James Gunn is leaving Marvel to become DC’s “Kevin Feige” over at Warner Bros. He’s already been leading DC but before he really starts transforming the DCEU into the DCU, Gunn is leaving the MCU with a bang. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the conclusion to Gunn’s acclaimed trilogy for the MCU and one of the strongest entries to date. It’s an excellent finale to the GOTG franchise and without giving too much away, a promising stepping stone for the Guardians to continue saving the galaxy in the future.
The first installment took a lower-tier comic book team comprised of lesser-known side characters and delighted audiences with its fantastic soundtrack, great performances, and unique aesthetic. The second installment built upon what made the first great with another killer soundtrack and a lot of character development, especially for Peter Quill/Starlord (Chris Pratt). Like the first two, the soundtrack is very good, but it’s still not on the same level as Vol. 1.
GOTG Vol. 3 is very much Rocket Racoon’s (Bradley Cooper) movie. Throughout the whole movie, we’re shown flashbacks from Rocket’s upbringing in The High Evolutionary’s (Chukwudi Iwuji) lab. The High Evolutionary is a geneticist who experiments on those he considers “lower life forms” in an effort to create a perfect species and colonize his own utopia called Counter-Earth. Rocket was one of the “lower life forms” The High Evolutionary experimented on, which is how he got his genius intellect along with his engineering and combat skills.
Rocket is critically injured during a fight with Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) at the beginning of the film which sets up the Guardians’ goal for the rest of the movie. Adam, the strongest member of The Sovereign – a race of genetically perfect beings created by The High Evolutionary – was sent to retrieve Rocket for The High Evolutionary. Part of Rocket’s genetic/cybernetic modifications include a self-destruct switch that will destroy Rocket, which prevents the highly advanced med packs the Guardians have from healing his wounds. So the Guardians need to steal the code to disable Rocket’s self-destruct programming from The High Evolutionary in order to use their medical technology and save him. Pretty simple yet enticing motivations.
The movie is structured and paced extremely well. Gunn expertly maneuvers between Rocket’s flashbacks and the present-day Guardians trying to save their friend. Personally, Rocket has always been one of my favorite MCU characters and one I’ve yearned to learn more about. From his witty dialogue and Cooper's great voice performance in GOTG Vol. 1 to his role in Avengers: Endgame (especially when he’s with Thor), Rocket has long been one of the most interesting characters. So learning about how Rocket acquired his abilities and what he experienced before escaping The High Evolutionary is a treat in GOTG Vol. 3. We’re also given some insight into how cruel The High Evolutionary's experiments really are. Rocket never talks about his past or what’s happened to him. At one point in the film, the other characters see footage of what The High Evolutionary did to him, and Nebula (Karen Gillan) — who was physically modified as a form of torture by her father Thanos — says that what happened to Rocket was way worse than what Thanos did to her.
This is a spoiler-free review, so there isn’t a whole lot more I can say without giving away important information. In all, I would say this installment doesn't quite reach the level of the first GOTG, but it’s proof that Marvel still has the ability to create unique and intriguing stories despite some recent misses.
PG-13 | 2h 30m | 5.5.2023
Genre: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Comic Book, Sci-Fi
Director: James Gunn
Writer: James Gunn
Cast: Chukwudi Iwuji, Bradley Cooper, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Will Poulter, Karen Gillan, Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel, Zoe Saldaña, Sean Gunn
Ryan’s Score: 93/100
Rotten Tomatoes: 95% Audience, 82% Critic (as of 5.8.2023)
Watch the trailer here: