Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3

Seems like always around Memorial Weekend there's some new Marvel movie to watch. I'm not crazy about the super hero movies, but I do enjoy the special effects and witnessing them on the big screen. It's especially quite nostalgic to watch a summer blockbuster at the movie theaters, an experience I cherished during my teenage years. The smell of popcorn, watching the previews, and just sharing those real emotions and reactions with total strangers. It's rare for me now, but I still find it to be quite an enjoyable recreational activity. It's nice that I can occasionally share this with my younger nephews. 

Of all the many Marvel Avenger stories, I would say the Guardians of the Galaxy is probably my favorite. It was first released in 2014 and I honestly had never heard about the superhero story. I remember it was quite popular at the Indians ballpark amongst our video and promotions crew. I finally did catch it on the big screen and instantly enjoyed everything about the movie. Not just the science fiction action, but the actors, the classic rock soundtrack, and the nonstop comedy. The writing and comedic chemistry  throughout the movie is sensational. This was the case for the first movie (2014) and even more so for the second movie (2017). Five years later this newest movie marks the third installation in the series. 

The Premise

Following their epic fight the celestial Ego and the events of the Inifinty War, the Guardians of the Galaxy reside in the region of Knowhere. Peter Quill is depressed that Gamora was killed by Thanos, while the rest find some semblance of normalcy. This is all abruptly changed when Rocket is attacked by an assassin from the Sovereign race. He is put on life preservation and the Guardians must use all their powers to find how to save him. During his unconsciousness the backstory of Rocket is shared in which he was created as a scientific experiment by the wicked High Evolutionary. He befriends several other animal-humanoids such as him but they are later killed by the OrgoCorp and Rocket is able to escape.

Peter Quills calls on the help of the Ravagers to infiltrate the OrgoCorp where they can find more clues about Rocket's mysterious condition. Here the Guardians are reunited with an alternate version of Gamora (who does not remember Quill or any of the guardians). After a series of fights they are able to locate Rocket's secret file which details his experimentation, however they are still missing the key to curing him. So they continue their journey to the Counter-earth, a planet of animal-humanoids created by the High Evolutionary. Quill, Groot, and Nebula are able to locate the Orgo Lab on the planet where they confront the High Evolutionary. He shares his vision of a perfect society, however admits that it is flawed and decides to destroy it there in that moment. Quill and Groot are able to escape and find the missing key to cure Rocket. However Drax, Mantis, and Nebula board the Lab spaceship in an effort to rescue Quill.

Back on board the Guardian's spaceship Quill and Groot reunite with Gamora and are able to revive Rocket. They then launch an offensive against the Orgo Spaceship, intending to save Drax, Mantis, and Nebula. They later discover that there is a whole colony of imprisoned children and animals on board the ship. The Knowhere spaceship comes to the Guardian's aid and fires heavily upon the Orgo spaceship and a major battle ensues. The Guardians are eventually able to free the children and the animals and defeat the High Evolutionary. Their victory is short lived as the Guardians decide to dissemble. Gamora returns to the Ravagers, Mantis decides to go on her own adventure, and Peter Quill returns to earth to find his grandfather. 

The Review

The movie was good with lots of laughs, exhilarating action, and incredible special effects. I will say offhand that it was not quite as good as part 1 or part 2. For me the dynamic was a little off with Gamora not recognizing the rest of the crew. While she still played the cold serious one in the group, I felt she was too disconnected from the rest. Groot wasn't quite as adorable as he was in the 2nd movie and Rocket was out of commission most of the movie. Surprisingly one of the break-out characters in this one was Mantis who had lots of funny and heroic moments. Quill, Drax, and Nebula also offered some good comedy and content. The soundtrack was okay but also not as good as the first two movies.

With all that said I still enjoyed the movie and would consider it my favorite of the Marvel series (even ahead of Thor and the Avengers series). I do think the ending was rather unresolved and really hope there is a sequel if not a few more after that. To see the Guardians break up is not at all how the story should end. I believe this film series has the potential to expand beyond Marvel, into it's own sci-fi universe with endless content and character spin-offs. With its unique style, setting, and characters, the story of the Guardians of the Galaxy has the potential to rival other major Sci Fi Universes such as Star Trek or even Star Wars.