Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 review: Prepare to be scarred and healed over and over

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) recently celebrated its 15th anniversary, marking the release of Iron Man, which kick-started the entire saga. Up until Avengers: Endgame, almost every film hit the mark.

Thor: Dark World was an outlier as a critical letdown, but few superhero franchises or movies — or even mainstream action movies, for that matter — dared to kill off half its roster, but Avengers: Infinity War managed to pull that off with aplomb.

Since the end of Phase 3, big-screen MCU offerings seem to have been underwhelming, with OTT releases like Loki and WandaVision doing the bulk of the heavy lifting when it comes to setting up the multiverse saga and taking it forward.

Doctor Strange 2: Multiverse of Madness is the outlier here, doing well to set up the multiverse. Even Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which was expected to bring Kang — the Big Bad of the multiverse arc — to the screen with a bang, somehow felt more fizzled.

Yet, both films stuck to the “horror” feel of Phases 4 and 5. And that is where Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 — GOTG 3 for short — stole a march.

While Doctor Strange 2 had the pure horror aspect and Ant-Man 3 had splashes of absurdity, GOTG 3 dials it up with a degree of fear and gore that — had they been dialled up a couple of notches — would have taken the film high on the list of body horror films like The Human Centipede, Hostel, or Turistas.

Yet, writer-director James Gunn manages to keep the film grounded despite its high-flying action, and by the end, this feels like one of the best MCU offerings, if not one of the best movies this year.

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The story [Spoiler alert]

The premise appears straightforward enough. The Guardians have made Knowhere their base, as established in the Christmas Special.

Peter Quill aka Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) is still pining for Gamora (Zoe Saldana) as the others are sprucing up Knowhere when Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) attacks them.

His target turns out to be Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), whose injury due to the attack reveals that he has a kill switch built into him, and a bypass exists that could disable it and help him recover.

The quest for that bypass brings them — or specifically Rocket — in the crosshairs the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), who, it transpires, made Rocket into what he is today, and is still looking for him for reasons that become clear later.

So, does Rocket survive? What happens to the Guardians? That’s the story, and a really good one at that! (Take a bow, James Gunn.)

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On the screen

Acting-wise, almost everyone — from live-action to voice — is in form. However, the person doing the most lifting has to be Chuk Iwuji.

Despite James Gunn not establishing a backstory for the High Evolutionary, he comes across as one of the most menacing villains since Thanos.

However, where Thanos still had some degree of compassion — dare I even say, love? — for at least one of his daughters, the High Evolutionary is a monster in the clearest terms, with Iwuji bringing out his sadistic side well.

What’s more, Gunn manages to fit in enough plot for the 150-minute runtime that we, the viewer, don’t exactly feel our minds wandering, except for the small scenes of quarrels between the Guardians, with 2014-timeline Gamora thrown into the mix because Star-Lord still can’t get over the fact that Thanos killed the Gamora in his timeline.

The editing is beyond competent, except for a few scenes and one jump cut towards the end of the film where our heroes go from doing one thing in one scene to something completely different at the end.

The visual effects propel the story rather than overshadowing it, as they had done in Ant-Man 3.

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Between the lines

The writing by James Gunn is superb in GOTG 3. In fact, that’s what elevates it above its peers.

The story breaks your heart in some scenes, makes you happy-cry in others, then horrifies you, then gives you hope.

This ebb-and-flow continues for quite some time, sending the viewer on a rollercoaster of emotions before sticking the landing when it comes to ending a trilogy but also retaining hope for more.

The development of characters like Drax, Mantis, and Rocket — especially the manner of it — feels fulfilling, albeit a little overdue, as a viewer.

The music by Hollywood veteran John Murphy helps build the narrative, and the cinematography by Henry Braham gels well with the story without overwhelming it. Both, after all, are regular collaborators of James Gunn.

A special mention should be made about the make-up department, especially those who worked on the High Evolutionary: The effect of the facial skin stretched taut over the skull is terrifyingly fascinating!

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Final verdict

The Guardians of the Galaxy may never be the same — in more ways than one — after GOTG 3.

And that’s thanks to the story and the emotional connection that James Gunn manages to establish with the audience.

This is definitely one of the better MCU films in recent times, easily worthy of a rewatch.