9.5.23
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is an overstuffed tonal mess, but I had a fun time watching it at the IMAX. It’s a film of huge moments, such as the thrilling action set pieces, emotional high fives, and some brutally sad parts which pull on the heartstrings of the audience. It’s the latter I don’t care for that much, as well as the humour which in this film totally didn’t land for me compared to the last two volumes. But at least the soundtrack rips.
I was very excited to see James Gunn be correctly reinstated into Marvel and here to direct the third instalment of the franchise, but that’s more to do with the success and my immense enjoyment of The Suicide Squad rather than Vol. 2 (my favourite Guardians outing) or the Holiday ‘Special’ (least favourite). I think he has massively improved as a director and that can be seen from the opening scene alone. The guy knows how to drop a needle and plonk the audience into an interesting world. The use of tracks from The Beastie Boys, Spacehog and Faith No More match up so well with what is going on in the frame and reflect three of my favourite scenes in the film. I think Gunn did an excellent job with the pacing in terms of making the story snappy, as well as letting each character show off their personality and unique fighting prowess (especially Nebula), both elements I think of being a weakness in Vol. 2.
I also really like the over-the-top villains, and the character designs of the cybernetic enemies in the final hour of the film are very intimidating and menacing. Adam Warlock, although underused here seems like a unique and promising character, kind of like a baby version of Superman who hasn’t learnt to properly use his powers yet. The High Evolutionary, although generic in appearance and mission, is well-served by the fanatical style and enthusiastic acting of Chukwudi Iwuji.
The movie has a dark sentimental tone for most of the runtime, which is created due to constant flashbacks of Rocket’s early life. Then the film jumps to the present and regularly tries to force jokes involving Groot, Mantis and Drax, none of which landed for me. The plot initially focuses more on the reunion of Peter and Gamora, but it gets repetitive and doesn’t feel resolved towards the end. This is why the movie felt like such a mess to me. However, it does tie up loose ends and provides a safe ending to a decade-long narrative. Gunn should be very proud of the success of the franchise as a whole and it’s exciting to imagine what he has cooking over at DC.
Just like Thor: Love and Thunder, I think it’s another recent Marvel entry let down by the unnecessary addition of children, and the killing off of certain characters as a means to make the audience cry. It involves more cruelty to CGI animals and children being locked in cages than audiences may be comfortable with. Or like me, they may simply find it insipid and emotionally manipulative. I recognise myself in the minority here, but at least I have spotted two things in movies that I do not care for at all and should probably work on avoiding more often.