Review written by Christian Garcia
CG Reviews takes one last trip across the galaxy as today we review Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3!!
How does James Gunn's final Guardians film hold up? Do the Guardians go out in a blaze of glory? or do they go out on a whimper?
Let's take a look at Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3!!
And given that this film has just recently released, I will go ahead and put a big SPOILER WARNING!!!
The Guardians' Journey:
Since the events of Endgame, the Guardians have set up their new headquarters on Knowhere. Peter Quill is still struggling with Gamora's disappearance and copes by drinking. His newly discovered sister, Mantis tries to help him and tells him to stop running from his pain, even reminding him of his grandfather who may still be alive.
They get an unexpected and unwanted visit from Adam Warlock who intends to capture Rocket. The conflict results in Rocket being critically wounded and the Guardians set out on a journey to save his life.
During their trip, they run into Gamora who has now joined up with the Ravengers. After a plan goes awry, Gamora is unwillingly reunited with the rest of the team. Quill tries to reconcile and jog Gamora's memory constanlty only to be shut down.
Compared to the previous film, they chose to keep it simple this go-around and give the Guardians the same tangible goal of wanting to save Rocket's life. The real meat of the story is Rocket's backstory which is the real hero's journey of this film.
Rocket's Journey
In a series of flashbacks, the film dives into Rocket's backstory from where we witness his time being experimented on and tortured by the High Evolutionary. During his time in captivity, he befriended the High Evolutionary's other experiments: Lylla, an otter, Teefs, a walrus, and a rabbit named Floor.
These scenes are the most heartwarming part of the film as we see the scared young Rocket find solace and comfort in his friends. Over time, Rocket's intelligence begins to impress the High Evolutionary and he even helps him figure out a fault in his experiments. Rocket and his friends are excited to see the new Counter-Earth and they vow to stay friends in the new world.
However, the good times don't last as after taking Rocket's advice and perfecting his experiments, the High Evolutionary reveals that Rocket and his friends will not be going to Counter-Earth and orders to have Rocket's brain extracted for study and for his friends to be executed. Rocket attempts to break his friends out and escape but after getting Lylla out, the High Evolutionary kills her and the rest of his friends. Heartbroken over her loss Rocket attacks the High Evolutionary and claws his face to pieces before finally escaping alone.
Since the first Guardians film, Rocket has always been a very angry and bitter individual and pushed people away. After learning what happened to his friends, we understand why. Blaming himself for his failure to save them, he closed himself off from relationships until he met Groot and the rest of the Guardians later.
After he is revived, Rocket rejoins his Guardians family and they take on the High Evolutionary's army. After rescuing the children, Rocket noticed there were still many captive animals left on the ships. After discovering a crate of little raccoons, he decides to rescue them and the rest of the animals so they never have to endure what he and his friends did.
Going to give another SPOILER WARNING even though this part is the worst kept secret of the film given most of the films actors have already spoken about how this was their final film...
After the final battle, the Guardians reflect on their new goals they each want and decide to all go their seperate ways.
Quill decides to return to Earth to find his grandfather and reconcile.
Mantis decides to go out on her own and figure out who she is and what she really wants.
Nebula and Drax choose to help raise the rescued children on Knowhere.
Gamora returns to the Ravengers.
Rocket is made the new leader of the Guardians and assembles a new team consisting of himself, Groot, Cosmo, Kraglin, Adam Warlock, Adam's pet, Blurp, and one of the rescued children named Phyla.
After an emotional and final journey together, the Guardians of the Galaxy have grown from the lone misfits longing for purpose to matured individuals who have now found their own purposes. While it is bittersweet to see the group go their seperate ways, in terms of the characters' growth, it does make the most sense for them and who knows if/when we will see them again....
Although.....the post credit scene shows Quill with his grandfather and then afterwards the screen said that Starlord Will Return. So it looks like Peter Quill's journey is not over just yet...
The Film's Pros:
Rocket's Backstory
A majority of the film's focus is on Rocket's backstory revealing his tragic past. These scenes are the most emotional and easily the highlight of the entire film. The opening shot of a baby Rocket and the other baby raccoons is already enough to bring a tear to your eye, and it only gets worse from there. My girlfriend was in tears and need of tissues by the film's end.
The standout performance from these segments is that of Linda Cardellini as Lylla. I have been a big fan of Cardellini's work as she brings a charming, calming, nurturing, and gentle presence. Having recently watched her work on the series Dead To Me, it is easy to compare her performance as Lylla to her character Judy Hale in terms of being a gentle and calming presence to those around her. When Baby Rocket gets thrown into his cage, and we see the look of fear on his face, hearing her voice telling him it's okay was the perfect voice to hear. His relationship with her and the rest of his friends is very heartwarming and heartbreaking to watch, especially when we learn about their fates.
Getting into spoiler territory here, but the emotional climax of the film shows Rocket clinging to life and he sees Lylla again and is ready to "join them in the sky." This moment had my girlfriend balling with tears running down her face. When Lylla tells him it is not his time yet, my girlfriend lost it.
The first film alluded to Rocket's past being traumatic and scarring and now getting to see it for ourselves, we walk away having more of an understanding of him as a character and we root for him more knowing what he has endured and overcome. This added so much more depth to a character that at first glance one would laugh at the thought of. Given that Rocket becomes the new leader of the Guardians upon the film's end, it makes sense that this film focused on giving him more depth and I am looking forward to seeing how he does as the leader in future films.
