Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) [Spoiler-Free] – Quick Review

 

I can talk for hours – er, paragraphs – about most MCU movies. But lets face facts, at the time of writing this, Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 3 premiered a few hours ago, and no review is going to change your opinion on whether or not you want to see it. So, I will keep this one brief. 

Guardians 3 wastes no time getting right into the thick of things. The opening sequence sets the tone in a big way: this movie is going to be sad. We open on Rocket contemplating his painful past, Peter drowning his sorrows on the loss of (his) Gamora, and the team generally in disarray. Volume 3 is more character-driven than we’ve gotten from this series so far. But as soon as that emotional tone is set, the action kicks in. Some gorgeous visuals occur. And when the dust settles on the fight, the team is now re-energized with a new urgent mission to get them moving again. The Guardians now have to race against time to save Rocket’s life. 

 

This movie isn’t without its problems. The High Evolutionary, played devilishly by Chukwudi Iwuji, falls into the usual Marvel trappings of a villain who has more power than the writers know what to do with, who plays the same beat of doing evil things but truly thinks they are serving a noble purpose, and who ultimately lacks that staying power in the overall narrative. Iwuji understood the assignment well and really brought his A-game, but he is limited by the script and story given to him. 

Fair warning for parents who may have an issue with this: this movie features Marvel’s first official F-bomb, and also contains animal scenes that may upset more sensitive viewers. 

Guardians 3 proves that Marvel Studios’ biggest misstep in its nearly two decades was letting James Gunn slip away to their biggest rival and competitor. Gunn crafted a perfect capstone to essentially a perfect trilogy of films within the MCU, and his gift could have served the larger MCU had the professional relationship been cultivated differently. But alas, here we are. And like I said, those who are still all-in on the MCU, you’re seeing this movie no matter what I say, or whatever James Gunn does.