By Seth Lukas Hynes
Guardians of The Galaxy: Volume 3
Starring Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper and Chukwudi Iwuji
Rated M
4/5
Guardians of The Galaxy: Volume 3 is an outstanding conclusion to the Guardians series.
After his friend Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) is mortally wounded, space gunslinger Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and his team must confront the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), a megalomaniacal scientist, to save Rocket’s life.
Guardians of The Galaxy 3 features moving pathos, bright and creative art direction, well-shot action and far more organic humour than Ant-Man 3 or Thor 4.
Present-day Rocket is incapacitated for much of the movie, but a series of heartwrenching flashbacks explore his tragic origins as a science experiment. These flashbacks keep us deeply invested in Rocket’s survival and highlight the exploitative cruelty of the High Evolutionary, and as the quest to save Rocket progresses, the well-paced plot delivers more intrigue and obstacles.
In the previous films, the Guardians’ adversarial bond and mean jokes could get tiring or even toxic, so writer-director James Gunn gives them a more supportive dynamic and more opportunities to succeed as individuals. To that end, Mantis (Pom Klementieff) is less of a comic-relief punching bag, and fierce Nebula (Karen Gillan) and burly Drax (Dave Bautista) each show an unexpected gentle side.
The film’s highlight is an inventive second-act set piece with a Fantastic Voyage aesthetic, in which the Guardians infiltrate a fleshy space-station grown from organic matter.
Quill’s efforts to reconnect with old friend Gamora (Zoe Saldana) feel extraneous. Will Poulter is fun but superfluous as Adam Warlock, a living weapon who doesn’t like hurting people, and the amusing third-act setting of a nineties Earth-style planet populated by anthropomorphic animals are sorely underused.
A vibrant adventure that spins a genuine tearjerker story from a talking raccoon, Guardians of The Galaxy: Volume 3 is one of the best MCU movies in years, and is playing in most Victorian cinemas.
– Seth Lukas Hynes
