TL;DR review - Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 is good and should be enjoyed by everyone who liked the first two movies. Go see it.
Prologue:
I approached this movie with no small amount of what I can only describe as dread. There is a power in expectations, for good and for ill. For Guardians of the Galaxy vol 1 is one of my top 3 movies, considering my top 100 movies contains films like Casablanca, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Usual Suspect, it's in heady company. And it is up there for purely personal reasons. I'm not blind to its faults, but GotG instilled a sense of wonder in me, a joy of adventure leavened with heavier emotional weight that few movies have equaled. The sequel was inferior but still very entertaining. In fact, I've seen vol 2 with people who had never seen the first movie and they enjoyed it as much, if not more, than I did. Then there was the near perfection that was Avengers: Infinity War, that movie was about 1/3rd a GotG movie and really is required viewing prior to seeing GotG vol 3. (Thor: Love and Thunder also features the Guardians but should be avoided, or if it cannot be, then it should be burned) So, volume 3, coming at the end of the incomprehensibly bad 'Phase Four' of Disney's Marvel "content", carried with it the taint of the wasted opportunity of Avengers: Endgame as well all the other figurative sewage that Marvel has shoveled out since killing Tony Stark.
My fears were unfounded. Let this be a lesson. Do not take counsel in your fears.
The Review:
l think the less you know about the movie, the more you'll enjoy it. So see the Too Long; Didn't Read review at the top if you have plans to see it. For the rest of you, I'm going to go in depth and will discuss the plot and characters, which may 'spoil' the movie for you. Fair warning. Seriously, just go see it.
Story:
We start off in Knowhere, the hollowed out head of a dead Celestial deity where the Guardians had first encountered The Collector. The inhabitants view the Guardians as protectors, heroes and celebrities...which, they actually are. No subversion here, the Guardians really are heroes. Nebula has taken on something of a leadership role, though still rough and abrasive, as Peter Quill has taken to drinking, still grieving over the death of Gamora in Avengers: Endgame. It is worth noting that Gamora has not just slide into the Guardians team as she is from a different time and has not had the revelation of her foster father, Thanos, as a genocidal maniac.
Rocket is the heart and framing story of the movie, and we see him wandering around, singing along to American pop music playing over the loudspeakers, singing off key but singing. One of the joys of this movie is that the characters have changed as a result of their experiences, their interactions are not the same as in the first or even second movie. Drunken Peter is put to bed by Nebula, where he sleepily calls her 'Gamora' and tells her that he loves her. The group expresses concern for Peter but we don't wallow in his self pity too long, because just when things are getting mopey, a guy walks in with a gun.
Or rather, a golden superbeing flies into Knowhere from outer space, blasts into Rocket's apartment and tries to steal him. This is Adam Warlock, who's cocoon is seen briefly at the end of GotG vol 2, he is newly birthed, full sized and nearly full powered. He is extremely powerful and durable, with strength and firepower and speed greater than any of the Guardians. They fight, Peter snapping out of his drunken pity party immediately...which is nice. However, Rocket is badly injured in the fight with Adam Warlock. Attempts to use a medkit on him fail as we are informed that there is a 'kill switch' inside him to prevent anyone from tinkering with him or even using com"mon magic technology" like medkits. (slight flaw) Nebula, now equipped with a shapechanging arm, backstabs Adam Warlock while he is beating another Guardian. This stops him but doesn't kill him. (Adam Warlock is very very hard to kill in this movie, consistently so, however)
The Guardians basically abandon the Adam Warlock fight to rush to Rocket's aid. The plot kicks off as the Guardians need to find the code to reverse or unlock the kill switch which will allow the medkits to fix the internal injuries Rocket suffered from Adam Warlock's attack. They Guardians begin by heading to the intergalactic megacorp who holds the patent on Rocket.
This intergalactic megacorp is owned by and controlled by the movie antagonist, The High Evolutionary...who makes a very effective villain and antagonist. The High Evolutionary is a genetic engineer and inventor on a colossal scale. He is also obsessed, on the edge of madness, with creating a perfect race and society. And Rocket is a key to his next version of a perfect race. He wants Rocket and he'd sent Adam Warlock to get him. However, Warlock is very inexperienced, he's eager to please his mother, the golden Ayesha from GotG vol 2. The High Evolutionary threatens to exterminate their entire race, which is is revealed to have created, unless they fetch Rocket for him.
