“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” reaches for the stars — and mostly misses
By: Leianna M.
Content warning: there is significant animal abuse and animal death in this film.
This review is spoiler-free.
When the first ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ film was released, I finished my last year of high school. I remember the carefree joy I had, rolling the windows down as my newly-licensed friend drove us to the theater. The ‘Guardians’ films have been my favorite entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), so I looked forward to this final chapter in the trilogy.
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” opens with the origin story of Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), marked by torture and experimentation. In the present, a new villain, Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) bursts through the Guardians’ home base, destroying everything in his wake. His alien race is seemingly invincible and powerful. Rocket is in critical condition and the Guardians’ search to his home planet to find a cure to his condition.
The plot is quite simple: the Marvel adventure to fight a villain and fix a problem, with jokes sprinkled throughout. The stakes are high and battles are seemingly impossible. It’s the formula we’ve seen over the past 15 years and does not present anything groundbreaking. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is known for its fun soundtrack, and ‘Vol. 3’ is no exception. For many Marvel fans, it’ll be a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
However, the trauma inflicted on Rocket is painful to watch. In my opinion, this intense violence and mature themes warranted an R-rating. There were excessive subplots that failed to compel me as deeply as Rocket’s. Some of the humor falls flat, focusing on belittling other characters. Language seemed dampened to maintain the PG-13 rating (I find it hard to believe these characters would say “screw you” so often). The jokes and rampant CGI took me out of the story. ‘Guardians’ fares better as character study than a typical predictable superhero movie and loses focus on its redeemable qualities. It felt like it was trying harder to be an appealing cash cow in lieu of an emotionally wrenching story about trauma.
The movie could have been much more if it didn’t stray from its strengths. Rocket’s story was surprisingly compelling and other characters developed a satisfying conclusion. The ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ series maintains the theme of finding family after a painful past. Each member had their demons and their paths crossed to support each other. There were several heartfelt moments that brought tears to my eyes. The emotional pieces are where ‘Guardians’ shines, and it’s dimmed by the film’s adherence to the Marvel formula.
Overall, it is entertaining, and I do recommend it to fans of Marvel and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy.’ It has compelling, heart-wrenching moments for its animal characters. PETA even awarded ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ for its animal rights advocacy. But the humor, subplots, and violence does make it a difficult watch.
If you’re new to the series or sensitive to violence against animals, you can skip this one.
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Rating: 3/5