Film Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Director: James Gunn
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista
Running time: 150 minutes 

Back in 2014, James Gunn and his Guardians of the Galaxy had a free hit. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was already in full flow and had picked up a global following, so there was no pressure to kickstart a franchise. Beloved characters like Captain America and Iron Man were household names, so there was no pressure to sell toys and merchandise. And no one really expected anything special from a talking tree and a gun-wielding raccoon, so there was no pressure to even conjure a quality movie. Anticipation levels were minimal, and it worked in Gunn’s favour - with the director feeling free to craft a completely original, completely insane adventure in the depths of space with his gonzo gang of misfits. 

All these years later, though, and this bunch of A-holes have a lot more weight on their shoulders. Marvel are in a bit of a rut, it’s safe to say, with their last few films taking a hit from critics and audiences alike. It took something of a miracle for Gunn to even get here, after his debacle with Disney over old jokes he told on Twitter. For many, this film needed to be good; it needed to deliver. But, does it? 

Well, this trilogy-ending tale - which follows the Guardians as they try to find a cure for Rocket after he takes a, well, blast to the chest early doors - does deliver: an overly-sentimental, overly-long and, at times, overly-silly trip to the cinema. Yet, Thanos be damned, it still delivers a winning result too. In what has been dubbed as the gang’s final outing, there is real emotion, there are real laughs, and there is a real good time to be had. It is, without a doubt, Marvel’s biggest success for a long time. 

A major reason for this, it must be said, is not the Guardians themselves - but rather the foe they’re facing. As The High Evolutionary, a super-powered entity hell-bent on creating a ‘perfect society’, Chukwudi Iwuji is delightfully maniacal, feeling almost Shakespearian in his theatrical line delivery and commitment to personifying the very concept of evil. It’s well-documented that Marvel has been hit-and-miss with its villains over the years, but Iwuji shatters that mould, stealing the show whenever he screams his way onto the screen.

So much credit goes to his performance because he sets the stakes for our team of Guardians as a whole, and particularly for our one struggling defender of the galaxy. As the film dives into the brutal backstory of everybody’s favourite space raccoon, the audience is taken on a tear-jerking - if slightly by-the-numbers - exploration of how Rocket, the jaded, self-obsessed criminal turned principled protector of the unprotected, came to be. Gunn refuses to hold back here, and the final act pay-off hits home even harder as a result. To quote famed Letterboxd user ‘tyler’, “A CGI raccoon just made me bawl my eyes out.” That pretty much sums it up. 

While Vol. 3 does arguably have one subplot too many, needlessly dragging the movie towards the 150-minute mark, this is a much more focused, streamlined story than Vol. 2. Each character is in fine form - including Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, who feels like he’s found his mojo again - and the film is testament to the emotional rollercoaster you can strap a viewer into when you take time to properly lay the groundwork for those on screen. There’s a connection to this gang that has been carefully established over the course of a decade, and you’re fully immersed in their fate as a result. 

Also, the humour is - some painfully immature poo jokes aside - pretty enjoyable too, with Pom Klementieff once again showing why she’s been such a ridiculously good addition to the team. 

So, yes, if you’re wondering, the MCU is back on form, to provide an on-the-nose concluding note. James Gunn, as his final present to his former overlords before he fully focuses his efforts on direct rivals DC, has produced a fantastic, if flawed, film that is bound to reignite an interest in this universe for plenty of people. The pressure’s on Kevin Feige and co to make the most of it. Your move, Marvel. 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now showing at Arc Cinema