Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 – the grittiest Marvel film yet

Let me start off by saying that my review contains no spoilers. Any information stated here is featured in trailers that have already been released.

I still remember exactly what it was like to see the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie at the cinema. I didn’t yet have a clue who the characters were. A fox and a tree in space, or something along those lines. No wonder Marvel initially had doubts about whether the film would be a success. Back in 2014, the comic book giant was by no means considered the seemingly indomitable producer of box office hits it is today – issues aside.

And the Guardians themselves have played a major role in creating this image. It wasn’t until we viewers, gleefully bobbing our heads to Redbone’s Come and Get Your Love, fell for Gunn’s mad mixture of misguided yet essentially lovable misfits, that Marvel realised the world was ready to enter the depths of the comic book rabbit hole. Even if the film is about talking foxes, erm...raccoons and trees in space.

Nearly nine years later, we’re heading toward the story’s inevitable conclusion; a conclusion surprisingly far removed from the series’ past light-heartedness. Guardians 3 is clearly more mature –

and darker.

What’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 about?

If there’s one thing the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) despises, it’s imperfection. This fuels his desire to create the perfect society, populated by perfect beings. In reality, however, as Rocket (Bradley Cooper) puts it in the trailer, the truth is much simpler: he just hates things the way they are.

The High Evolutionary is missing a piece of the puzzle that’d allow him to achieve his goal: Rocket. Sure, the raccoon is merely a product of some cruel joke experiments, a string of crude mistakes, a crime against nature. Arguably, though, the raccoon is a successful crime; one that possesses extraordinary intelligence. Because of this, the High Revolutionary sees him as the key to take his own experiments to the next level – a stage of evolution he’ll finally be satisfied with.

All of this leads the villain to set his deadliest creation yet – Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) – on Rocket. What the High Evolutionary hasn’t factored into the equation, however, are the remaining Guardians of the Galaxy.

James Gunn: saviour, messiah – and pariah

Here’s a crazy story for you. When writer-director James Gunn was fired by Disney in the summer of 2018, things looked bleak for Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3. Lest we forget, the release of the previous two Guardians of the Galaxy movies had seen Gunn deliver not just two of his own biggest box office hits, but two of the most popular Marvel films ever. This was just one of the reasons Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige had big plans for Gunn.

That is until 2018, when the internet took a trip down memory lane.

That summer, distasteful but long-deleted previous tweets posted by Gunn resurfaced. It didn’t take long for the initially surreal-sounding reports to morph into a media shitstorm. Marvel parent company Disney saw no other option than to pull Gunn from the game – a shock development. Acceptance of the move, however, was far from unanimous. The people in fiercest disagreement were those close to Gunn, who were willing to forgive his internet escapades as attention-seeking provocations posted in the foolishness of youth and later deleted. After all, no-one at Marvel wanted to make the third Guardians of the Galaxy without Gunn. Not even the actors. The project was in danger of collapsing.

Then, the dust settled. A year later, in May 2019, Gunn was rehired. In the meantime, however, he’d teamed up with DC Comics, gifting Marvel’s nemesis – of all the film studios – its first piece of critical and audience acclaim in a long time: 2021 release The Suicide Squad. Thanks to his successes, he’s since risen to become DC’s new studio head. This is exactly why Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 has a gravitas rarely seen at Marvel. Not only is the film the last appearance of the original Guardians cast, but it’s also Gunn’s last Marvel movie. His tear-jerker of a farewell.

The end of an era.

It’s getting emotional up in here – seriously emotional

It really is tough for me to say goodbye to this chaotic crew. Now, don’t take that as a spoiler – it’s no secret that some actors are set to turn their backs on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) (linked article in German). Nor is it hush-hush that Gunn had always envisioned Guardians of the Galaxy as a trilogy; one he has no intention of continuing. Of course, this doesn’t mean Marvel will never use its Guardians again. Not in a universe where, as Chris Pratt pointed out in the same interview (in German), even the dead can come back.

But Gunn has done the legwork to end «his» story in a manner worthy of that description. Not just because the film signals the finish line for himself and swathes of the original cast, but because the Guardians’ story is done and dusted – with all its consequences. Yes, that sounds cryptic, but I don’t want to risk giving you any spoilers by saying more.