This is the main set of conflicts: The Guardians need the kill switch code to heal Rocket. The High Evolutionary wants Rocket to dissect his brain and copy his gadgeteering and technologically prodigy for his newest perfect race. Adam Warlock needs Rocket so he can deliver him to the High Evolutionary to appease him and spare his race.
Enter Gamora, at last. Gamora has hooked up with the Ravagers, where her cold blooded murdering talents are highly appreciated and reinforced. Gamora and the Ravager help the Guardians break into the Intergalactic Megacorp in exchange for a lot of money. Gamora has no memory of her 'future' self's evolution or her relationship with Peter Quill. She is the hard, cold assassin Thanos raised her to be. She has no interest in Peter and reacts contemptuously and even violently at his puppyish attempts to connect with her.
However, Peter Quill is given focus and drive by Rocket's problem. He's not weak, moping or passive. He's active, even charming, keeping the Guardians focused, moving forward towards goals and over coming obstacles. It was a pleasant surprise to see Peter still being portrayed as a quick thinking, adaptive planner, while still being a fairly moral man. Just...don't piss him off or try to kill his friends. More on that later as it will come up.
The Guardians go through their heist, finding the data they need, discovering that the kill switch has been removed by one of The High Evolutionary's flunkies. Meanwhile, we get little flashbacks scattered throughout the movie of Rocket's creation, his education, his manipulation and the endless vivisectional tortures he and other animals endured as The High Evolutionary attempts to turn animals into people. These scenes are both heartwarming and horrific and there are elements of body horror here that can be hard to take. It's a good movie to go home from and hug your dog.
Speaking of dogs, there are two more Guardians who are not yet on this mission. Kraglin, the sidekick of Yondu who has inherited the deadly arrow...even if he hasn't mastered it yet. And an intelligent Russian retriever, Cosmo, who has telekinetic powers and a mechanical translator so she can speak and be understood. Cosmo was seen briefly among The Collector's trophies and is one of the joys of this movie.
The Guardians flee the intergalactic megacorporation headquarters, now pursing The High Evolutionary's flunky, leading to 'Counter Earth', a perfect duplication of Earth, only populated by the evolved animals The High Evolutionary had been trying to perfect during Rocket's flashbacks. This leads to some 'first contact' humor and eventually to the location of the High Evolutionary on this 'Counter Earth'. The trail of breadcrumbs is perhaps too obvious and too easy and yes, it is a trap and Peter Quill knows it's a trap. He is, after all, a proven instinctive planner. Peter and Groot go to see the High Evolutionary, but really they're looking for the flunky who has the kill switch code downloaded in a brain computer.
There is a confrontation and then a shootout and Peter and Groot actually manage to capture and...'extract' the computer they need. With a knife. Seriously, do not piss of Peter fucking Quill or threaten his friends.
The High Evolutionary had previously expressed dissatisfaction, again, with his creations here on Counter-Earth and basically....he destroys the whole planet. He has another set of 'perfect' creatures he plans to create yet another new world for them to live on and create his Utopia. Now his headquarters on Counter Earth is revealed to be a moon-sized spaceship, which rips itself free from the planet's crust.
The other Guardians, not realizing Peter has escaped with Groot and the data, board the departing space ship. Inside Nebula, Drax and Mantis discover the children The High Evolutionary plans to populate his new world with. There is a whole lot of mix ups and chaos but eventually all the Guardians, including an un-kill-switched and healed Rocket plus Gamora end up back on the High Evolutionary's ship.
Also mixed in here is another appearance by Adam Warlock, who attempts and fails to steal Rocket. He survives the Guardian's spaceship being blown up around him, if barely.
Peter's escape has not gone unnoticed, of course, by the High Evolutionary, but he is distracted as his obsessive madness finally turns his command staff against him. This does not end well for the command staff, the High Evolutionary is indeed powerful. After killing his subordinates, he unleashes his cybernetic monsters on them, everyone demanding the capture of Rocket. We have some more epic super hero combat which is quite brutal in comparison to most Marvel fights.
Peter calls for aid, in the form of Kraglin and Cosmo who pilot the head of the dead Celestial like it was a space ship, bringing it and a gigantic space cannon to bear on the High Evolutionary's moon-sized ship. This is just silly and awesome all at once.
