Never Ending Movie Carnival
Never Ending Movie Carnival
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 review: Raccoon Rocket is the hero of this superhero extravaganza that gives an emotional send off to Gunn’s guardians.
What: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 review - Before you scroll down to my review, let me remind you that this is director James Gunn’s final tryst with the Marvel universe and the Guardians, he is switching gears and moving on to DC. The hate between the Marvel and the DC fans is always eminent, but the final instalment from the Guardians franchise is a touchy and personal one.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 synopsis
Gunn pours his mind and heart into this saga that ticks off with Quill’s ( Chris Patt) longing for her Gamora. Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally his team around him on a dangerous mission to save the fatally injured Rocket`s life - a mission that, if not completed successfully, could quite possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them. But it isn’t long that their lives are toppled by Rocket’s turbulent past.
Quill spends his days getting drunk, still lamenting over Gamora (Zoe Saldana), who died in 2018 - Avengers: Infinity War. The version of her that came back in Avengers: Endgame, remember, was a Gamora from the past (2014), one who’d never met the Guardians.
So, you have to pretty conversant with the timelines, she has no memory of Quill’s love and their time together. But Vol 3 is more of Rocket’s story and his origin. In the opening moments of the film, he’s seriously injured and it’s a race against time as far as his survival is concerned. But the gang can’t heal him because he has some sort of inbuilt failsafe that doesn’t allow him to be operated on. To save him, the gang must track down Rocket’s creator - the antagonist of this enterprise – an eccentric scientist called the High Evolutionary (a suitably unhinged Chukwudi Iwuji) who dreams of creating the perfect species.
They must enter the Orgoscope – the headquarters of the High Evolutionary’ s company Orgocorp and bring the code to save Rocket, which they do with the help of the Ravagers (headed by Sylvester Stallone, in a pleasing cameo) and a reluctant Gamora.
Gunn builds the story in the first half of the film consciously and reserves the second hour for the full-blown action. This is by far the most satisfying Marvel movie in terms of emotional heft, production design, the exquisite set pieces and technical wizadry.
Music by John Murphy has a melancholic and nostalgic vibe and reminds us constantly that this is Gunn’s finale in the franchise.
It also reminds us of Gunn’s goofiness and his penchant for irreverent humor – here we see a good amount of stupidity by the incredibly powerful Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) and Cosmo demanding to be called as a good Dog. There are moments where tragedy is sandwiched by comedy. A showdown between Mantis and Nebula could have been executed better. But the final action, much with the help of the CGI, redeems these shaky portions.
These bunch of the galaxy saving idiots are the most lovable creatures, and you get an array of weird creatures including the Abilisks. I was simply in awe of all of them. Patt lend an ingenious side to the sullen Quill and it is always good to watch him as the captain of the team. Zoe as Saldana has a devious side to her, she is tough and convincing. I loved how Vin Diesel fleshed out Groot, but my heart goes out to Bradley Cooper’s Rocket whose character arc is the hallmark of this film.
I go with 3.5 stars out of 5 for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3.0 . A visual spectacle that must not be missed by its fans.
Ahwaan Padhee, is an IT Techie/Business Consultant by profession and a film critic/cinephile by passion, is also associated with Radio Playback as well, loves writing and conducting movie quizzes. More By Ahwaan Padhee