Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3Facing the past is a lot easier with friends. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is a sci-fi/action superhero movie and the third in the series of the same name. In this entry, the anthropomorphic raccoon named Rocket (Bradley Cooper) is wounded. In his comatose state, he recalls his past, when he was lifted up (and then tortured) by the detestable egomaniac who calls himself the "High Evolutionary" (Chukwudi Iwuji). Meanwhile, his allies desperately seek to prevent his imminent death by finding a way to circumvent a "kill switch" placed in his heart by the High Evolutionary, travelling across the stars on their newest adventure to do so.
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Since the great shuffling of heroes and the like after the end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's capstone film, Avengers: Endgame, many of the stories of characters like Peter Quill, a.k.a. "Star-Lord" (Chris Pratt) and his merry band of rogues have been unleashed, allowing for the storytellers (like James Gunn) to explore other sides of these characters not directly linked to the threat of Thanos. This entry explores the heretofore enigmatic backstory of Rocket--his sad past which he's kept to himself all of this time. Meanwhile, Peter tries to cope with the loss of his love, the reformed daughter of Thanos, Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), who has been replaced with a version of herself from the past who has no memory of the romance that blossomed between them. Peter and Gamora end up working together again at the behest of Gamora's rival and half-sister, Nebula (Karen Gillan), who reaches out to Peter's old crew--The Ravagers--for aid in storming the corporate headquarters of the High Evolutionary. As mentioned, they seek a cure for Rocket, who was wounded by a newborn superman called Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) at the beginning of the film. Adam struggles to manage his extreme power, leading to moments that are both visually stunning and often comical. The result of this melange of story is a bounteous mix of adventure, comedy, drama, and camaraderie between a crew whose friendships have forged a bond as strong as adamantium (or vibranium, take your pick). Oh, and the soundtrack makes itself known at virtually every possible turn, as one should expect from the series. (You will catch yourself tapping your foot.)
One of the most endearing aspects of these movies (the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, to be specific) is the way that it merges humor and emotion. Get that box of tissues ready, folks, because you're gonna need it here! The flashbacks to the L'Oréal Quality Testing Center (I mean...the High Evolutionary's experimentation lab) begins with a scared litter of raccoons (including Rocket as a baby) afraid for their lives, locked up in what looks like the worst pound ever. After Rocket is uplifted, the High Evolutionary informs him that he is building a perfect world, implying that Rocket will have a home there. (Isn't every tyrant claiming to build a "better world" doing so just to compel his or her subjects to adore them as a god? That's what's going on here, by the way.) Following the experimentation, Rocket becomes a genius and finds a flaw the High Evolutionary's mutation chamber. (The fact that he starts his mutagenic demonstration by using a turtle had me wondering if the secret was in the ooze...never mind.) Anyway, this observation doesn't invite praise, but only serves to threaten the egomaniac's already fragile self-esteem. See, H.E. here (yeah, that's easier, we'll go with that) doesn't actually want to create--he wants to destroy, and to have an excuse to do it. He's a mustache-twirling monster; that he's exceedingly and unapologetically cruel to animals might just make him the most loathsome villain in the MCU to date. Rocket is tossed in with a few other techno-organic experiments, who become his friends, and all of them dream of a better life far away from here. (And yes, you can see where this is going.)
Meanwhile, the assorted action set pieces involving the rest of the Guardians (the space team, not the baseball team) take them to a super-gross space station composed of flesh, where their attempts at stealth and diplomacy falter, and (of course) lead to a comical and outlandish action sequence (with many more like it to follow). There's a great joy in seeing these larger than life figures perform wild martial arts, gunplay, and other assorted cartoonish acts of violence, often accompanied by music selections that punctuate the adrenaline-fueled frenzy. Keep an eye out (ear out?) for tracks like "No Sleep till Brooklyn" by the Beastie Boys, "We Care a Lot" by Faith No More, and (as featured in one of the trailers) Spacehog's "In the Meantime". (I truly expected to see Porky Pig in a spacesuit at some point in this movie. Ah well...) Easter eggs and cameos are part of the movie's charm, and while it is assumed that audiences have at least seen the prior two Guardians movies, there are other nods to the comics, movies/TV specials, and other pop culture references peppered in liberally. In fact, there are so many that you'll find yourself pulling a Cap (from the first Avengers movie), saying something like "I get that reference" more than once. One of the Easter eggs from an earlier movie even gets made into a major character: the telekinetic dog, Cosmo (voiced by Maria Bakalova). I particularly found the reveal of the individual Guardians' music preferences in the mid-credits scene also surprisingly apt. But anyway, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 takes advantage of its slightly longer runtime to include some fun moments that don't have the audience constantly (although almost constantly) barreling from action scene to action scene, interspliced with tear-jerking flashbacks. One of the best examples of these is when Peter and company go to "Counter-Earth", dominated by H.E.'s "Humanimals" (they're not, to the best of my knowledge, actually called this in the movie), which is a Hollywood interpretation of suburbia and our Earth, entirely populated by anthropomorphic animals. It's pretty hilarious, and it's ripe with possibilities for comedy gold. (Peter also drops a completely out-of-place F-Bomb here, but I digress.) For fans of the series--and Marvel movies, on the whole--there isn't a whole lot that will truly surprise you, but that shouldn't be meant to suggest that the movie isn't enjoyable anyway. The same charm that infused the prior movies is here, albeit with a sharp bent toward the maudlin at times. It's pretty clear that this film is a send-off to some of the magic that came before, so savor the ride.