In the end, the High Evolutionary is defeated, but not killed, perhaps surprisingly. The Children are rescued and taken to Knowhere as well as many of the animal who were still being held for experiments. The High Evolutionary has a thing for turning animals into people, still. Adam Warlock saves Peter when he gets stuck on the High Evolutionary's ship, having been given a second chance as well. Then the Guardians...break up. Peter is going to go home finally. Mantis is going to do something other than what she's told to do for the first time in her existence, Gamora heads back to a welcoming Ravager host. Nebula and Drax are more or less retired and settle into running Knowhere instead of adventuring. The others stick together, now under the leadership of Rocket, who has come from being VERY skeptical of doing anything to benefit others, to being far more protective of others.
There's some post credit sequences, but they can be skipped, I think, with little lost apart from confirmation that the Guardians are still around and that The Legendary Star Lord will return. Supposedly.
What worked:
1. Visually, this is still Marvel-class spectacle and the SFX are world class and flawless.
2. The characters are the strongest part of the movie. They act like real people who've had real things impact them from their past. Unlike lesser superhero movies, the GotG characters grow, adapt, grow closer, and remember what they've gone through. The contrast between lesser Marvel and DC movies is stark and that comes down to the writing James Gunn has done and the care that he and his actors have put into their characters. Gunn and the actor care and that shows so clearly in this movie. We are shown how the Guardians care for each other, how they drop everything, face any risk to help their friends...and how they will risk their lives to save the lives of the innocent. When they can. This is an unfair galaxy and they can't save everyone. But...they do what they can. These are no longer self-centered assholes, they are a team, a family, a band of heroes.
3. The antagonist, the High Evolutionary, portrayed by Chukwudi Iwuji is a villain done right. He is terrifying, powerful, intelligent, his motivations are clear yet he is easy to root against and want to see defeated, if not destroyed. This is what Kang the Conquerer should have been.
4. Relatedly, the performances of the main characters are good. These are (mostly) professional actors who inhabit their characters. They are funny, charming, powerful, lovable oddballs.
5. Powers and abilities of each of the Guardians, even the side characters, is put on display in the movie. Drax's strength and durability saves the day as does an unexpected skill in languages. Nebula's near invulnerability and her upgraded weapons/machine interface is also vital. Mantis, who is often the short straw of the team, gets to show off both her powers and her insight. (She's like the mirror universe version of Counselor Troi, an empath that actually feels and shows emotion) Gamora is ruthless and lethal, as she always should have been. Rocket's technological mastery is displayed in past and present. Groot gets to show off his shapeshifting and lethality. Kraglin gets to use the arrow successfully and Cosmo is a VERY good dog. But Peter Quill gets to repeatedly show his competence, which is a delightful surprise in a Marvel movie in Current Year. He's charming, cunning, quick witted, focused, compassionate, able to wrangle the Guardians and keep them directed, a talented marksman in a fight, and comes up with really effective plans on the fly.
6. The ending. It's very hard to stick the landing on a trilogy. This movie manages to have a solid, if bittersweet, ending that doesn't write anyone off but makes it clear that there are changes coming for the Guardians cast.
What didn't:
1. Though some of the music worked very well (the ending 'Dog Days are Over' by Florence and the Machine was joyus), other pop song soundtracks didn't do much for me. I'm not sure if the Beastie Boys 'No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn' works for a fight scene and there are other mismatches. It didn't jar me but the matching of song to scene isn't as good as in the previous entries.
2. The voice work done for 'Teef', the poor wheelchaired walrus, didn't work for me. The almost caricature British accent kinda bugged me compared to the other animals.
3. Ayesha's activity and her fate (did she die or not?) is too much of an afterthought. She (no joke intended) has one good scene but is afterwards given little or nothing to do. Ultimately she and Adam Warlock are a distraction.
4. Adam Warlock's portrayal in general. I have nothing against the actor, Will Poulter, who has the size and physique for the role. But the writing has him acting like an idiot more than an innocent. As mentioned, he could have been cut with no impact on the plot as long as Star Lord had his boots and mask. Speaking of...
5. Where are Star Lords iconic mask and jet boots? For a movie that has done a good job of maintaining continuity, the absence of these tools is bizarre. The Guardians go into space all the time, Quills should always have them, it's not like they are large or bulky. Or, for that matter, where are the jet packs from GotG? Wouldn't there be packs on the ship at least? Quill managed to remember his guns...and then some...but not his face mask or flying gear?
