Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally his team around him to defend the universe along with protecting one of their own. A mission that, if not completed successfully, coul...
My love and aspiration for the MCU has slowly but surely died a depressing death. The more I’ve watched these films past Phase 3, the more apparent it became how I felt obligated to watch their films more out of pity and by the time I got to Quantumania, my pity-well had officially bottomed out. I made an announcement that Guardians Of The Galaxy: Vol. 3 would be my last MCU movie so I had hoped to leave this franchise on a high note.
I…..thank the LORD above that this is an MCU movie I can FINALLY say I was legitimately charmed and entertained by.
Small and focused in execution but very grandiose and pizazz-like in presentation, the scope and the scale for etched unbridled madness makes James Gunn’s direction all the more animated but suitable for these kinds of projects. Gunn always has a special brand of sincerity, humor and violence that borders on anarchic and here is no different; only difference this time is the way he stages everything as a sentimental opera of the disturbed and absurd and appropriately so.
Hell, this film managed to do coat itself in a visual aesthetic reminiscent of a Cronenberg-esque body horror and does so in a manner that feels gross but also appropriate for the story. The production design is properly unsettling and uncanny, mixing grunge, organic and retro-futuristic styles that feel invigorating and inviting, if only just and it blends together seamlessly with this depressing tone that envelopes the story. Henry Braham’s cinematography that supports it makes the most out of every single shot, it’s comedic moments, the ones that work, are vastly better than the ENTIRETY of Love And Thunder and Quantumania (even if we have the occasional stinkers), the rich, needle dropping soundtrack makes a return as well as peacocking costumes, a concurrent pace that flows naturally without sacrificing momentum and we finally have a central antagonist with an impressive performance and backstory simplistic enough to both warrant his existence and gives us reason to ACTUALLY HATE HIS GUTS.
Action sequences, while not as bright or bold as the previous installments, are still well choreographed and executed and as expected, the main ensemble grew back into their characters with relative ease; the interplay and chemistry between the cast is frequently delightful and bounces off more naturally than other MCU movies. Not all the characters make it out unscathed but they all find a purpose that the film tries its best to make due with.
This time around, the story is splintered into two tracks: Rockets flashbacks to his traumatizing childhood and the Guardians escapades throughout the galaxy in an attempt to save his life. As Rocket is the emotional lynchpin meant to anchor both sides down and steer the ship, it reconstrues the pieces of the previous films to fit it for a more bittersweet journey with a darker undercurrent….even with a semi-mawkish execution. It opens the door to darker themes on the evils of bigotry, eugenics and expectations that all complement the Guardians stories both bluntly and expertly.
Off the bat, I am well aware this may not be particularly original, but it’s also rarely cynical or opportunistic; it is interested squarely in telling its own story while wrapping up the ones they have available. Yes, it is a little messy, a little overstuffed and it has way too many characters to fully keep track off but the larger journey allows for each character to have their own big moments, even if there’s no time to give them their own individual arcs similar to the second movie. There’s something about that imbalance that makes the experience worth it though, because that’s what this installment really nails home about this particular series.
Guardians is a series centered around people who desperately want to move away from their traumas while poorly projecting how ‘Over It’ they are; no one reacts well to being vulnerable and yet the bond they share because of it grows them closer together and this movie in particular nails that sentiment home: imperfection is perfect enough for some people and you’ll never notice that until when it matters most. It’s a celebration of the awkward, the shy, the scared, the broken, the antagonistic and the cocky; a natural and silly but earnest look at outcasts and the caring communities they form. How overcoming trauma together breeds them into better versions of themselves but also prepares them to combat that pain when push comes to shove.
Unfortunately, this finale in the trilogy can’t nail everything downpat. Outside of the thin silhouette of Adam Warlock’s character, the excessive use of the fake death that got annoying really quickly and how generally overstuffed the film is, there’s also the awkward editing; I’m pretty sure it seemed to be splintered. Most times, they’re handled with the precision and care we’ve come to expect with the Guardians……other times, it’s really janky. There are only so many times where’d they linger on a shot for too long, cutting off from 2-3 seconds at a time and it creates some tonal whiplash….
…..but not to where it drags the pacing down.
This movie showed me brief glimpses of the magic that Marvel used to capture so seamlessly and a vast reminder as to why this team, these “bunch of A-holes” stand out amongst the current sludge of marvel's projects these days. So long, old friends.
