Guardians of the Galaxy

Normally, I write the movie of the month article the day after I watch the movie. Then, I’ll go to the movies after work and write it the next morning. I like to write about movies while they’re still fresh in my head, but not this time. I watched the new Guardians of the Galaxy movie ten days ago. And the more time I’ve had to think about this movie, the more the hype around it on the internet drives me crazy. So without further ado, here are my thoughts and review of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

My Review

It was a great movie. It is probably my favorite Marvel Movie since Spider-Man: No Way Home. (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was great, but something about seeing Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire back as Spider-Man hit differently for me.) I would even go as far as to say that Guardians of the Galaxy is the best trilogy in all of Marvel. The second one is the weakest but is still better than many other Marvel movies. Overall this movie was a blast to watch and depressing at the same time. It gave us a great conclusion to the character’s stories without it being a real ending. The Guardians of the Galaxy, as we know them, is over, but the characters we love are still there for Marvel to use as they see fit. 

Things I Liked

The Villain

The High Evolutionary might be the most compelling side villain we have gotten. Loki was too charming to hate, the Red Skull was barely used, and all of Iron Man’s main villains were forgettable. Kang will be an overarching villain, like how Thanos was used. (I wonder if Marvel will recast Jonathan Majors with everything happening with him?) I HATED the High Evolutionary. He was a disgusting mad scientist who was playing god. I hated him the same way I hated Joffrey from Game of Thrones. You can’t imagine anyone else doing what they did. You hate the character but appreciate the performance. 

Peter Didn’t Get The Girl

Nothing would have ruined this movie more if Gamora magically fell in love with Peter or remembered everything they had been through together. The hero does not always get everything they want. Marvel treated Gamora as an individual character with her arc instead of some prize for Peter to win after being a hero. It was nice to see you for once. I love that the closure we did get with all the characters was different. There wasn’t some forced reason for the whole group to stay together. Peter started to heal from his childhood trauma. Drax finally got to be the dad he was always meant to be. Rocket also got to heal from his childhood trauma while taking up the mantle of the new leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy. (This seriously downplays Rocket’s story, but I don’t want to play it up too much.) Groot stayed with Rocket. And Nebula got to create the safe home she never had. 

Things I Hated:

The Over Hype 

Was this movie good? Absolutely, but people need to stop overhyping everything that comes out. I enjoyed this movie, but parts didn’t hit as hard if I wasn’t bombarded with “how sad this movie is” or “how Rocket’s backstory is so depressing.” People call this the best of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. I think the first one is still the best. But if people can start overhyping every little thing that comes out, that would be nice. 

Groot Speaking

Nothing was more jarring to me than when Groot spoke actual words at the end of the movie. I get it’s supposed to be the audience finally understanding him, but it’s the first time that Groot wasn’t Groot. It took me out of the movie for a second, and all I could think about was Vin Diesel and not the moment and its impact.

Adam Warlock

I have been ready to see Adam Warlock in action since he was teased a few years ago, but he felt so out of place in this movie. He is too strong of a character for this specific story. I don’t hate Adam Warlock, and I’m excited to see him in other movies. I just didn’t like him for this movie. Will Poulter as himbo Adam Warlock is pretty great, though. 

My Rating:

4 out of five cute raccoon babies. 

Also, We’ve started a fun little series ranking Marvel movies by their phases. Here’s the first part.