REVIEW: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, a Stunning End to the Trilogy Full of Heart and Emotion

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 brings together what some may say is the best part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with amazing performances, production, and storylines to the last installment of director and writer James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy with a final film that is sure to not disappoint.

The film stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, and Pom Klementieff, featuring Vin Diesel as Groot and Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, Will Poulter and Maria Bakalova.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 explores Rocket Raccoon’s backstory, and it’s not only a very traumatic and violent one, but it’s also full of emotional and very touching moments, alongside incredible action and colorful otherworldly production. This time around, Gunn explores where Rocket came from and who he is — confronting the uncomfortable past that he has dodged in past films. His backstory centers around him and his four furry friends, a cyber-mutated rabbit, walrus, and an adorable otter voiced by Linda Cardellini, Asim Chaudhry, and Mikaela Hoover.

The film opens with the Guardians trying to make a way for themselves on Knowhere, where Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is still spiraling and grieving his loss of Gamora (Zoe Saldaña). Before they know it, there’s an attack by Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) that has Rocket fighting for his life. The story digs deep into the Guardians coming together on a journey to find a way to heal Rocket which has them running into The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), a hideous villain with skin stretched across his face and clipped into place like a Hobby Lobby crafting board, who is trying to build perfect worlds similar to Earth, only with mutated animals and humans that have extraordinary intelligence and physical robotic attributes. The only problem is he hasn’t perfected it yet, including their uncontrollable vicious nature, and will literally go scorched earth on anyone getting in his way.

Quill is joined by Drax (Dave Bautista), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), and Nebula (Karen Gillan), who all have their own equally funny and emotional personalities and stories that are blended perfectly together. You laugh and almost cry at the way they all try to find their way as these lost ones who are just trying to get by protecting the galaxy and realizing that they are more connected than most families, yet you never wonder why any particular character exists. It’s an elegant dance that Dunn performs with such a vast cast as well as bringing in newcomers Kraglin (Sean Gunn) and his dog Cosmo (Maria Bakalova), who have dynamic personalities and battles that will easily draw you in wanting more. They get the humor just right.

Gunn leans heavily on emotion which is the glue that holds this movie together, and every character has their own troubles they are battling, including Adam Warlock and The High Evolutionary. Warlock is humorous but doesn’t totally mesh with the Guardians and is a bit of an outlier who is lost.

Chukwudi Iwuji steals some of the thunder of the film, giving a stellar and completely evil performance. Bradely Cooper, who reprised his role as Rocket, will have you emotionally. invested, and Zoe Saldana and Chris Patt bring that love-lost relationship banter of losing someone you love and having no recollection of who you once knew. Viewers will be able to relate to many of these storylines, as they will be able to see some of their personalities in themselves — they overwhelmingly tug at the heart.

The production of this film will wow you, there was so much to look at and take in, and the world-building was coming at you in high dosage with incredible set design and incredible color. The CGI does get a little convoluted at times, as do some of the storylines as you flip back and forth between Rocket’s story, sometimes having to interpret timelines quickly before shifting to another story. Some of the content comes with a trigger warning as there are implications of animal cruelty, but also some really powerful moments with Rocket and his furry friends as he confronts being consumed with guilt and finding his way out of fear, and letting others down. It never gets weird; you are deeply connected to these creatures, just like any character. That’s how powerful the story is, you just might have to hold back tears.

Overall this is a spectacular end to the trilogy, and I consider Vol. 3 to be a powerful ending to some really amazing characters. Gunn brought on a fantastic team, including production designer Beth Mickle; director of photography Henry Braham, BSC; editors Fred Raskin, ACE, and Greg D’Auria; costume designer Judianna Makovsky; music supervisor Dave Jordan; composer John Murphy; VFX supervisor Stephane Ceretti; SFX supervisor Dan Sudick; and stunt coordinator Heidi Moneymaker.

Hold on to your seats and see Guardians of the Galaxy in theaters on April 28 and watch the trailer below.