Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

This fun movie is now playing in theaters and is available to stream online.

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 2 hours 30 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: A-

IN A NUTSHELL:

I’m a HUGE fan of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, so I’ve been looking forward to this grand finale. It pains me to even acknowledge that this is the last film in this series. Say it isn’t so, James Gunn! He wrote and directed the film. At the beginning of the film, we see the lights turn off in Quill’s bedroom, illustrating that James Gunn is putting this trilogy to bed. But surely, Marvel won’t really retire this hugely successful part of the MCU, right???

Here’s how the studio describes this final installment: In Marvel Studios “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” our beloved band of misfits are looking a bit different these days. Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally his team around him to defend the universe along with protecting one of their own. A mission that, if not completed successfully, could quite possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.

THINGS I LIKED:

The fantastic cast includes our fan favorites: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Kementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, Will Poulter, Sylvester Stallone, Elizabeth Debicki, and more!
The beginning of the movie starts on a sad, serious note, something I wasn’t expecting.
Lots of creative set pieces.
Gunn does a great job blending tense action scenes with humor and heart.
We get to find out Rocket Raccoon’s origin story. Awwww…
It is said that many of the songs in the film are diegetic, which means the characters can hear the music.
The song that opens and closes the trilogy is “Come and Get Your Love” by Redbone. Sweet.
Keep watching during the rolling credits at the end of the movie for another cute scene that references Kevin Bacon.
As always, the soundtrack is terrific. The rest of the music by John Murphy was excellent.
The story is extremely emotional. You WILL cry.
We get a few short cameo performances from a few past characters. Yay! No spoilers!
I always love the slow-motion action sequences. So entertaining.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The movie definitely assumes that you already know and love the characters, and understand how the Guardians’ universe works. If you haven’t seen any of the Guardians movies, you should absolutely not start with this one. Start from the beginning.
Too many of the costumes and sets look like costumes and sets: more design than magic. In fact, this movie sets a new record for the most prosthetics (23,000) used on over 1000 actors.
I wish the voice of Cosmo, the Spacedog, were different. It sounds too much like Mantis’ character. The female voice by Maria Bakalova was used to pay tribute to Laika, the Russian dog who was one of the first animals in space.
There are way too many characters to keep track of in this final installment.
So much yelling.
The movie is messy with tonal changes.
There are a lot of flashbacks that might confuse the timeline for some viewers.
Ultimately, I wanted more. Because I’m such a fan of the franchise, I really wanted to be blown away but wasn’t. Were you? I need to see it again.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Some profanity and crude conversations, including an F-bomb
Violence
People and creatures die
Lots of destruction

THEMES:

Family and friendship
Loyalty
Love and loss
Purpose
The value of a life
Compassion

FUNNY LINES:

“I was screaming at something behind you, not you. You’re really cool.” – Mantis (Pom Klementieff)
“It’s not a trap; it’s a face-off.” – Peter Quill (Chris Pratt)
“Did that look cool?” – Peter Quill (Chris Pratt)

INTERESTING LINES:

“Be not as you are but as you should be.” – The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji)
“I wanted to make things perfect.” – The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji)
“I’m not trying to conquer the universe; I’m perfecting it.” – The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji)
“Use your heart, boy!” – Yondu Udonta (Michael Rooker)
“Everyone deserves a second chance.” – Drax (Dave Bautista)
“You weren’t born to be a destroyer; you were born to be a dad.” – Nebula (Karen Gillan)