The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) started with Robert Downey Jr’s “Iron Man” (2008) and saw his character’s heroic sacrifice to save the world in “Avengers: Endgame” (2019), marking the end of phase three.
Many critics believe the MCU should have ended then – comments that are not unwarranted, given that the films and television series in phase four haven’t been on the receiving end of rave reviews, 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” notwithstanding.
In spite of this, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”, the second film of phase five following the mediocre “Ant-Man 3”, has arrived. So, is it any good?
The movie starts with Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) still mourning the death of fellow Guardian and love interest Gamora (Zoe Saldana), who was killed in “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018) by her adoptive father Thanos. But – spoiler alert – she’s not actually dead!
A past version of her – minus the memories of her time spent with Quill – has time-travelled to the present, and she’s reluctantly dragged into adventure after Rocket (Bradley Cooper) is badly wounded, prompting them to track down the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) to save his life.
Quill is joined by the other Guardians on his quest, namely his half-sister Mantis (Pom Klementieff), the former villainess Nebula (Karen Gillan), Drax (Dave Bautista), and a now-buffed-up Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel).
Oh, and hot on their heels is Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), a powerful artificial being created to destroy them.
As the Guardians embark on their mission, the audience finally gains insight into Rocket’s backstory. His origins are fully fleshed out here, when previously, he would be evasive upon being asked about his past.
It turns out he had been cruelly experimented upon by the High Evolutionary, who sought to create the perfect lifeforms to inhabit his imagined utopia. Rocket and his mates had been manipulated into believing they were bound for utopia, when they were really nothing more than stepping stones towards better lifeforms.
With his trauma having shaped who he is now, the events in “Guardians 3” lead to a climactic showdown between racoon and creator, and Cooper delivers a compelling and heart-wrenching performance, vocally speaking.
Pratt, on the other hand, has settled into his role and is solid enough in his final(?) outing as Quill. Still reeling from grief and having to cope with meeting Gamora 2.0, their conversations range from hilarious to emotional thanks to his and Saldana’s acting chops.
But the true scene stealers are Bautista and Klementieff, who have plenty of chemistry and share sweet scenes together, him a buffoonish father figure to her Celestial hybrid empath. Most of the jokes that come from them land well.
Iwuji, meanwhile, plays the scenery-chewing villain competently, even if his character is somewhat superficial. Not every bad guy needs a sympathetic backstory, but it wouldn’t hurt for him to have more layers other than just being space-Frankenstein.
Poulter’s Adam Warlock, set up to be a big villain, is also criminally underused here.
Still, the action scenes in “Guardians 3” are commendable, with one particular hallway fight featuring our heroes and some nameless henchmen set to Beastie Boys’ “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” being a standout.
It shows that not all action sequences require big set pieces or giant monsters – sometimes a (somewhat) grounded fight is all you need.
All in all, Gunn has delivered a worthy send-off with this, his final project before heading off to the DC Universe.
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” brings some much-needed fun and energy to the MCU, and serves as an effective and tearful goodbye for fans of this team-up.
As of press time, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ is screening in cinemas nationwide.