Recommended for: Fans of those wacky misadventures of that colorful band of space misfits we've all come to love, called the "Guardians of the Galaxy". Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will delight and entertain, although the High Evolutionary's weird fixation on inflicting suffering on animals makes for a few uncomfortable moments throughout.
One of the most endearing aspects of these movies (the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, to be specific) is the way that it merges humor and emotion. Get that box of tissues ready, folks, because you're gonna need it here! The flashbacks to the L'Oréal Quality Testing Center (I mean...the High Evolutionary's experimentation lab) begins with a scared litter of raccoons (including Rocket as a baby) afraid for their lives, locked up in what looks like the worst pound ever. After Rocket is uplifted, the High Evolutionary informs him that he is building a perfect world, implying that Rocket will have a home there. (Isn't every tyrant claiming to build a "better world" doing so just to compel his or her subjects to adore them as a god? That's what's going on here, by the way.) Following the experimentation, Rocket becomes a genius and finds a flaw the High Evolutionary's mutation chamber. (The fact that he starts his mutagenic demonstration by using a turtle had me wondering if the secret was in the ooze...never mind.) Anyway, this observation doesn't invite praise, but only serves to threaten the egomaniac's already fragile self-esteem. See, H.E. here (yeah, that's easier, we'll go with that) doesn't actually want to create--he wants to destroy, and to have an excuse to do it. He's a mustache-twirling monster; that he's exceedingly and unapologetically cruel to animals might just make him the most loathsome villain in the MCU to date. Rocket is tossed in with a few other techno-organic experiments, who become his friends, and all of them dream of a better life far away from here. (And yes, you can see where this is going.)
Meanwhile, the assorted action set pieces involving the rest of the Guardians (the space team, not the baseball team) take them to a super-gross space station composed of flesh, where their attempts at stealth and diplomacy falter, and (of course) lead to a comical and outlandish action sequence (with many more like it to follow). There's a great joy in seeing these larger than life figures perform wild martial arts, gunplay, and other assorted cartoonish acts of violence, often accompanied by music selections that punctuate the adrenaline-fueled frenzy. Keep an eye out (ear out?) for tracks like "No Sleep till Brooklyn" by the Beastie Boys, "We Care a Lot" by Faith No More, and (as featured in one of the trailers) Spacehog's "In the Meantime". (I truly expected to see Porky Pig in a spacesuit at some point in this movie. Ah well...) Easter eggs and cameos are part of the movie's charm, and while it is assumed that audiences have at least seen the prior two Guardians movies, there are other nods to the comics, movies/TV specials, and other pop culture references peppered in liberally. In fact, there are so many that you'll find yourself pulling a Cap (from the first Avengers movie), saying something like "I get that reference" more than once. One of the Easter eggs from an earlier movie even gets made into a major character: the telekinetic dog, Cosmo (voiced by Maria Bakalova). I particularly found the reveal of the individual Guardians' music preferences in the mid-credits scene also surprisingly apt. But anyway, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 takes advantage of its slightly longer runtime to include some fun moments that don't have the audience constantly (although almost constantly) barreling from action scene to action scene, interspliced with tear-jerking flashbacks. One of the best examples of these is when Peter and company go to "Counter-Earth", dominated by H.E.'s "Humanimals" (they're not, to the best of my knowledge, actually called this in the movie), which is a Hollywood interpretation of suburbia and our Earth, entirely populated by anthropomorphic animals. It's pretty hilarious, and it's ripe with possibilities for comedy gold. (Peter also drops a completely out-of-place F-Bomb here, but I digress.) For fans of the series--and Marvel movies, on the whole--there isn't a whole lot that will truly surprise you, but that shouldn't be meant to suggest that the movie isn't enjoyable anyway. The same charm that infused the prior movies is here, albeit with a sharp bent toward the maudlin at times. It's pretty clear that this film is a send-off to some of the magic that came before, so savor the ride.
Recommended for: Fans of those wacky misadventures of that colorful band of space misfits we've all come to love, called the "Guardians of the Galaxy". Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will delight and entertain, although the High Evolutionary's weird fixation on inflicting suffering on animals makes for a few uncomfortable moments throughout.