Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 – Cheap Thoughts

It’s not going to be too controversial to say that Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a bit of a slump, the quality ranging from “Pretty Good” to “Genuinely Awful”. There was a time in the public consciousness when Marvel was shooting nothing but bullseyes, but in a Post-Endgame world where more of the film’s productions become automated, repetitive dull features, audiences are catching on. Leave it to the losers of the universe to steer the ship in the right direction.

James Gunn’s Guardians films have always been outliers in the universe, the broken misfits who find each other and help heal from their trauma of lost or abusive families. An important note to these characters is while they do get better as people, they are arguably never “good people”. Their trauma has damaged them and there is a limit to how much that can get fixed. Sometimes the awful things in your past do define you, but with help it doesn’t have to be the only part of you. Gunn himself comes from a production history of making grotesque, violent and cynical pictures, to now be helming stories of victims of abuse trying to better themselves and the world around them. Even his words and actions of his younger days nearly cost him this film when he was temporarily fired due to old tweets coming back to haunt him. Your past doesn’t have to define you. It’s a message Gunn clearly cares about.

There is no cleaning up the stains on these characters or this film, in order to explore a character’s history you have to show the darkest and most upsetting elements to get a proper picture. In some ways this might be the most upsetting MCU film, it is unafraid to rely on grotesque imagery, violent actions and disturbing visuals (at least, as much as you can get away with for a PG-13 rating) but this film isn’t holding back. You get the big picture, so at least when it returns to kindness, to the bond of this team, to their love for each other you truly appreciate it.

The usual traits of these films are here (Beyond the tragedy), the film still follows a group of rambunctious a-holes travelling from place to place in search of objects to save the day and defeat an egomaniacal monster of destruction with a god-complex whose greatest adversaries are this immature team of sloppy heroes who bicker amongst each other, trading gags and insults and blasting a banging playlist of Earth Music. Also, bright lights and pretty colours.

This review could just be a summary of all the ways the latest Guardian film is better than its MCU contemporaries. It’s so much better looking, has a more coherent plot and clear themes and character progression and balancing these elements so everything gets equal focus. At times Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is a bleak film, filled with violence, heartbreak and loss; but it’s core is one of broken people who may not love themselves, but their love for each other is so strong they will traverse the universe and take on powerful beings of indescribable power to protect one another.

-Danny