Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3
Year: 2023
Rating: PG-13
Length: 150 minutes / 2.50 hours
Ever since the original Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), it felt like this corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was left to do its own thing. These movies didn’t have many cameos or connections to the larger MCU except for introducing characters who fought in the Avengers films. Perhaps because of this level of separation from the core MCU, the Guardians of the Galaxy movies have felt more stable tonally than the rest of the MCU films. You can probably thank James Gunn for that.
While I consider the first Guardians movie to be one of the best superhero (or even sci-fi) films ever made, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 (2017) diving into Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt) origins wasn’t quite up to snuff. And while Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 (2023) is another origin story, it felt more impactful than its predecessor. After all, the one character of the group we didn’t have any in-depth background on was Rocket (Bradley Cooper). This film remedies that in a way that’s both emotional and a fitting cap on the adventures of the original Guardians group.
In the post-Endgame MCU, movies like this feel rare. Sure, there’s room for more adventures for this new group of Guardians, but wrapping up character arcs is a much more impressive feat. Letting things come to a natural end without forcing any hints of the next tie-in or cameo was refreshing. The villain also felt unique but threatening. It was also nice to get a more realistic resolution to the relationship between Peter and Gamora (Zoe Saldana)—kind of like at the end of Broadcast News (1987). Overall, the Guardians films are great by themselves, which Volume 3 epitomizes.
A fitting and distinct wrap-up for the original Guardians, I give Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 4.0 stars out of 5.