What's inbetween:
1. Gamora and Nebula are almost antagonists instead of allies. Honestly, I appreciate this. Nebula only joined the team recently and she has been even more agressive and confrontational, yet she clearly values Peter and Rocket very highly. Likewise Gamora is not who she had been and doesn't act like she did. Yet....yet...both characters are hard to like because of the way they abuse the other characters.
2. The extras and background characters. You can really see a difference in quality between some of the extras and others. I don't know if James Gunn just cast a bunch of friends or fans in some scenes but it stands out.
3. Nathan Fillion, casting his brother and other friends. It doesn't bother me so much, but you do notice some characters given more screen time than they deserve. It's his movie, but it's a little indulgent.
4. Some of the comedy didn't land, though most of it did and I laughed out loud more than a few times.
5. Dave Bautista seems to be a bit chunky, don't expect any more shirtless scenes from Drax in this one. I understand, all that makeup is probably a pain as is maintaining a ripped physique at his age.
6. Rocket seems to have lost his fascination with stealing body parts. I kinda liked that running joke, but Rocket has very little time in this movie while he's conscious and active.
What would I change?:
1. The biggest flaw is probably Adam Warlock. He should be played more innocent and more seriously. He should be tied more tightly to The High Evolutionary, which would fit his comic origins better...though sadly it's too late to tie him into the Soul Stone, as he should be. Poor planning on Marvel's side again. If we can't tie him tightly to the High Evolutionary, he and Ayesha should be cut, they add very little to the story apart from a minor redemption arc.
2. Though Peter snaps out of his mope pretty quick, I think playing Peter more mature and less 'puppy dog' would make sense. Though Peter is a great example of arrested adolescence and him deciding to 'grow up' is good, I think the execution of that could be done more gracefully. Star Lord is competent, let him be mature too.
That's about it, the story is solid and simple and straightforward overall. Those are good qualities in a film. Not everyone is Chris McQuarrie.
Summary:
This is a pretty good ending for most of the characters. It's not final and it's clear the Guardians will go on, in some iterations but it's an ending for the main cast, letting the actors move on with their lives.
It really is a good movie, creative and not like the rest of the MCU. For that reason alone, it deserves praise and attention. Go see it, if you liked the first two. Or even if you didn't, it might win you over and probably will entertain you.
Prologue:
I approached this movie with no small amount of what I can only describe as dread. There is a power in expectations, for good and for ill. For Guardians of the Galaxy vol 1 is one of my top 3 movies, considering my top 100 movies contains films like Casablanca, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Usual Suspect, it's in heady company. And it is up there for purely personal reasons. I'm not blind to its faults, but GotG instilled a sense of wonder in me, a joy of adventure leavened with heavier emotional weight that few movies have equaled. The sequel was inferior but still very entertaining. In fact, I've seen vol 2 with people who had never seen the first movie and they enjoyed it as much, if not more, than I did. Then there was the near perfection that was Avengers: Infinity War, that movie was about 1/3rd a GotG movie and really is required viewing prior to seeing GotG vol 3. (Thor: Love and Thunder also features the Guardians but should be avoided, or if it cannot be, then it should be burned) So, volume 3, coming at the end of the incomprehensibly bad 'Phase Four' of Disney's Marvel "content", carried with it the taint of the wasted opportunity of Avengers: Endgame as well all the other figurative sewage that Marvel has shoveled out since killing Tony Stark.
My fears were unfounded. Let this be a lesson. Do not take counsel in your fears.
The Review:
l think the less you know about the movie, the more you'll enjoy it. So see the Too Long; Didn't Read review at the top if you have plans to see it. For the rest of you, I'm going to go in depth and will discuss the plot and characters, which may 'spoil' the movie for you. Fair warning. Seriously, just go see it.
Story:
We start off in Knowhere, the hollowed out head of a dead Celestial deity where the Guardians had first encountered The Collector. The inhabitants view the Guardians as protectors, heroes and celebrities...which, they actually are. No subversion here, the Guardians really are heroes. Nebula has taken on something of a leadership role, though still rough and abrasive, as Peter Quill has taken to drinking, still grieving over the death of Gamora in Avengers: Endgame. It is worth noting that Gamora has not just slide into the Guardians team as she is from a different time and has not had the revelation of her foster father, Thanos, as a genocidal maniac.
