Year:  2023

Director:  James Gunn

Rated:  M

Release:  May 4, 2023

Distributor: Disney

Running time: 150 minutes

Worth: $19.99
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth

Cast:
Chris Pratt, Pom Klementieff, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Chukwudi Iwuji, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Sean Gunn, Will Poulter, Elizabeth Debicki, Maria Bakalova

Intro:
… an emotional impact that can rival any modern film, let alone superhero film.

Among the frequently-derided sameness of the MCU assembly line (and indeed superhero films at large over the past decade and a half), Guardians Of The Galaxy has always stood out as something different. A heady mixture of ‘80s neon colouring, eclectic pop music, complexity in its characterisation and dynamics, and a little bit of Troma’s grindhouse-meets-outhouse aesthetic. There’s no mistaking these films for anything else within its genre umbrella, as much as both Marvel and DC have attempted to repeat their subversive success, and writer/director James Gunn’s work on the team fittingly reaches its apex with this trilogy capper.

Much as Vol. 2 refined all the aspects that made the original film work, Vol. 3 further sifts through its already-impressive pedigree to create something even grander than before. Characters who have been steadily progressing along their respective arcs (Star-Lord’s abandonment issues, Drax’s literal-minded paternity, Nebula’s slowly-warming heart) are met with satisfying end points, while previously-neglected figures like Mantis and Rocket Raccoon not only get proper fleshing-out, but end up becoming contenders for new favourites amongst the Guardians. Oh, and Groot is amazing as always.

Given the tumultuous behind-the-scenes for this film, Gunn’s now-traditional championing of the Other in the face of those seeking (read: enforcing) misguided ideals of ‘perfection’ comes across particularly pointed here. The villain, the enjoyably hateable High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), is a self-proclaimed god obsessed with creating the ideal universe, using himself as the blueprint as despots are want to do. Between his hatred of all perceived imperfections, and his prisons filled with branded anthropomorphic animals, it’s easy to read him as a double-fisted middle finger at both the bad-faith actors who tried to get Gunn fired (and now demonise him in the fandom civil war over DC Films), and the corporate conglomerate that took them at their word before quickly back-peddling. Wouldn’t be the first time a Disney film openly fired shots at Disney (right, Dumbo?)

Not that Gunn has artistic vengeance on his mind. Much like the first two Guardians, as well as The Suicide Squad, the visionary filmmaker’s ultimate message is one of compassion, redemption, and love for all creatures. With Rocket firmly established here as the heart of the team, and by extension the trilogy as a whole, the film rejects the ideal of perfection and instead embraces the beauty of our inherent flaws. Whether it’s the Guardians bonding over their mutual broken selves, or some of the most heart-squeezing depictions of sci-fi animal experimentation seen outside of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s We3, this has an emotional impact that can rival any modern film, let alone superhero film.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 confirms James Gunn’s ode to oddballs great and small, completing the finest superhero trilogy since Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man. Infusing a beautiful approach to action spectacle with a heart that’s fit to burst, it manages to induce sobbing and laughing simultaneously with seemingly minimal strain. But above all else, it’s an impassioned plea to look past our mistakes, our failures, and indeed our differences, and to be kind to each other and ourselves. Because we don’t need to be perfect to be our best.

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