The third 'Guardians of the Galaxy' is now in theaters (and in unofficial Russian ones too) — a farewell gift from James Gunn to Marvel fans before fully diving into work on the DC cinematic universe. We tell you how the new adventures of the unusual...

The new 'Guardians of the Galaxy' took quite a while to reach the screens (six whole years have passed since the release of the second part), and it's not just because of the coronavirus pandemic, but also because their permanent director and screenwriter James Gunn was unexpectedly fired in 2018 for jokes on Twitter from a decade ago. After a brief search for a replacement and overwhelming support for Gunn from the cast (the team wrote an open letter in defense of the director), Disney reconsidered and reinstated him. 

However, the producers at Warner Bros. were not idle during this window; they managed to snatch such a valuable asset for their team and handed him the reins for the sequel 'The Suicide Squad' and the resulting 'Peacemaker', which delayed the release of the 'Guardians' trilogy for another couple of years. Now James Gunn has been appointed head of DC Studios, and the new film about Peter Quill's team was presented as the final chord in the joint composition of Gunn and Marvel Studios. Well, the director is clearly leaving on a high note.

What's the Plot?

The Guardians team has set up their headquarters and is now hanging out on Knowhere (see 'Guardians of the Galaxy: The Holiday Special'), once owned by the Collector. Here they mind their own business. For example, Kraglin (Sean Gunn), along with the Soviet telepathic dog Cosmo (Maria Bakalova), is still learning to control the Yaka arrow, Rocket (Bradley Cooper) listens to music and indulges in memories of the past, and Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) drowns his longing for Gamora (Zoe Saldana) in cosmic booze.

The team members are worried about their captain. Most concerned is Quill's sister — Mantis (Pom Klementieff), who actively urges the friends to help Star-Lord. But Quill doesn't even have time to sleep off another drinking binge when a more pressing problem falls from the sky in the form of the golden-skinned superhuman Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) — the son of the Sovereign high priestess Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki). Causing a destructive fight on Knowhere, Warlock manages to injure Groot, Mantis, Drax (Dave Bautista), and Nebula (Karen Gillan), and sends Rocket into a coma. 

As a result, the Guardians force the golden-skinned one to retreat. Later it turns out that Adam was forced to attack them by Rocket's creator and an obsessed fascist scientist — the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), eager to reclaim the raccoon as his property. Now Star-Lord's team must do everything to save their friend's life, but to do so, they will have to delve into his terrible past, which he deliberately never spoke about.

I Soar Like a Rocket

Even before the film's release, it was stated that the third 'Guardians of the Galaxy' is the story of the rocket raccoon, aka half-dead badger, aka trash panda, aka rabbit, aka hedgehog Rocket, who has been called all sorts of names by various characters (thankfully, everything falls into place here). The hero's past, shown in flashbacks, turned out to be very heartbreaking and traumatic. 

Rocket is revealed in the film in a completely new light. He is no longer as sarcastic, combative, and invulnerable as before. We are shown that behind those sharp fangs and tough fur hides a kind and sentimental raccoon who desperately needs a family. Yondu (Michael Rooker) saw through him back in the second part, and now viewers can see the real Rocket, and I bet he will easily win the heart of anyone who cares.

The other team members are not forgotten by the director either. Each Guardian's storyline (including Gamora with her 'factory settings' from the first part) is given enough screen time. It would seem that there are so many characters now that someone could easily feel out of place or abandoned, but this is Gunn and his crew. He has spent a good 11 years with them (the same amount of time it took Marvel to bring all the superhero storylines together for the victory over Thanos in 'Endgame'. Ah, those were the days), and the characters have become like family to him, so he approaches each story with great love, carefully and meticulously guiding their arcs toward the planned finale. 

Overall, James Gunn has outdone himself here: using emotional swings, he switches the viewer from the dramatic component to the comedic one faster than Quill switches tracks on his player. Whoa, you're watching a real body horror about animal cruelty and crying. Whoa, Drax, in his own manner, sticks out his hand and knocks an anthropomorphic animal off a motorcycle, making you laugh with tears still wet on your face. Whoa, an epic action shootout begins. Almost the entire film is built in this style. Different emotions overwhelm the audience throughout the movie, never letting them get bored for a second. 

