Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: It’s Good, Not Great

Those suggesting it’s Marvel’s best release ever are wide of the mark, but Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 is definitely the best we’ve seen from the MCU in years (the definition of damning with faint praise, I’m aware).

The third and final outing sees our gang of misfits upon the Knowhere, still reeling from the loss of Gamora. When an attack from an unknown foe, Adam Warlock (the always fantastic Will Poulter), leaves Rocket at death’s door, the gang must set out to save him by delving into his troubled past, and take on another threat to the universe in the process.

Now I am someone who was never really that impressed by the MCU, even in the glory days of its third phase it didn’t do much for me. But I always had a fondness for the first Guardians of the Galaxy. It was a breath of fresh air, with a cast of characters that it was so easy to root for. And so, in spite of their hugely underwhelming second outing, and the slew of awful releases churned out by Marvel in recent years, I still went into Volume 3 with cautious optimism. And I’m glad to say that I found it to be an enjoyable, if flawed, ride.  

Unsurprisingly the film benefits greatly from the simple fact that these are an immensely likeable bunch of characters. While this third entry doesn’t quite capture the magic of the first, it’s easy to get invested in their stories. The humour is still here in spades, and performances are solid across the board. All the usual suspects are great and do enough to remind you why it is the first Guardians film remains a highlight of the MCU back catalogue. Chris Pratt is still the perfect Quill, Dave Bautista is brilliant as gentle giant Drax, and Bradley Cooper gets more chance to provide some emotion to Rocket on top of his typical cynicism. Will Poulter and Elizabeth Debicki are always welcome additions, but they feel underutilised, their purpose seemingly being to add a few seconds of comic relief every so often before it’s back to some familiar faces. It’s a shame considering the strength of the performers that they seem somewhat side-lined, but this is Marvel we’re talking about, so there are inevitably spin-offs already in the works.

What is surprising is the rather dark exploration of Rocket’s past, animal lovers be warned, tears may well stream. It’s a welcome change of pace, but it does create some rather jarring tonal shifts as it devolves into Marvel’s typical crash-y bash-y fare, the ending in particular feeling generic and uninspired. These battles look fine, which isn’t something you can say for more recent Marvel projects, but they’re the least interesting aspects of the film, and it feels bloated and overlong as a result. It really has no business being 150 minutes long.

Is it great? No, and I think the fact some are claiming it is is merely indicative of a fanbase that has been starved of anything halfway decent in the past two to three years more than anything else. It doesn’t reach the levels of first one, but it’s pretty solid overall. There’s enough fun to be had here whether you’re a Guardians aficionado or not, although I’d say there’s definitely more to be gained of you fall into the former category. It needed to be more streamlined, and it often resorts to generic Marvel booming and bashing, but for the most part it was good to be back in the company of the gang for one final time.