Rocket is the heart and framing story of the movie, and we see him wandering around, singing along to American pop music playing over the loudspeakers, singing off key but singing. One of the joys of this movie is that the characters have changed as a result of their experiences, their interactions are not the same as in the first or even second movie. Drunken Peter is put to bed by Nebula, where he sleepily calls her 'Gamora' and tells her that he loves her. The group expresses concern for Peter but we don't wallow in his self pity too long, because just when things are getting mopey, a guy walks in with a gun.
Or rather, a golden superbeing flies into Knowhere from outer space, blasts into Rocket's apartment and tries to steal him. This is Adam Warlock, who's cocoon is seen briefly at the end of GotG vol 2, he is newly birthed, full sized and nearly full powered. He is extremely powerful and durable, with strength and firepower and speed greater than any of the Guardians. They fight, Peter snapping out of his drunken pity party immediately...which is nice. However, Rocket is badly injured in the fight with Adam Warlock. Attempts to use a medkit on him fail as we are informed that there is a 'kill switch' inside him to prevent anyone from tinkering with him or even using com"mon magic technology" like medkits. (slight flaw) Nebula, now equipped with a shapechanging arm, backstabs Adam Warlock while he is beating another Guardian. This stops him but doesn't kill him. (Adam Warlock is very very hard to kill in this movie, consistently so, however)
The Guardians basically abandon the Adam Warlock fight to rush to Rocket's aid. The plot kicks off as the Guardians need to find the code to reverse or unlock the kill switch which will allow the medkits to fix the internal injuries Rocket suffered from Adam Warlock's attack. They Guardians begin by heading to the intergalactic megacorp who holds the patent on Rocket.
This intergalactic megacorp is owned by and controlled by the movie antagonist, The High Evolutionary...who makes a very effective villain and antagonist. The High Evolutionary is a genetic engineer and inventor on a colossal scale. He is also obsessed, on the edge of madness, with creating a perfect race and society. And Rocket is a key to his next version of a perfect race. He wants Rocket and he'd sent Adam Warlock to get him. However, Warlock is very inexperienced, he's eager to please his mother, the golden Ayesha from GotG vol 2. The High Evolutionary threatens to exterminate their entire race, which is is revealed to have created, unless they fetch Rocket for him.
This is the main set of conflicts: The Guardians need the kill switch code to heal Rocket. The High Evolutionary wants Rocket to dissect his brain and copy his gadgeteering and technologically prodigy for his newest perfect race. Adam Warlock needs Rocket so he can deliver him to the High Evolutionary to appease him and spare his race.
Enter Gamora, at last. Gamora has hooked up with the Ravagers, where her cold blooded murdering talents are highly appreciated and reinforced. Gamora and the Ravager help the Guardians break into the Intergalactic Megacorp in exchange for a lot of money. Gamora has no memory of her 'future' self's evolution or her relationship with Peter Quill. She is the hard, cold assassin Thanos raised her to be. She has no interest in Peter and reacts contemptuously and even violently at his puppyish attempts to connect with her.
However, Peter Quill is given focus and drive by Rocket's problem. He's not weak, moping or passive. He's active, even charming, keeping the Guardians focused, moving forward towards goals and over coming obstacles. It was a pleasant surprise to see Peter still being portrayed as a quick thinking, adaptive planner, while still being a fairly moral man. Just...don't piss him off or try to kill his friends. More on that later as it will come up.
The Guardians go through their heist, finding the data they need, discovering that the kill switch has been removed by one of The High Evolutionary's flunkies. Meanwhile, we get little flashbacks scattered throughout the movie of Rocket's creation, his education, his manipulation and the endless vivisectional tortures he and other animals endured as The High Evolutionary attempts to turn animals into people. These scenes are both heartwarming and horrific and there are elements of body horror here that can be hard to take. It's a good movie to go home from and hug your dog.
Speaking of dogs, there are two more Guardians who are not yet on this mission. Kraglin, the sidekick of Yondu who has inherited the deadly arrow...even if he hasn't mastered it yet. And an intelligent Russian retriever, Cosmo, who has telekinetic powers and a mechanical translator so she can speak and be understood. Cosmo was seen briefly among The Collector's trophies and is one of the joys of this movie.
