Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 is James Gunn's ending to his trilogy of films. Without spoilers, he seals the story of Star-Lord and the bunch in a way only James Gunn can.

Written and directed by James Gunn, the best part of the film is how tight it feels. There were only a few scenes that really felt overdone or too short. Only one character felt rushed and underdeveloped. That was Chukwudi Iwuji's The High Evolutionary. Iwuji has worked with Gunn in Peacemaker as Clemson Murn. It seems Gunn is trying his best to be a Tarantino of Comic book movies. The problem is, he doesn't put out solid gold.

Chris Pratt reprises his role as Peter Quill. The movie doesn't really focus on his story too much even though his scenes with Zoe Saldana were some of the best. The film tries heavy-handed for you to care about Bradley Cooper's Rocket Raccoon. I can imagine some people falling for the scenes and trying to make Rocket into a victim and wanting to see him overcome his past but he's missing in action for most of the movie.

Karen Gillan's Nebula probably has the best dialogue and delivery in the film while there are a few scenes with Bautista's Drax and Pom Klementieff's Mantis that hit, I felt the comedy could have been better. Since that's what their characters have devolved to become.

Even with its minor flaws, I would still recommend this movie for comic book fans but if you haven't seen the others, you might want to pass. Result: B+

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