Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Scott Hardie: “It ruled.”

Once you accept that this movie should have come out two years earlier -- the whole stupid situation with Disney's temporary firing of James Gunn, and him making The Suicide Squad in the meantime, cost Marvel a lot of momentum -- it feels very much like a satisfying culmination of the Guardians' saga through two of their own films and two Avengers titles. (Their holiday special was a minor lark that nevertheless gets a few callbacks here. The same can't be said for their pointless crossover appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder.) Each character here develops in unpredictable ways, with a strong sense that their adventures together have changed them. If this is indeed to be their last film together, as long portended by Dave Bautista and Zoe Saldaña's loud protests about ever working for Disney again, then a sense of people changing and life moving on is a good way to go out.

The characters aren't the only ones doing some growing, as the film itself has a broader emotional range than its predecessors. Those earlier movies were mostly lighthearted affairs that possessed hints of darkness and sadness, particularly in the characters' backstories, without dwelling on them. This film isn't afraid to plunge into the depths, and it's all the better for it, if occasionally hard to watch. I can't remember any previous Marvel movie making me cry this hard; Bradley Cooper's vocal performance during Rocket's tearful apology, assisted by John Murphy's score, really got to me. Also good was the scene where Rocket makes a realization and decision about the creatures in cages, the culmination of his series-long arc. James Gunn has often said that Rocket is the actual main character of the series no matter who gets top billing or most screen time, and that feeling is stronger here than ever.

I see a lot of parallels with last fall's triumphant Wakanda Forever. Both films were excellent all around, their only weak points being the time-wasting introduction of a new character who serves little thematic purpose and feels included merely to set up some later title (Riri Williams there, Adam Warlock here). They also spend time exploring the back bench and discover more psychological complexity among former supporting characters than the traditional leads had. But most of all, they prove that Marvel still has considerable power left in its stories and characters after so very many movies, and that the studio has become interested in telling much more complex, emotionally rich stories than the cookie-cutter superhero origins that were once its primary focus.

− June 6, 2023 • more by Scott • log in or create an account to reply

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Erik Bates: “It ruled.”

An amazing way to tie a bow on the Guardians as a movie franchise. I know we'll see the individual characters again in other films (they're too good not to), but if we ever see another Guardians movie again, I'd be surprised.

I particularly liked the backstory/redemption arc of Rocket.

− November 6, 2023 • more by Erik • log in or create an account to reply

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