Director James Gunn does not hold back and delivers one heck of an emotional rollercoaster for the Guardians’ final outing.
Still reeling from the loss of Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) must rally his team to defend the universe and protect one of their own. If the mission is not entirely successful, it could lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.
The movie is loaded with so much goodness, it’s hard to pick apart much of anything. There were strong underlying ties that pick apart most characters, which helps address and develop them in a classy but fun way that will keep audiences hooked. It wrapped itself up in comedy and other quirks but never lost sight of the goals or focus of a character plot. And then you add in a fantastic set of climaxes, which utilizes old and new and handles it with such grace and yet crude fun. James Gunn was able to keep things mixed up and constantly engage with the direction and writing to tie so much into a rather strong narrative that stray away from the main adjective.
The Guardian franchise is always known for its music and again succeeds in picking a track list to fill the movie with. The movie is of course a homage to some of the most recognizable and fun songs, with a variety that works to keep things fun.
The special effects in this film show just how realistic you can make these make-believe worlds come to life and look so good and polished. Guardians take this wonderful blend of real-life tricks with computers and offer you the best of both worlds. It’s beautiful and adds that balance that will help age the movie well. The action moments are gorgeous and are captured to the point of getting the whole shot in the best light and not losing too much in all the chaos.
It’s been a while since I’ve been moved by a Marvel movie, the last being Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but this movie did it well. Tears were shed and the movie hit so hard watching things unfold and the relative plots come to life with characters we love. This film had a lot of deep topics, but never to the point of losing the pace and adventure timing it to make the most opportune moments to share and then bringing it to the full moment putting the resolution in the story. There was so much depth and the comedy definitely helped to relieve things without ever losing touch with that core character.
This film is not focused on just one character like most films often try to do. They use all the characters’ extraordinary well, balancing them all to give the means of inclusion in the movie. Star-Lords has an arc, Gamora, Drax, and Rocket all have these deep stories that dive further into the characters than we have previously seen, each story not trying to overshadow for time but rather finding the right amounts of time to be shared. They don’t bleed into each other but mix into such a blend that you get the full effects and don’t miss anything.
Overall, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 was Gunn’s love letter to the franchise, and he executed things very well showing that comic book movies still have some potential. It’s fun, funny, exciting, and just full of the things audiences come to the movies for and escaping the madness of the modern day. But, that doesn’t mean it has lost the real factor that comes with the MCU and makes for a deeper film that respected the characters that were created, and the stories that were made and dive further into them to make such a spectacle. Enjoyed the balance in it and the way they got the Galaxy running again. Sure, it is going to be debatable on the violence, graphicness, and darker tones and there is always some fine-tuning that needs to be done, but with the current state of the MCU, it shined and is worth a trip to the theater.
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 is now playing in theaters.
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