Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) is critically hurt during an attack on Nowhere. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and his band of Guardians find out the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) is behind the sneak attack and set out to stop him. They eventually learn their target is the same man who turned Rocket into what he is and that only adds to their sense of revenge.
It’s being billed as a “farewell” film but Guardians 3 doesn’t play out as such. It’s a fun, emotional ride to be sure but in no way does the latest MCU installment make the audience feel like they won’t see these characters again. Now, the film does say goodbye to the team as we know them but that wasn’t good enough for me. I was “promised” more.
Speaking of characters, Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) seems like a completely wasted one. He was teased in the post credits scene of Guardians 2 but is hardly a central figure in 3. Perhaps more of his scenes hit the cutting room floor but his appearance felt random and single-purposed. Put another way, it felt like a forced payoff.
Guardians 3 is hard to watch at times, which is both a compliment to the filmmakers and a detriment to the audience. On one hand, the special effects team and Director James Gunn make the experiment scenes so believable (good) that the viewer completely buys into the torture of the animals (bad). And it’s not just one or two flashbacks. Rocket’s backstory propels the movie forward so the aforementioned images – and the emotions that come along with them – are present throughout.
Gunn’s final MCU direction is great, the performances (especially Pratt and Klementieff) are outstanding, the humor constantly hits, the story keeps you on the edge of your seat and it overflows with heart. All that said, something about Guardians 3 feels empty, almost hollow. In addition, some characters were underutilized and the movie failed to deliver what it promised in its marketing: a goodbye.
JKG SCORE: 7.0
Untitled Film Project 