‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Ends as the Best Trilogy in the MCU

Nothing can prepare you for the emotional journey you take when you sit down to view Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which is the best Marvel film since the Infinity Saga. Writer and director James Gunn brings us back to the beginning by giving us a story that blends humor, emotion, epic fights, and a bomb soundtrack. True to form, you’ll laugh, cry, and groove along to its beats. 

The film appropriately opens with the acoustic version of Radiohead’s “Creep” as we tour the current state of things from Rocket’s perspective. Having settled on the Celestial space station Knowhere, the Guardians are still picking up the pieces of their lives. There’s an overcast on our normally sunny gang of misfit superheroes from the start. Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord (Chris Pratt; Jurassic World franchise), is still mourning the loss of his Gamora (Zoe Saldaña; Avatar: The Way of Water), only to have his world turned upside down again when a new Gamora appears but with no interest in him romantically.

Before we can dive into that, Rocket is attacked by Adam Warlock (Will Poulter; Dopesick). The fight is brutal, leaving the gang wounded; most severely is Rocket. When the crew rushes to his aid, they discover that the technology inside Rocket is preventing them from healing him. The only way to solve the problem is to get information from the place where Rocket was made into the hyper-intelligent being he is today. 

Enter the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji; Peacemaker), a genius-level geneticist who is obsessed with crafting the perfect society. This narcissistic obsession with evolution and high intelligence leads him to run experiments and tests on various creatures, including Rocket. 

The stakes in this film are high for our Guardians as it revolves around saving Rocket’s life. This plays well into Gunn’s maximalist approach to storytelling. His use of bright colors and bold designs infuses the film with excitement and energy, making each moment feel bigger. He uses various elements collectively to evoke emotional resonance — music, design, action, and heart. Because of this, the laughs are louder, and the heartfelt moments turn into full-on sobfests. By the end, you’re overflowing with so many emotions you hardly know where to start explaining them. 

Through witty writing and biting action, Gunn gifts the audience with moments that allow their favorite characters to shine, including a massive fight scene that will go down in MCU history as one of the best we’ve seen outside of Avengers Endgame. Each character is given room to stretch and grow, giving the audience heartfelt moments and funny one-liners to remember them by. We even get more of Kraglin and Cosmo the Spacedog and a few surprising cameos we won’t dare spoil. Everyone is at their best.

Saldaña’s reinvention of Gamora’s character is a testament to her talent. This Gamora is nothing like the one we lost at the hands of Thanos. Her ability to inhabit the essence of a “Gamora” while clearly distinguishing between the two celebrates her skill as an actor. Likewise, Iwuji is a great villain. In fact, at first, it’s hard to consider him as one. But the film pulls at the hem of his character, revealing his villainy in true potency by the end of the film.

There were a few artistic choices that didn’t quite connect. Quill’s boozy grief seemed a little out of character. Yes, he’s dealing with Gamora’s loss, but he appeared to be fine during the Christmas special, so it seemed odd that he regressed in his healing. Although that is how grief works, it comes in waves. Certain moments of the dialogue felt out of place but proved necessary to close things out. It all came to somewhat of a crashing halt. It’s an understood choice, but still felt a little jolted. Some comic readers might not favor the alterations to Adam Warlock’s character. Still, I found that it ideally suited Poulter and allowed room for that character to continue within the MCU.

Overall, there is great depth to what Gunn has done through the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. As you watch, you might have a lump in your throat because you know we’re leading up to the goodbye. You might think you won’t be affected. You might think you know what’s coming, but nothing prepares you for the feels as we say farewell to the franchise that altered the formula for MCU films. This film solidifies Guardians of the Galaxy as the best MCU trilogy to date!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars