Guardians of the Galaxy 3 review: Hilarious and heart-wrenching, best MCU film in years

If I said Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 had a tumultuous production period, it would be an understatement of intergalactic proportions. Director James Gunn was controversially fired from the project and every Disney property in 2018 after his old tweets consisting of tasteless jokes about generally out-of-bounds things like paedophilia were unearthed by US conservatives. It was only after public statements of support by many in Hollywood, including the Guardians actors like Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and Dave Bautista, he was eventually reinstated. Making the most of the opportunity, he has crafted a funny, emotional, and earnest conclusion to easily the most consistent trilogy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

You know me. I have long been disillusioned with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as every new entry, whether on TV or film, keeps disappointing in fresh new ways. But I was excited about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 (hereon GotG 3). It is James Gunn, after all. The man is yet to miss in his entire career. Even the comparatively weaker entries, like the second GotG movie, were still far more interesting than most superhero fare. I anyway ended up being surprised at how good GotG 3 is.

If it were not clear from the trailers and promos, Vol 3 is a dramatic departure from its mostly humour-heavy predecessors, with a sombre tone that tackles weighty themes like trauma and redemption. While every single Guardian gets their moment in the spotlight, it is above all Rocket's movie. We have been given hints earlier that however upbeat he may sound and act, the intelligent anthropomorphic raccoon has had a dark past. That past plays out in considerable detail through random flashbacks throughout the movie.

I firmly believe GotG 3 is the darkest MCU has ever been. Sure, watching half of Tony Stark's body burned up to crisp was heart-wrenching, but have you seen an animal being tortured by a sadistic megalomaniac who is egoistic enough to think he can "perfect" naturally evolved life-forms?

But I am getting ahead of here. As GotG 3 begins, we see Chris Pratt's Peter Quill aka Star-Lord still moping about the lack of Gamora (Zoe Saldana) in his life. The older one who loved him is dead, and the newer one who was brought back from the past has not gone through that journey with him and couldn't care less about him. He spends his time whining while in drunken haze. Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) has grown up into a size that is comparable to the original Groot. He is also nicer than the bratty teenager he was earlier. Nebula (Karen Gillan) is also nicer, but due to her very nature, retains that edge. Mantis (Pom Klementieff) also has an edge now and for an empath, not much patience. Drax is the same-old sweetie under a tough (literally and figuratively) exterior.

The Guardians have situated themselves at Knowhere. Suddenly, they are attacked by Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) and Rocket and although the attack is repelled, Rocket gets grievously injured. They figure out there is a kill switch inside his body and he may have only 48 hours to live. The only way to save him is to find an override by infiltrating the headquarters of High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), the aforementioned sadistic megalomaniac who turned Rocket into what he is.

The stage is set for the final mission of the Guardians, or at least this lineup.

High Evolutionary is a suitably vicious Big Bad with motivations sort of similar to Thanos. While the Mad Titan had Malthusian beliefs that overpopulation is the root of misery, the High Evolutionary is a mad scientist who wants to create a utopia populated by beings without flaws. To that effect, he has been experimenting on animals and other beings to create hybrids who, as he sees it, would be the apogee of existence. The scenes involving him and other creatures will break the heart of everyone who loves animals.

While Iwuji is in fine form and delivers an intense, charismatic performance, the character itself is nothing to write home about. Still, I deeply enjoyed Iwuji's scenes, and he manages to instill a lot into the character beyond what is on the paper. He has a savagery that he desperately keeps bottled in, but it inevitably comes out.

I liked Poulter's Warlock as a nearly all-powerful man with a kid's mind. He will obviously come to play a larger role later, but in GotG 3, he appears and then disappears for a few scenes.

The action in GotG 3 is great. There is a hallway scene that plays out in slow-motion, and it is up there with the best action scenes in MCU.

Despite some minor flaws GotG 3 is an excellent conclusion to the trilogy. Even its hefty runtime did not feel at all lengthy since the film is plot-heavy. It is a thrilling and heartfelt adventure that is well worth your time.