The Guardians flee the intergalactic megacorporation headquarters, now pursing The High Evolutionary's flunky, leading to 'Counter Earth', a perfect duplication of Earth, only populated by the evolved animals The High Evolutionary had been trying to perfect during Rocket's flashbacks. This leads to some 'first contact' humor and eventually to the location of the High Evolutionary on this 'Counter Earth'. The trail of breadcrumbs is perhaps too obvious and too easy and yes, it is a trap and Peter Quill knows it's a trap. He is, after all, a proven instinctive planner. Peter and Groot go to see the High Evolutionary, but really they're looking for the flunky who has the kill switch code downloaded in a brain computer.
There is a confrontation and then a shootout and Peter and Groot actually manage to capture and...'extract' the computer they need. With a knife. Seriously, do not piss of Peter fucking Quill or threaten his friends.
The High Evolutionary had previously expressed dissatisfaction, again, with his creations here on Counter-Earth and basically....he destroys the whole planet. He has another set of 'perfect' creatures he plans to create yet another new world for them to live on and create his Utopia. Now his headquarters on Counter Earth is revealed to be a moon-sized spaceship, which rips itself free from the planet's crust.
The other Guardians, not realizing Peter has escaped with Groot and the data, board the departing space ship. Inside Nebula, Drax and Mantis discover the children The High Evolutionary plans to populate his new world with. There is a whole lot of mix ups and chaos but eventually all the Guardians, including an un-kill-switched and healed Rocket plus Gamora end up back on the High Evolutionary's ship.
Also mixed in here is another appearance by Adam Warlock, who attempts and fails to steal Rocket. He survives the Guardian's spaceship being blown up around him, if barely.
Peter's escape has not gone unnoticed, of course, by the High Evolutionary, but he is distracted as his obsessive madness finally turns his command staff against him. This does not end well for the command staff, the High Evolutionary is indeed powerful. After killing his subordinates, he unleashes his cybernetic monsters on them, everyone demanding the capture of Rocket. We have some more epic super hero combat which is quite brutal in comparison to most Marvel fights.
Peter calls for aid, in the form of Kraglin and Cosmo who pilot the head of the dead Celestial like it was a space ship, bringing it and a gigantic space cannon to bear on the High Evolutionary's moon-sized ship. This is just silly and awesome all at once.
In the end, the High Evolutionary is defeated, but not killed, perhaps surprisingly. The Children are rescued and taken to Knowhere as well as many of the animal who were still being held for experiments. The High Evolutionary has a thing for turning animals into people, still. Adam Warlock saves Peter when he gets stuck on the High Evolutionary's ship, having been given a second chance as well. Then the Guardians...break up. Peter is going to go home finally. Mantis is going to do something other than what she's told to do for the first time in her existence, Gamora heads back to a welcoming Ravager host. Nebula and Drax are more or less retired and settle into running Knowhere instead of adventuring. The others stick together, now under the leadership of Rocket, who has come from being VERY skeptical of doing anything to benefit others, to being far more protective of others.
There's some post credit sequences, but they can be skipped, I think, with little lost apart from confirmation that the Guardians are still around and that The Legendary Star Lord will return. Supposedly.
What worked:
1. Visually, this is still Marvel-class spectacle and the SFX are world class and flawless.
2. The characters are the strongest part of the movie. They act like real people who've had real things impact them from their past. Unlike lesser superhero movies, the GotG characters grow, adapt, grow closer, and remember what they've gone through. The contrast between lesser Marvel and DC movies is stark and that comes down to the writing James Gunn has done and the care that he and his actors have put into their characters. Gunn and the actor care and that shows so clearly in this movie. We are shown how the Guardians care for each other, how they drop everything, face any risk to help their friends...and how they will risk their lives to save the lives of the innocent. When they can. This is an unfair galaxy and they can't save everyone. But...they do what they can. These are no longer self-centered assholes, they are a team, a family, a band of heroes.
3. The antagonist, the High Evolutionary, portrayed by Chukwudi Iwuji is a villain done right. He is terrifying, powerful, intelligent, his motivations are clear yet he is easy to root against and want to see defeated, if not destroyed. This is what Kang the Conquerer should have been.
4. Relatedly, the performances of the main characters are good. These are (mostly) professional actors who inhabit their characters. They are funny, charming, powerful, lovable oddballs.
