Directed By James Gunn

Starring – Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista

The Plot – Still reeling from the loss of Gamora (Saldana), Peter Quill (Pratt) rallies his team to defend the universe and one of their own; a mission that could mean the end of the Guardians if not successful.

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, strong adult language, suggestive/drug references and thematic elements

Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 | New Trailer – YouTube

POSITIVES

In Volume 3, I was expecting a fitting ending to the MCU’s first family, but I wasn’t expecting the most emotionally balanced installment to the entire cinematic landscape since “Avengers: Endgame”. This is a refreshing change of pace for a majority of MCU installments that have since tried so desparately to emulate that Guardians formula, and often failed, but here the elements of humor and heart are expressed so effortlessly in the many nourishing dynamics of the ever-expanding group, with the sharpness of both contrasting sides effectively generating a roller-coaster of emotions from within its audience, without one overwhelming the integrity of the other. One could certainly consider this the James Gunn effect, who has supplanted an air of consistency to the franchise that other superhero narratives simply aren’t afforded, but for my money the decision to supplant Rocket Raccoon at the forefront of the narrative is most responsible for this benefit, in turn fleshing out a menacingly dark and megalomaniac of an antagonist who feels like the ethical embodiment of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and even Tiger King for his morally shallow resorting to abusing the many animals that he views as nothing more than trial by error experiments. Chukwidi Iwuji hands in a devilishly scintillating and audacious turn that doesn’t always require elevated vocal range to hammer home his intimidating factor, but one that Iwuji is happily obliged to, carrying with him a mental captivity over Rocket that leads the backstory of our furry protagonist’s narrative down some darkly devastating corridors that especially makes this installment a very personal one for his friends and the audience alike. Aside from themes, the film is blessed once more with a radiance of color and fantastical ambition as a result of some much thoroughly rendered green-screen backdrops and computer-generated special effects than February “Quantummania”. Not everything is perfect in eluding the artificiality of post-production influence, but in particular the expressive features of Rocket’s facial registries enrich a connective tissue to the audience invested in the plight of the character, and when combined with some fun and boldly decorated presentations within the movie’s many intense action sequences, proves why this galactic space opera is so easy to not only get lost in, but also explore. Speaking of space opera, Volume 3 is another toe-tapping addition to a franchise already blessed with so much energetically infectious music choices, but none more expansive than what adorns the year’s best soundtrack to date. As to where the first two films remained dedicated to a particular decade, Volume 3 transcends space as well as time with an eclectic collection of wide-range favorites, each adding something not only emotionally conductive to the scenes and sequences they rhythmically accommodate, but also artistic merit in the depths of channeling a scenic serenity that I could stare at for hours, with the tracks eliciting a spellbinding sentiment over the audience that makes me literally want to get up and dance. Lastly, the charming advancements of the growing ensemble are most endearing to the cause, but once more it is the comedic timing of Dave Bautista, the humanity of Chris Pratt, and the unfiltered angst of Karen Gillian that is most prominently displayed, allowing each of them ample time to shine, while further outlining the sentiment that this has and always will be an ensemble-driven franchise, where no one man or woman stands above the rest.

NEGATIVES

Not every decision is executed to perfection, with a few key problems keeping Volume 3 from succeeding “Spider-Man: No Way Home” as the best MCU installment since “Avengers: Endgame”. Firstly, at two-and-a-half hours, the film is definitely too long, with so much along the way that could easily be trimmed or removed all together to maintain the urgency of the narrative that falls a bit flat the longer the film persists. Perhaps the problem isn’t so much the run time as the overloaded emphasis of the screenplay, with what feels like as many as three films of material shoe-horned into a single solitary installment, with cluttered chaos sometimes underutilizing certain arcs like Peter’s aching heart for losing “His” Gamora, or the addition of comic-favorite character, Adam Warlock, ignored all together. In Warlock’s case, he’s the latest character to be treated as comic relief, and while that isn’t necessarily a bad thing in a franchise that does humor better than any other one in the MCU, to use it on this character not only defaces the rich history of his character, but also wastes away the necessity of his character, which has been teased on-screen for nearly eight years by this point. In addition to bloated surroundings, the climax itself felt a little underwhelming to me, with the pay-off against The High Evolutionary not quite reaching the kind of poetic justice he deserved in everything we’ve learned about him. For my money, too much imagination is required with an off-screen resolution that we don’t actually get to experience, and considering this is a film that boldly expresses itself with some visceral gore and the MCU’s first F-bomb, why skimp on the Evolutionary having to eventually pay the piper? Beyond this, some major inconsistencies in logic occasionally broke my investment during a few key scenes, making it difficult to overlook what I was asked to buy. This won’t be a problem to most people, but one scene involves Warlock smashing through a spaceship in outer space, with no wind, breathing issues or even freezing temperatures overwhelming the Guardians. The last instance is then further echoed in a later scene, where a character floating in orbit nearly freezes to death, but the characters aboard a ship, and also out in orbit, don’t, even though they’re standing maybe forty feet away from the character. I understand that these are comic book movies, but it’s the inconsistency of rules and logic that Gunn himself illustrates that he can’t even follow, in turn directly undercutting the stakes in circumstances of environmental elements, which create their own stacked conflicts to what our characters are previously facing.

OVERALL
“Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3” is a warly nourishing last mission for the MCU’s much-loved maniacal misfits, even if the overlong run time and bloated screenplay keep it from being atop the post-Endgame ranking of films that haven’t quite found the same momentum. Like a family, the film’s emotional spectrum can range anywhere from sweetly sentimental, devastatingly dark, or even candidly cruel, with Gunn’s naturalism across nine years of filmmaking being the pressure that molds a diamond, before he, like his colorful cast of characters shuffles off into the forever.

My Grade: 7/10 or B