But perhaps James Gunn's greatest achievement is that 'Guardians of the Galaxy' remained true to themselves. It is still the same damn good and local story set in grand scenery. Of course, the heroes are an integral part of the MCU and have appeared in massive crossovers, briefly becoming Avengers. After that, they traveled a bit with Thor in 'Love and Thunder', but in the end, they still returned 'to themselves' and remained, essentially, an independent team. Their adventures can easily be followed apart from the rest of the cinematic universe without losing almost anything.

And at this stage, Gunn did not include any multiverse or other superheroes in the 'Guardians' script, nor did he fit the team into the grand framework of the entire cinematic universe. He simply made another local auteur project with a huge budget, which is completely uncharacteristic of modern Disney.

The director still boldly has fun, fools around, and turns the film into a music video by playing his favorite songs. James Gunn remains the same geek-hooligan with his own style, which he has carried through a decade without changing a bit. That is why he was able to give fans a wonderful story with a perfectly logical touching finale and vivid characters, whom few knew before the solo film back in the distant (considering how many events have happened since then) 2014. As a result, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' is the strongest and, perhaps, the best trilogy in the entire MCU.

There Was an Idea. To Assemble a Group of Remarkable People…

'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' is a film that captures the spirit of the good old Marvel. The way it was before the start of Phase Four. The emotions the film evokes are close to those times when you eagerly await every comic book movie adaptation in theaters to see an interesting story on the big screen, without worrying about agendas or offending anyone's feelings. 

Such a film has not been seen in the MCU since 'Avengers: Endgame', and unfortunately, it is once again a 'farewell'. Regardless of how the characters' fates turned out, we are unlikely to see Drax and Gamora again, as the actors said before the premiere that these roles are closed for them. Of course, almost the entire cast responded ambiguously in the spirit of 'never say never', but for now, the team's future is very unclear. 

Gunn has told the story he wanted to tell, showing the evolution of the characters. The journey is perfectly illustrated by Gamora with her 'factory settings', who missed all the events the Guardians experienced during their adventures. She cannot understand why the team is ready to risk their lives for Rocket and why all crew members stick together so much. Also, the 'zero' love interest of Star-Lord is important for Quill's own storyline, who is going through a depressive period but tries to hide his pain behind the mask of the life of the party. Nebula must also be mentioned, who evolved from an antagonist to a full-fledged member of the Guardians family.

The film naturally has its flaws, but they do not spoil the pleasant impression at all. Like all superhero fare, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' is not without clichéd plot moves and somewhat controversial decisions. Additionally, Gunn overindulges in the abundance of songs in the film, playing them almost in full. The musical accompaniment is undoubtedly magnificent, but at times it looks like a Marvel video cut on TikTok, where a fitting track is placed under a memorable moment and the dialogues are not removed. You could just take the right piece and upload it to the platform. The director simply simplified this task.

Will Poulter's character (who, by the way, once again dons the role of Kenny from 'We're the Millers', only with superpowers) was deliberately weakened, although this is logically integrated into the script. Like, he is still a child who possesses colossal strength and knows absolutely nothing about life. Because if Adam Warlock had been pitted against the Guardians at his peak, viewers would have seen another scene of the Scarlet Witch fighting the Illuminati. Although even without such a scene, the film turned out to be quite harsh and brutal, which, again, is uncharacteristic of Marvel.

As for the antagonist, James Gunn did not fully utilize the potential of the High Evolutionary. There was a lack of some personal history, an explanation of how he came to his current form as a fascist obsessed with creating a utopia. His motivation regarding Rocket is well-written, but globally he remains a very mysterious figure. However, even being not fully revealed, the Evolutionary makes the viewer feel a greater danger than Kang the Conqueror, who will become the antagonist of the entire Multiverse Saga. And it's not to say that he is another wasted villain like Gorr the God Butcher.

What's the Verdict?

The third 'Guardians of the Galaxy' is a film about the importance of family (and where would a big family be without Vin Diesel, right?), about finding one's purpose, about responsibility for the animals we have tamed, and, most importantly, about accepting yourself for who you are. And all this, moreover, is seasoned with top-notch action, lively songs, and good humor. The trilogy puts an end to the story of the familiar team composition, but at the same time leaves the door ajar (just in case). The bittersweet happy ending is bound to move all fans to tears, and the final touch is the director's move to make every viewer an integral part of these very Guardians. Thank you, James Gunn, and good luck in your new chapter. And if you ever want to come back — we'll be waiting. 

Press F to pay respect.