotional two-and-a-half-hour-long adventure because he excels in building that.

It isn't perfect, with that length there’s certainly some elements that aren’t pulled off flawlessly. Adam Warlock, played by Will Poulter (“Midsommar,” “Dopesick”), for example, isn’t utilized as much as some might have expected, but he’s still excellent when he does appear and it certainly doesn’t feel like Gunn forgot about him while writing the film. The same goes for Cosmo the Space Dog, voiced by Maria Bakalova (“Bodies Bodies Bodies,” “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”) and her adventures with Kraglin.

Each cast member is expectedly excellent, but the true star of the show this time around is Rocket, and Cooper is delivering some of his finest work here. Despite only providing his voice, Cooper clearly loves this character and is able to provide him with a sense of soul that few other vocal performances can. Gillan also turns in her best work of the trilogy, and everyone just seems to be firing on all cylinders to deliver the kind of third act emotions that typically come out of a “last ride” like this one. Pratt is also unexpectedly good, tapping into a compelling desperation that we haven’t seen Quill go through yet. Gunn and the Guardians’ trademark humor hasn’t been forgotten either, and it’s not overshadowed by the grimness either. Rather, both complement each other without ever overwhelming the other, because of course these people would crack jokes in moments of terror.

Gunn continues to craft one of the most beautiful films, not just in the MCU, but of any movie out today. Not only are the visual effects nearly flawless, with nary a green screen wiggle in sight, but the use of color and the cinematography from Henry Braham (“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” “The Suicide Squad”) are nearly flawless. It’s the sort of movie that makes you lean back and say ‘wow’ at what’s happening onscreen. It’s not just how things look through the camera either, as the creativity of this corner of the galaxy is exceptional. For example, one location that could have easily been a metallic space station or factory ends up being an environment made almost entirely of flesh, a stylistic decision that not only influences the costumes and technology within the location, but also makes it far more memorable and beautiful than it otherwise would have been. There’s no plot reason for it to be like this, it’s a complete stylistic decision that pays off in droves.

The action also deserves praise, and despite this being a far more emotionally driven film, there are still plenty of whiz-bang moments of action. It’s choreographed beautifully, and there are sequences with brightly lit backgrounds and white environments that almost feel like Gunn consciously chose them to showcase the expert chorography and effects instead of hiding behind dark shadows and dimly lit arenas.

Even the film’s length isn’t entirely an issue, as it takes full advantage of it, making this an adventure that doesn’t feel overstuffed or meandering, but just as long as it needs to be given what’s going on. It earns the length, and while it doesn’t feel shorter than it is, it would be a shame to have this last adventure with this gang of misfits be any less than it wants to be.

While there have been bright spots in the MCU since the release of “Endgame”, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is the first time in a long time that it’s succeeded on virtually every front. This is an emotionally charged, dark as hell, gorgeous rollercoaster of an adventure, that fully cements the reasons we love this group and why Gunn is one of the best to ever take on a superhero film. It’s easily one of the best in the series and a thrilling swan-song for this bunch of A-holes. 5/5