Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. Review – An Emotional Curtain Call

The Guardians of the Galaxy Soar High in their Final Outing

Though it took six long years (and a tumultuous fall out and reconciliation after old tweets resurfaced), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is here.  The verdict?  Put simply, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 stands alongside No Way Home as one of the best post-Endgame films of the MCU.  Taking a darker approach, this story focuses more on Rocket Raccoon, exploring his origin and tying that into one of the most deplorable villains of the MCU.  Said premise allows each member of the Guardians to shine, and provide an emotional, yet heartwarming, finale to Gunn’s MCU trilogy.

The Heart and Soul of the Guardians

Courtesy of Marvel Studios

While Star Lord is the main focus of these films, it’s said Rocket is the real protagonist of the trilogy.  This film, alongside Infinity War and Endgame, solidify this.  Rocket, played by Bradley Cooper, steals the show.  This film reveals the origin of the character, and completely re-contextualizes his journey in the MCU up to this point.  All the scenes with him and his animal friends are emotional and heart-wrenching.

This helps in making the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), the MCU’s most despicable villain.  The methods taken by HE, for short, in creating his ‘special race’ and the sick pleasure he takes from it makes him the most un-apologetically evil adversary in the cinematic universe thus far.  Iwuji’s perfomance adds to this, as he seems to call upon the essence of various monsters throughout history.  The rivalry between these two is what drives this film.  In addition, it also drives each Guardian to reflect upon their journeys to this point, and reach a natural conclusion for each.

A Place to Rest

Courtesy of Marvel Studios

While this is Rocket’s movie, the other Guardians all reach a point of satisfying conclusion.  Star-Lord’s story of coping with loss reaches its conclusion when 2014 Gamora comes into the picture.  Despite his best efforts to rekindle their relationship, 2014 Gamora is not the same as the one he loved so much.  She’s more ruthless, not as mature, and leads the Ravagers.  In a satisfying change for the MCU, the consequences of the multiverse are felt in this film.  2014 Gamora may look, sound, and fight like the Gamora pre-Infinity War, but she is her own character.  It makes it all the more amusing when seeing Nebula act as the more level-headed and mature one.  Drax, Mantis, and Groot as well all get satisfying endings.  While it absolutely would be appropriate to end the story of these characters here, there is potential to see these characters again in the future, should an appropriate opportunity come up.

Conclusion – A Needed Win for Marvel Studios

In an era where most of MCU films and shows can be a mixed bag of quality, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 stands head and shoulders above it all to give the MCU a trilogy rivaling that of Captain America.  Is it perfect, no.  Sometimes, the dark tone can be a bit much.  The soundtrack, something which these films are known for, also isn’t quite as strong, though opinions of that are subjective.  Still, the story it tells is one of the better ones of the MCU, and having an MCU film with good looking CGI again, is quite refreshing as well.

RATING 9/10

Check out the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy series on Disney+.