Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Review)

Directed by James Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 is the 3rd instalment in the heartfelt and wacky space adventures of the Guardians trilogy. In recent times, the output of Marvel Studios has taken a fairly significant dive in quality, so you may be wondering if this third instalment is a return to Marvel form…

Starring an ensemble cast, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 takes place after the events of the Christmas Special and Avengers Endgame. While you can jump into this film without having seen the first two films, the third instalment very much feels like the culmination and celebration of all of which has come before. It should also be noted that Avengers Endgame is fairly essential pre-requisite to understand the story.

Story wise, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 kicks off with a bang when a super powered Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) attacks The Guardians. The result of the fight puts Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper) on life support. From there it quickly becomes a race against time as the Guardians must traverse the galaxy in order to save their friend’s life. The adventure leads to a journey of discovery and brings them into conflict with the films megalomaniac antagonist, The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji).

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is very much is an ensemble film and shares the screen time well. It is a darker film than its predecessors and has a strong message about animal cruelty. Every character gets their moment, especially Rocket Racoon whose emotional backstory plays central to the events of the film. Bradley Cooper’s voice acting as Rocket never ceases to amaze. Chris Pratt’s charisma as a run down Star Lord is similarly great; with the actor capturing some some genuinely emotional scenes. Additionally, while certainly goofed up compared to his comic counterpart, Will Pouter’s portrayal of Adam Warlock feels earnest and likable. While Gamora (Zoe Saldana) really sells the different personality of this new version of Gamora.

Overall, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 is a step up for modern Marvel. It manages to round off the Guardians story while showing off some strong character growth in literally every character. However, while hard to pinpoint exactly why; it does feel like a lot of the Marvel magic has faded with this entry. Perhaps that’s due to recent overall brand damage after releasing a few poor movies prior or perhaps its the inclusion of course language in this instalment. Whatever the case is, this film is still a recommendation if you are a fan and are hoping this film is enjoyable, it is!

I’d Give Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3
3 Robot Arms out of 5.

Parental advisory:

Something worth mentioning is that Guardians of the Galaxy 3 continues the odd trend that started after Avengers Endgame of featuring course language in the film. There are a handful that while not gratuitous is still obvious. As well as this, there is also a face reveal at the film’s end which I would describe as graphic. So if you find either of those problematic for yourself or someone younger you may wish to take this into consideration before attending.

Because of those elements I would describe the film as being for a more mature audience than past films, 15+.