5. Powers and abilities of each of the Guardians, even the side characters, is put on display in the movie. Drax's strength and durability saves the day as does an unexpected skill in languages. Nebula's near invulnerability and her upgraded weapons/machine interface is also vital. Mantis, who is often the short straw of the team, gets to show off both her powers and her insight. (She's like the mirror universe version of Counselor Troi, an empath that actually feels and shows emotion) Gamora is ruthless and lethal, as she always should have been. Rocket's technological mastery is displayed in past and present. Groot gets to show off his shapeshifting and lethality. Kraglin gets to use the arrow successfully and Cosmo is a VERY good dog. But Peter Quill gets to repeatedly show his competence, which is a delightful surprise in a Marvel movie in Current Year. He's charming, cunning, quick witted, focused, compassionate, able to wrangle the Guardians and keep them directed, a talented marksman in a fight, and comes up with really effective plans on the fly.
6. The ending. It's very hard to stick the landing on a trilogy. This movie manages to have a solid, if bittersweet, ending that doesn't write anyone off but makes it clear that there are changes coming for the Guardians cast.
What didn't:
1. Though some of the music worked very well (the ending 'Dog Days are Over' by Florence and the Machine was joyus), other pop song soundtracks didn't do much for me. I'm not sure if the Beastie Boys 'No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn' works for a fight scene and there are other mismatches. It didn't jar me but the matching of song to scene isn't as good as in the previous entries.
2. The voice work done for 'Teef', the poor wheelchaired walrus, didn't work for me. The almost caricature British accent kinda bugged me compared to the other animals.
3. Ayesha's activity and her fate (did she die or not?) is too much of an afterthought. She (no joke intended) has one good scene but is afterwards given little or nothing to do. Ultimately she and Adam Warlock are a distraction.
4. Adam Warlock's portrayal in general. I have nothing against the actor, Will Poulter, who has the size and physique for the role. But the writing has him acting like an idiot more than an innocent. As mentioned, he could have been cut with no impact on the plot as long as Star Lord had his boots and mask. Speaking of...
5. Where are Star Lords iconic mask and jet boots? For a movie that has done a good job of maintaining continuity, the absence of these tools is bizarre. The Guardians go into space all the time, Quills should always have them, it's not like they are large or bulky. Or, for that matter, where are the jet packs from GotG? Wouldn't there be packs on the ship at least? Quill managed to remember his guns...and then some...but not his face mask or flying gear?
What's inbetween:
1. Gamora and Nebula are almost antagonists instead of allies. Honestly, I appreciate this. Nebula only joined the team recently and she has been even more agressive and confrontational, yet she clearly values Peter and Rocket very highly. Likewise Gamora is not who she had been and doesn't act like she did. Yet....yet...both characters are hard to like because of the way they abuse the other characters.
2. The extras and background characters. You can really see a difference in quality between some of the extras and others. I don't know if James Gunn just cast a bunch of friends or fans in some scenes but it stands out.
3. Nathan Fillion, casting his brother and other friends. It doesn't bother me so much, but you do notice some characters given more screen time than they deserve. It's his movie, but it's a little indulgent.
4. Some of the comedy didn't land, though most of it did and I laughed out loud more than a few times.
5. Dave Bautista seems to be a bit chunky, don't expect any more shirtless scenes from Drax in this one. I understand, all that makeup is probably a pain as is maintaining a ripped physique at his age.
6. Rocket seems to have lost his fascination with stealing body parts. I kinda liked that running joke, but Rocket has very little time in this movie while he's conscious and active.
What would I change?:
1. The biggest flaw is probably Adam Warlock. He should be played more innocent and more seriously. He should be tied more tightly to The High Evolutionary, which would fit his comic origins better...though sadly it's too late to tie him into the Soul Stone, as he should be. Poor planning on Marvel's side again. If we can't tie him tightly to the High Evolutionary, he and Ayesha should be cut, they add very little to the story apart from a minor redemption arc.
2. Though Peter snaps out of his mope pretty quick, I think playing Peter more mature and less 'puppy dog' would make sense. Though Peter is a great example of arrested adolescence and him deciding to 'grow up' is good, I think the execution of that could be done more gracefully. Star Lord is competent, let him be mature too.
That's about it, the story is solid and simple and straightforward overall. Those are good qualities in a film. Not everyone is Chris McQuarrie.
Summary:
This is a pretty good ending for most of the characters. It's not final and it's clear the Guardians will go on, in some iterations but it's an ending for the main cast, letting the actors move on with their lives.
It really is a good movie, creative and not like the rest of the MCU. For that reason alone, it deserves praise and attention. Go see it, if you liked the first two. Or even if you didn't, it might win you over and probably will entertain you.
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