MOVIE REVIEW: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Sticks the Landing With a Satisfying Finale

(SPOT.ph) “Did that look cool?” is a line said by several characters throughout Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. It also seems to be the main driving force behind writer and director James Gunn’s supposed final chapter of this group of Guardians. Spectacular set pieces, colorful costumes, exciting action sequences (including a cheer-worthy one-take fight scene late in the film), and characters getting, well, cool-looking moments populate Vol. 3, a satisfying and entertaining but brutal and heart-wrenching finale to Gunn’s Guardians trilogy.

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ends on all the right notes

The first Guardians of the Galaxy came out in 2014, and was presented as something of a rebellious alternative to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. It was set in space, with aliens, robots, a talking tree, and an anthropomorphic raccoon among its characters. At the time, it was nothing like any of Marvel’s previous films, and it quickly became a fan favorite. When Vol. 2 came out in 2017, expectations were high. While the sequel didn’t quite reach the level of the first, it was still a beloved entry in the franchise. As the MCU entered more cosmic storylines, the Guardians didn’t appear as “alternative” anymore, but still made fun appearances in Marvel’s other properties, such as helping save the world in Avengers: Endgame, a cameo in Thor: Love and Thunder, and a Christmas special that premiered on Disney+ in 2022.

Finally, the Guardians have returned to their own franchise with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. In this last entry in the trilogy, Star-Lord/Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is still reeling from the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame where their timeline’s Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) was killed, and replaced by a previous timeline’s version of Gamora who has no memory of ever being with the Guardians. Star-Lord has become a drunk and a mess, but the rest of the Guardians, including Gamora’s sister Nebula (Karen Gillan), Drax (Dave Bautista), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), and Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) have started adjusting to a new life post-Endgame. When shady figures from Rocket’s past come back to haunt him, the Guardians suit up to protect their teammate, as well as save the Galaxy from more destruction one more time.

This time, the Guardians face off with a golden weapon of destruction named Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), and an evil scientist who creates hybrid creatures and seeks the perfect specimen to create a new world named the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji). What follows is a fantastic finale that plays like director Gunn’s greatest hits, gives all members of the Guardians one last hurrah, and touches the audience’s hearts by doubling down on the Guardians films’ theme of found family.

The core of the film—and what gives Vol. 3 its most emotional moments—is the backstory of Rocket Raccoon. Through flashbacks scattered throughout the film, we get to see how Rocket came to be, and why being a member of the Guardians is so important to him. These quiet moments of Rocket’s story are most memorable. They are so well-written and beautifully depicted, adding a much-needed touching layer to all the gleeful chaos happening around it. It’s also quite the visual spectacle; the film focuses so heavily on Rocket and several other animals all built through visual effects. It’s a testament to the work on this film that the effects for these animals (and other creatures in this world) are so excellent, arguably some of the best VFX in the Marvel franchise in recent memory.

Rocket isn’t the only one that gets warm and fuzzy moments (though he’s definitely the central figure). The film definitely plays like a farewell tour as each character gets a glorious moment to show why they are so beloved and terrific. The cast also brings their best work, with Bautista’s Drax, Gillan’s Nebula, and Klementieff’s Mantis being standouts among this large ensemble as they playfully mix drama and comedy at every turn.

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While all the Guardians characters get their moment to shine, it’s a shame that one of the more exciting new characters, Adam Warlock, falls to the side. Introduced in the film as a wrecking ball of an opponent of the Guardians (with some of the most brutal and gruesome fight scenes in the Guardians franchise), he immediately gets put on the backburner. Adam’s story, or lack of it, is the most glaring issue throughout the film. Here is this powerful new character, yet he is severely underused and barely makes an impact. Poulter gives it a go, but there just isn’t much there to work with. Thankfully, the film’s other antagonist, the High Evolutionary, gets to showcase truly disgusting villainy, with some great moments from Iwuji playing a mad scientist who just keeps getting madder.

Besides a wonderful cast and Gunn’s writing and direction, Guardians films are known for their music. The first Guardians soundtrack was synonymous to the success of the first film, so it’s no surprise that one of the things people will look most forward to in Vol. 3 are the songs. Maybe surprisingly, the songs this time around are quite different from the previous two. The film kicks off with an acoustic version of Radiohead’s “Creep” setting the tone for a darker, more emotional story, and what follows are songs from artists like Bruce Springsteen, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Florence + the Machine, that still work great, but definitely makes for a different feel as our Guardians make their way through this dangerous mission.

James Gunn has stated many times that this is the last round for this current group of Guardians, and if that’s true, then at least they’ve ended on a good and satisfying note, completing one of Marvel’s best and most consistent trilogies. Though this film can feel a tad overstuffed and too long, there’s more than enough good will built up over the last nine years that one can just lay back and enjoy this supposed last ride. At the end of it all, yes, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was in fact, cool.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Spots

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 premieres in Philippine cinemas on May 3.