The MCU doesn’t deserve James Gunn, but with “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (now streaming), the writer-director delivers one last pop-masterpiece before becoming the overseer of the rival DC films. After being wrongly fired and then rehired by Marvel Studios, which overreacted to old poor-taste tweets, Gunn came back (hopefully with a raise) because of his attachment to the “Guardians” cast and crew.
This film shows his attachment to human beings and animals, as well. While chronicling the gang’s mission to rescue the kidnapped Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper and Sean Gunn, with the latter doing the mo-cap), “G3” tells the anthropomorphic raccoon’s emotional origin.
This film loves its human (or near-human) characters in all their weirdness, with most of them being neurodivergent (Dave Bautista’s Drax and Pom Klementieff’s Mantis) or suffering from deep trauma (Karen Gillan’s Nebula, Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord and Zoe Saldana’s new Gamora, an alternate-reality version of Star-Lord’s deceased ex).
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (2023)
Director: James Gunn
Writer: James Gunn
Stars: Chris Pratt, Chukwudi Iwuji, Bradley Cooper
Love for animals
What makes “G3” stand out is its love for innocent animals, as Rocket’s backstory makes a case that the line between human and animal has more to do with brain than heart. Sure, it’s simplistic, if someone wants to dig into the science of such a statement.
But on screen, Rocket’s first batch of friends after he gains super-intelligence are such pure beings that you want to reach through the screen and hug them. No doubt Marvel will make additional money from stuffed animals.
They include otter Lylla (voice by Linda Cardellini, so add her to the list of dual-role MCU actors), walrus Teef and rabbit Floor. Another branch of the story features a telepathic canine, formerly a Russian astro-dog, whose dog-thoughts are made audible by a special collar.
A description of any portion of a Gunn screenplay makes it sound like a romp of ridiculous comedy. But this 32nd MCU movie draws more tears than belly laughs. The jokes are like a plush carpet that’s tempting to sink into, but the emotional arcs are the furniture that completes the room.
We know Gunn’s proven track record with song selections. He starts “G3” with Radiohead’s “Creep,” establishing Rocket’s down-and-out feeling, and ends it with a surprisingly earned needle drop of Springsteen’s “Badlands,” as these horrible times have brought out the best in the Guardians.
Galactic travelers
The places Gunn takes us are a luscious travelog, starting with “Firefly”-like Western-tech planet Knowhere. The Guardians have docked to lick their wounds and maybe rebuild their lives – except that Star-Lord is drunk and the others are in various funks. It’s the type of dusty and dingy place the crew hates to be, but we as viewers like to visit.
I love “Firefly,” so the fact that Knowhere and a later appearance by Nathan Fillion don’t draw my thoughts away from “Guardians” is a testament to this film’s own world-building.
More jokey on the surface but ultimately quite interesting is an Alterna-Earth, which allows for the dichotomy of the Guardians driving a regular old car – which they borrow from human-bat hybrids — up to the dock of a massive spaceship.
A villainous trend
The Alterna-Earth was created by the villain of “G3,” the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), and this is where I suspected the film was tying in with “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” – but ultimately I think it’s just a coincidence.
That previous MCU entry features a villain, Kang the Conqueror, who uses the multiverse as his laboratory for trying to make a utopia; he has no qualms about scrapping his failed worlds and killing the beings who reside there. The High Evolutionary does the same thing. Iwuji, who also does good work on Gunn’s DC TV show “Peacemaker,” plays the H.E. with anger and frustration, to contrast with Jonathan Majors’ outwardly calm Kang.
Both characters embody the theme that the search for a perfect society (even if well-meaning, which it usually is not, propaganda aside) leads to a lot of suffering. These screenplays don’t use terms like “Communism” or “central planning,” but it is nice (albeit ironic) that a large corporation is willing to be pro-individual at least in the fiction it produces.
Future looks bright … for DC
Of course, there’s a difference between wisdom and kindness, and what we have here is a case of Marvel Studios wisely hiring a kind-hearted creator (at least Gunn’s work suggests that trait, and what we know of him backs it up).
It’s amazing that Gunn can block out all the chatter and hype and the needs of the wider MCU storyline (which “G3” ultimately serves, without letting it be a distraction) and make such a warm story about friendship and decency.
The requisite action spectacle is here, too, and at 2.5 hours, “G3” is only slightly overblown – a refreshing change from the outright bloat of some competing tentpole films. The arc about a goddess mother and god son (Will Poulter) isn’t strictly necessary, but it fits with the theme about learning the value of life. The length isn’t a problem for home viewing when the film is this good.
Since it seems unlikely that Gunn can make more “Guardians” films while also overseeing the entire DC film saga (he now has the equivalent executive producer job of Marvel’s Kevin Feige), this will probably be the last we see of the Guardians for a while (as a team; we’re told Star-Lord himself will return).
It’s an impressive bow, and it comes with a tasty final irony: “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” gives me confidence that Gunn will shepherd many great DC movies our way.