Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
3/4
Lets face it: the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had a rough patch with its phase-four movie slate lately. While it had a few high points with Spider-Man: No Way Home and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, it also had a concerning number of stinkers as well. Two examples of this are Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder (just a silly mess that put way too much emphasis on humour) and Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (a sour end to what was once a vibrantly funny trilogy).
I’m pleased to say that James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, while not a perfect movie, is one of the finer films that the MCU has put out in recent years.
One of the main things I liked about this movie—which brings the Guardians franchise to a close—is James Gunn’s direction. Each frame is engaging and well directed, and the action is clear and well paced. Gunn also proves that he’s a whiz at getting the best performances from his cast, which is what a really good director does.
I really liked the acting performances; everyone in the cast succeeds at injecting life into their characters. The stand-out to me was Bradley Cooper as Rocket. Even though it’s a voice-over role, Cooper does a brilliant job in showing Rocket’s humour and emotion. This movie really puts this character through the ringer and Cooper does a brilliant job in conveying all of the horrible things that have happened to Rocket.
Let’s talk about the soundtrack: this is easily one of my favourites of all time. Each song has its own place that it serves in the movie. A great example of this is Radiohead’s “Creep”, which played at the beginning of the film. This song beautifully ties into Rocket’s character because being a genetically engineered raccoon does make him feel like a little bit of a creep sometimes. The song also ties into the film’s theme of chosen family really well because all of the Guardians are creeps in their own way, and their creepiness is what makes them Guardians of the Galaxy as well as family to each other.
The one big thing I didn’t like about this movie was the villain. A lot of people complained about Ronan the Accuser being a weak villain, but Chukwudi Iwuji’s High Evolutionary is by far the MCU’s worst villain. The character comes off as a screaming, sociopathic, high-school bully.
I also hate a villain who thinks that, for example, walking into a room of high-ranking officers and shooting insults at them will get them to do what he wants. That’s his entire character. There’s no detailed plan or any hint of what he wants; he’s just a big loudmouth bully that needs to be taken down, and a franchise that has delivered powerful villains like Erik Killmonger should do better.
Despite this, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is another bright moment in the MCU treasure trove.