Ever since the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie opened on a child watching his mother die of cancer, it has been the one franchise within the Marvel Cinematic Universe capable of going to tough places emotionally and thematically whilst still being fun and inventive in thrilling, distinct ways. This character in addition to the tangibly eccentric sensibility of director James Gunn has set these movies apart from the larger Marvel universe -to which it has only ever been modestly connected, quite happy to do its own thing while the wider franchise is dealing with its own pervading dramas. That’s an especially felt charm in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which has nothing to do with Kang or multiverses -instead continuing on its own story and character threads as though determined by the end of things that this trilogy (and it will be just that as Gunn has left Marvel and several actors involved have stated their desire to move on as well) can stand alone. Through the story and character threads it chooses to explore and enrich, I don’t know that anyone can argue it won’t.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 earns its stripes by both building on its prior strengths and expanding its emotional, thematic scope in a way that is a testament to the heartfelt familiarity of its characters -whom nobody loves more than Gunn himself, if can be attested by his commitment to giving them each moments to shine amidst a larger yet still contained ensemble. It’s a movie that shakes things up, from both technical standpoints in the details of Gunn’s filmmaking, and narrative ones -which is no easy task. Gunn inherited the death and subsequent timeline-displaced resurrection of one of his main characters in the Avengers movies, which he must here find a way of reconciling, all while in pursuit of the story he really wants to tell that necessitates a slight change in protagonist.
Chris Pratt maintains his top-billing and leading screen-time as Guardians leader Peter Quill (“Star-Lord”), but the principal focus of the movie is in fact wisecracking racoon Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), and the traumatic circumstances and repercussions of his genetic engineering. Rocket is incapacitated early in the film during an attack on the Guardians base of Knowhere, left in critical condition due to a kill switch embedded in his body. And as the Guardians embark on a quest to save him, his gruelling story of pain, captivity and exploitation is told in flashback.
It is not subtle. But between the confrontation of open eugenics and the stark illustration of animal cruelty, this region of the movie represents the darkest most drastic place the Guardians series and the MCU itself has ever gone to. Within a franchise aimed at kids and known for pulling its punches, Gunn is having none of it –this movie earns its PG-13 rating, as while not particularly violent, it is deeply troublesome. But every heartbreaking beat is fully purposeful and earned, a rich deconstruction of this closed-off, insecure character, made especially meek and vulnerable, and a poignant refutation of the ethics of “perfection” and the belief in inferiority. To get these points across it hurts –the movie is smart enough to know that. There is a moment in this extended revelation that is the most gut-wrenching thing ever put in a Marvel movie, and it’s not even so much the moment itself, but the visceral emotional repercussion of it that makes it so devastating. Every fibre of Rocket’s experience up to and including this is deeply resonant and soulful, and I must commend the effects artists who created Rocket for cogently articulating that so intricately.
Cooper is the best he’s ever been in this capacity, and the same can be said of virtually the entire cast, each of whom is provided with moments of rich character depth. I forgot how fun and charismatic Pratt can be under the right circumstances and with the right writing. I would also highlight Karen Gillan’s exemplary performance as Nebula, revealing a charming new side to the character, Pom Klementieff absolutely embodying the heart of the team in Mantis, and Dave Bautista’s continued comic excellence as Drax, albeit with a couple touching beats. The arc of every Guardian is drawn well, even Sean Gunn’s Kraglin, but perhaps most impressive is how the film redefines Zoe Saldaña’s Gamora and her relationship with Peter in light of what was done to her in the last pair of Avengers movies. First off, the exposition for this is dealt with in a concise way that precludes having to watch those films, and secondly, it actually manages to bring the story of their relationship to an astonishingly responsible resolution. Gunn takes seriously Peter’s grief and lost love, but also this new Gamora’s agency and lack of romantic feelings for Peter –much as he may want to reignite that old spark. It plays out an arc of necessary emotional maturity for Peter with beautiful sincerity as he must come to accept their new relationship dynamic.
On the flip side of that you have the portrait of the film’s antagonist, the High Evolutionary, the ambitious eugenicist obsessed with engineering a perfect society and who was of course behind Rocket’s trauma both past and present. He’s played by Chukwudi Iwuji of Gunn’s Peacemaker series, and it is apparent right away why this classically trained thespian has quickly become one of Gunn’s favourites. His performance is uniquely captivating and excruciating, as he plays this character’s remorseless cruelty with a haunting, amoral fortitude. In a break from recent Marvel trends, the High Evolutionary is designed as unsympathetically as possible, and Gunn even subtly turns the tables on Marvel formula by re-framing that characteristic MCU candour through him in a horrifying light. This is someone who can casually shrug off committing genocide. It’s all relatively straight for the secondary villain though, the super-powered alien Adam (Will Poulter) who accosts Rocket to begin with and spends the rest of the movie trying to capture him for the High Evolutionary. Poulter plays the comedy well, but this character beyond his initial catalyzing effect is notably irrelevant to just about all of the movie’s action and substance. With not insignificant appearances by Sylvester Stallone and Nathan Fillion, Maria Bakalova as Cosmo the dog, and multiple henchmen of note, the film can feel a touch crowded for characters at times, and nowhere is this more felt than in Adam, cute pet subplot notwithstanding.
However, these occasional deficiencies in scripting and structure are met with decent, motivated filmmaking. The difference between Gunn’s direction on these characters and that of the Russos and Taika Waititi in other films is night and day. His compositions are still thoroughly intentional and he shoots the film in ways that feel colourful and alive, even while working with Marvel’s muted tools. The set-pieces are one of the great assets here, several of them against real backgrounds and practical effects -that opening fight in Knowhere feels heavier than the final battle of Endgame because the environment is so tangible. And these are creative designs too, especially in the 60s-evoking corporate lab that the Guardians have to break into. Even when CGI does take precedence, Gunn finds interesting ways to enhance or manipulate it, such as in one late action sequence that plays out an elaborate PG-13 version of the famous oner from Oldboy set to Beastie Boys’ “No Sleep till Brooklyn”.
Of course the movie has a killer soundtrack, as all the Guardians films have, opening with an appropriate if perhaps too symbolically on-the-nose cover of Radiohead’s “Creep”. No longer confined to simply pop classics of the 70s and 80s, this installment’s collection of needle-drops is more diverse and eclectic, reflecting Peter’s new access to modern and indie music, and the series’ evolution itself. So in addition to the like of Heart and Rainbow, Alice Cooper and Bruce Springsteen, there’s tracks by Faith No More, Spacehog, a song from an anime, and a beautiful use in the finale of Florence and the Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over”. In addition to these, it’s worth noting that the score itself by John Murphy is suitably powerful for the emotional beats.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 really lived up to my expectations and enthusiasm. And there was concern it wouldn’t. But Gunn doesn’t disappoint; time and time again, he runs towards every story beat, character development and stylistic choice, and when confronted with the easy option, rejects it out of hand. An unusually bold movie for these times, and one of Marvel’s best. This was the last Marvel movie I had any real anticipation for, which is fitting as the first Guardians back in 2014 was the one that got me on the Marvel train in the first place. These movies have consistently been a step above their MCU siblings, and with this one, intense, vivid, funny, heartwarming, and firmly positioned as an ending -that rare thing in comic book media- I’m confident they will have a far greater lasting power in the years to come.
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