Movie Review: Guardians latest adventure takes you on a fun ride

Moving Pictures By Mo Burford

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, James Gunn, 2023

As readers of my column will know, there is no love lost between myself and the current run of Marvel movies; and like many moviegoers, I’ve been experiencing some pretty extreme Marvel Fatigue. But with the return of our old buddies Starlord, Drax, Mantis, Nebula, Rocket, Gamora (yeah, she’s back), Groot and Kraglin, we return to a galaxy of dumb-dumbs trying to save the universe once again, and with comic book tomfoolery, humor, and heart. 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 finds the aforementioned Guardians struggling to cope and find direction after the loss of Gamora when suddenly the group is attacked by a new, golden foe, and Rocket is gravely injured in the ensuing battle. So The Guardians must try to save Rocket and, to do so, must confront an even greater foe, Rocket’s creator, the High Evolutionary. Throughout this time, we get flashbacks of Rocket’s origin story. What follows is a goofy, action-packed melodrama (you know, a comic book!) and a fitting end to this very fine trilogy.

What makes Guardians successful where other movies of its ilk fail are its characters. Writer/director James Gunn understands what makes these kinds of comic book stories compelling and what gives them stakes: a group of misfits comes together to form a kind of family, where each member is stronger together, and their concern for each other is their strength. They’re kind of losers, and that’s great! They have dreams and desires, they wish for love and acceptance and connection. And they’re mortal–which may seem minor, but we have a lot of immortals or near immortals in these Marvel/DC movies–which means there are literal life and death stakes to their actions. In contrast: Thor isn’t interesting. In Thor: Love and Thunder (a real mess, in my opinion) he is already too high status, a literal god with no real problems.   This makes his character bland and the machinations of his story rote and meaningless.

Also, lots of the characters in the Guardians are kind of dumb: good guys, bad guys, in-betweeners. And it’s wonderful! In a lot of the Marvel movies, the characters are either scientists, geniuses or generic smarties–this is leftover post-WWII, Cold War-era comic book stuff, where it became clear that, societally, the best and most useful thing you could be was a scientist or a soldier, ideally both. But with dummies, we have so much opportunity: for growth, for humor, for humanity. Because we’re all really dummies in one way or another, right? 

This brings me to the Guardians main baddie, The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji). I won’t get into spoilers, but he’s one of the more compelling villains in a Marvel movie to date, with surprising character turns and real gravitas. In all the Guardians movies, the villains and antagonists have often been fathers or father figures, and in The High Evolutionary we get a father figure rife with metaphorical (and literal) dysfunction. This kind of storytelling is what makes these movies special, adding depth where we are usually given surface-level drama.

It’s worth saying, too, that all the performances in Guardians are wonderful, and they bring so much life and humor to the movie. 

And I haven’t even talked about the action yet, which is really good! Gunn not only understands how to craft structure and characters that make movies compelling, but he also understands how to film an action-adventure movie that is exciting, impactful, and a wonder to look at. Gunn understands, perhaps better than any director making these kinds of comic book movies, how to create action sequences that feel tense but are also genuinely creative and exciting. And this is something he has consistently shown in the movies he makes, from the last two Guardians of the Galaxy films to his Suicide Squad. The action is fun and wacky and gross (kind of gooey in this one) without being a bummer. 

Despite having real stakes and lots of moments of genuine emotion, Guardians resists the current trend of becoming maudlin and manages to remain a fun ride and good time. In short, I adored this movie. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 helped me to remember what I loved about comics as a kid, and what I still love about blockbuster movies today.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 (2023)

★★★★

(four stars)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 is now playing at Columbia Cinema and Hood River Cinema. 

Questions, comments, movie suggestions? Email Mo at movingpicturesccc@gmail.com

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