Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Delivers A Conclusion That’s More Hit Than Miss

A lot can change in ten years. When writer-director James Gunn made Guardians of the Galaxy in 2012-13, he was the newest Marvel wunderkind. He came from the world of small indie films like Slither (2006) and made a huge pop culture splash when he signed on to helm the adaptation of a comic book about a rag tag group of superheroes who were far from mainstream household names. He delivered one of the more interesting films of the Marvel canon and emerged with the box office cred to finish out the trilogy on his own terms.

Fast forward a decade and Gunn made another huge pop culture splash in the months leading up to the release of this third (and final?) Guardians film. He defected to the enemy, DC Studios, and will himself direct the next Superman film. Marvel fanboys found his defection treasonous; DC fanboys viewed his arrival as a cinematic Second Coming — his mission being the reorganization of a comic book canon that has been in disarray for the better part of fifteen years. Gunn is now one of the key architects of the futures of Batman, Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman and a myriad of other comic-based properties. He’s gone from filmmaker to a studio “suit” whose every utterance about a DC project is the subject of adoration and scorn on media outlets and social media platforms everywhere.

So, how is his Marvel Swan Song, Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3? It’s a mixed bag, but it provides an enjoyable conclusion to one of the more original properties under the Marvel umbrella. It’s the shotgun approach to filmmaking — pepper the audience with endless salvos of ideas while employing more cinematography and editing tricks than anyone could count and try to convince them it’s a cohesive, coherent whole. (To be fair, that describes a lot of comic book films over the years.)

As the film opens, Rocket the Raccoon experiences a combat-related injury, and the Guardians discover that he has a “kill switch” or self-destruct mechanism built into his genetically-engineered body. If they attempt the life-saving medical treatment he needs, his OFF switch will be triggered, and he’ll die. As with most Marvel films, Guardians 3 is a quest — not for Infinity stones, but for the “key” that can disconnect Rocket’s kill switch. However, unlike most comic book films, the object of the quest this time around is no MacGuffin. The object they are seeking is needed to literally save the life of our favorite space pilot raccoon.

So, Star-Lord, Drax, Groot, Nebula, Mantis and the gang set off to scour the galaxy to find Rocket’s creator, The High Evolutionary, because the mastermind who created Rocket’s kill switch also devised a way to circumvent it. The film then unfolds on two timelines: the mission to save Rocket and frequent flashbacks to Rocket’s origin story. From my childhood as a comic book reader to my adulthood as a film fan and critic, the origin story is my favorite gimmick in all of comic book-dom, and Rocket’s forms the best segments of this film. (Baby Rocket should be this year’s Grogu when it comes to stuffed animal merchandising tie-ins.)

Although the film is rated PG-13, and with that label, provides a warning of sorts to the parents of young children, be forewarned that the scenes of animal experimentation are disturbing. Baby Rocket was one in a long line of DNA hybrids created by The High Evolutionary, and the failed versions of his experiments litter his laboratory: a walrus in a wheelchair, a bunny rabbit with prosthetic limbs, etc. While a mad scientist’s lab should be creepy, the ones in Marvel films probably shouldn’t look like they came out of David Fincher’s serial killer thriller Se7en. Cuddly maimed animals huddled in gritty, grimy cages isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time at the movies, and it could’ve easily been implied and not shown.

James Gunn is clearly blessed with a brilliant imagination, and it’s on full display here. It feels like every Guardians-related idea in his brain has been unleashed on the screen. You certainly can’t credibly claim that you’re bored when you watch this film. That said, the narrative does have a hodgepodge, stitched together quality. It’s a collection of set pieces and elaborate production designs connected by plot developments that feel like they were improvised along the way. (One action sequence plays like a crazed shootout on a set leftover from a Willy Wonka film.)

Guardians 3 is mostly successful on a thematic level. The film is filled with questions about where we come from and who we become over time. With applications from every world religion to the computer gurus dabbling in artificial intelligence, the film asks, “What do you do when the created no longer needs their creator?” As in real life, the answers the film offers are contradictory. The questions take on a meta quality when you consider that the creator of this part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is leaving his creations to fend for themselves.