Either way, Gunn skillfully deploys this rare freedom. After all, his work no longer needs to take the next phase of the never-ending MCU into account. Instead, for one last time, the director, who writes the screenplays for all his films himself, has given each character just the story they deserve after all this time. No-one is left behind. No character development falls short. And everybody gets their last big, meaningful moment.

Above all, Rocket.

Folks, I’m warning you, take tissues to the cinema. Guardians 3 dedicates a lot of time to Rocket’s heartrending backstory. It doesn’t do it as heavy-handedly as, say, Bobba Fett’s backstory in The Book of Boba Fett. Gunn’s script is too good for that. Unlike in the Star Wars series, Gunn deftly interweaves flashbacks with the present, creating connections and parallels. As a result, the flashbacks never slam the brakes on the plot. Instead, they’re emotional story elements that play out exactly when needed. What’s more, they give Guardians of the Galaxy a gritty edge that I’ve never seen in a Marvel movie before. A grittiness that’s carried through the film with astounding consistency.

After all, what Marvel does 99 per cent of the time when things get sad is ruin the moment with the most inappropriate humour imaginable. It’s absurd; as if the Marvel bosses don’t trust younger audiences to feel anything. I mean, God forbid we want some depth.

Guardians 3 is miles from that norm. It’s not that the film doesn’t thrive on Gunn’s familiar wry and often black humour. But the humour no longer sets the tone. Too much is at stake, including the lives of the Guardians themselves. We viewers feel this in every second of the film. In the final third of the film especially, Marvel goes for a scene so intense that it felt like I was in a parallel universe. First, my heart is blown into a thousand pieces. Then, there’s an act of such unsettling brutality that even as I’m writing these words, I can feel the shock of it deep in my bones. It’s a world away from the «cheap humour only capable of raising a laugh from kids watching the Disney Channel on Saturday mornings» I recently mentioned in an article. Guardians 3 is gob-smackingly strong stuff.

Even for me.

He’s a lousy dog, this villain

The new villain – the High Evolutionary – plays a part in this too. Admittedly, his motives are utterly shallow and aren’t explained at all. He wants perfection because... he just does. Marvel has served up better than this before, in the form of Killmonger from Black Panther, or Avengers villain Thanos. Nevertheless, it doesn’t detract from the film. Where the High Evolutionary offers little depth in terms of character, his incredibly despicable deeds reach new heights – a level no-one in the MCU will surpass anytime soon.

Of course, I won’t reveal exactly what he does. What I can tell you is that it’s dreadful, and gets right under your skin. Not for a second did I find it hard to profoundly detest the High Evolutionary played by Chukwudi Iwuji – a feat no Marvel film has managed before. It even goes so far as to make me wonder if the role might have affected Iwuji. It wouldn’t be the first time an actor felt so repulsed by their role that they hardly dared look in the mirror at the end of a day on set.

For a Marvel villain to evoke such strong feelings despite a lack of motive, something must have gone right with Gunn’s script – or Iwuji’s acting. Even though it’s often said that the best villains are ones with motives we understand. But in the end, the «why» probably isn’t as important as the «how». Either way, the High Evolutionary has well and truly earned my revulsion.

Conclusion: rather than family fun, there’s drama with real emotion

I’m blown away. Not in a «hottest movie of the year, I’m going to see it five times at the cinema» kind of way. It’s more because Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 touched and moved me deeply. Maybe it’s because I’m getting soft in my «old» age; I’ve rarely found it as difficult as I did today to retain my composure and not start bawling in front of the other journos at the cinema. Or maybe it’s because Gunn hasn’t only delivered a worthy but emotional conclusion to his Guardians trilogy, but because Marvel has finally managed to make a movie again where it’s not the post-credits scene that’s the most exciting part. For a change.

For the most part, Gunn remains true to his style. He still demonstrates his masterful skill at creating a unique blend of action, humour and depth with his films, forming an unusual but all the more endearing troupe of heroes out of a motley crew of screwed-up characters. More generally, there’s an action scene towards the end (I’ll just call it The Hallway Scene) which is one of the best the MCU has ever staged. However, what comes on top of all that is its seriously gritty edge, which is pursued in a refreshingly consistent way. What started out in 2014 as a feel-good space adventure with a load of 1980s rock music has this year become perhaps the most mature and touching Marvel film.

Well done, James Gunn.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 hits theatres on 3 May 2023. Running time: 150 minutes. Age rating: 12.