Rocket's journey encapsulates what the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise is as a whole, a perfect case of don't judge a book by its cover and once you dig deeper, there is much more than what meets the eye.
Chooses to be a Guardians film first, and an MCU film second
The recent Phase of Marvel has been criticized for being too formulaic and tired. Films like Multiverse of Madness and Wakanda Forever were outliers for me that felt like they were their own unique experiences and Guardians 3 is another outlier. This film's greatest strength is that it knows to be a Guardians of the Galaxy film first, and an MCU film second. This film has all the ingredients needed for a Guardians film which include comedy, action, and a fantastic soundtrack to boot.
The film doesn't feel like another Marvel film to set up another piece of the Multiverse Saga and is instead the final piece of the Guardians trilogy. I mentioned before that the Rocket backstory segments of the film packed the core emotional moments, the rest of the film packs the humor and action that the Guardians are known for. Where Thor: Love and Thunder failed to balance out its comedy and let it get in the way of its story, Guardians 3 prevails in mixing its signature brand of comedy with its heavy emotional moments to create a full experience that will leave you in tears of laughter, sadness, and joy.
The soundtrack for this film was fantastic with each song blending perfectly with the scenes from the opening acoustic version of Radiohead's "Creep" to "Dog Days Are Over" by Florence and the Machine topping off the film's final scene. And of course, the final battle scene's track choice of "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" fits perfectly and is one of the most unique and visually captivating battle scenes that I have seen in a Marvel film in quite some time. Once again, James Gunn's soundtrack choices payoff and further add to the film experience.
In my reviews of the first two films, I mentioned that the biggest strength of the films was the excellent ensemble cast and their chemistry and that is once again the case with this film. By this point, the Guardians have been around each other for almost 10 years and you can feel that in their interactions. They have gone from that group of misfits into a family and you feel their connection. My personal favorite is the relationship between Mantis and Drax as their chemistry is undeniable and they are always a joy to watch work off one another. The cast brought their A-game again and put in great performances for their last go around.
The first film established the misfits, the second film further grew them as characters, and the final installment brings them full circle. The characters feel fully grown and fully realized and this film serves as a great final chapter in their story. James Gunn made it known that this would be the final Guardians film with him in the director's chair, and he sent them out on a high note.
The Film's Cons:
Animal cruelty may be too much for some viewers
As much as I have praised the Rocket flashback moments, I would be remiss to not mention that these scenes can be hard to watch especially if you are an animal lover. I remember even seeing IGN post a warning about it on their Instagram page and me and my girlfriend were still not prepared for what we saw. It is not graphic or offensive in nature but the villain does too great a job of being cruel to Rocket and his animal friends and for someone who loves animals, it hurts the heart to watch.
While I will praise that garnering such a reaction from the audience is a great way to get their investment, I do see it as potentially being too much for some viewers and may hurt their enjoyment of the film. I can even see it making this film tough to go back to for some. My girlfriend even made a comment about wanting to see the film again but also not knowing if she could handle reliving those scenes. For me, this doesn't hurt the film for me, and is not even the most egregious form of animal cruelty that I have seen. I believe the scenes are necessary because in order to really feel what Rocket endured, the best way to do so is by sitting through them. I am the type of moviegoer who will literally shut a movie off if any harm comes to an innocent animal no matter how invested I am. This film had me too invested for me to tune out and the same for my girlfriend although she made sure to cover her eyes during these scenes.
While I do not believe that these scenes hurt the film nor did they hurt my personal experience of it, they can potentially ruin the film for someone who may be more sensitive to it and it is something to take into consideration before checking this film out. My personal advice would be that if you know you can't handle it, still see the film but cover your eyes and try to push through. Thankfully you do not see too much and they are not sudden so you will have time to realize what is coming and prepare yourself and/or shield your eyes. But if they are too much for you and you can't push through, it is understandable.
Most feedback I have heard is that while these scenes are tough to get through they were not movie ruining. So proceed with caution and have a box of tissues nearby.
Final Thoughts:
For the final film of the Guardians trilogy, Guardians Vol. 3 sends our favorite group of misfits out on the highest of notes. We get to see the Guardians be the Guardians one last time in an experience that packs comedy, action, and a lot of emotion and it balanced it perfectly.
Where a film like Thor: Love and Thunder failed to find that balance and let the comedy get in the way of the story, Guardians 3 was able fit the comedic and emotional moments in just the right spots. James Gunn chose to focus on telling a good final story for the Guardians of the Galaxy rather than make another piece to fit in the expanded universe. While some may still be frustrated that the MCU's overall story is still unraveling at a snail's pace, I applaud James Gunn's choice to tell a self-contained big story rather than a small piece of a bigger story.
This was the first Marvel film since No Way Home where I felt like I was being taken on an emotional ride that had everything from spectacle to humor to being brought to tears. I hope that future marvel films learn from this one as it shows you can still create an interesting story just to tell an interesting story.
For what is the final chapter in the story of a group of underdogs in a franchise that was also an underdog, Guardians Vol. 3 is a great film to close out the James Gunn trilogy and one that I highly recommend. If you feel that the Marvel films of late have lacked that big feel and full experience, this film will remind you of that feeling.