Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (M, 150 minutes) Directed by James Gunn ****½
James Gunn assembles brilliant soundtracks and then he puts good films over the top of them. Or at least, that’s how it seems to me.
That would put Gunn in some great company. Martin Scorsese used to do pretty much the same thing. And Scorsese wrote the book on using rock and pop music to underpin action that seemingly has nothing to do with the song on the speakers.
I’m not comparing Gunn to Scorsese – no one in their right mind compares Scorsese to anyone, except the directors who Scorsese acknowledges he was influenced by. And nothing Gunn does will ever punch me in the throat quite like seeing Harvey Keitel’s head fall onto a pillow in Mean Streets, as The Ronette’s Be My Baby comes banging out of a decent set of speakers, or Sid Vicious’ rendition of My Way suddenly, perfectly, snarling over the end credits of Goodfellas.
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But, credit where it is due. I can’t hear Redbone’s Come and Get Your Love without remembering the opening scene of Guardians of the Galaxy, nine ridiculous years ago. And from now on, Ritchie Blackmore and Rainbow belting out their cover of Since You’ve Been Gone is always going to play in my head to a scene of five friends free-falling into a space station made of flesh, to free a genetically engineered racoon from a tyrant who wants to rule the universe.
Guardians of the Galaxy is the sort of film franchise in which these things make perfect sense. And Vol. 3 is maybe the perfect way to wrap up the series.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is an origin story for a character who has been one of the best things about the Marvel Universe, but whose existence has never been properly explained.
The Guardians are a rag-tag bunch of bastards and orphans, which, by Hollywood mythology, makes them a far stronger unit than a conventional family could ever be.
They found themselves fighting alongside everyone else in the immediate Marvel Universe in the events that led up to Avengers: Endgame in 2019 – and seemed to be set to team up with Thor again at the end of Love and Thunder.
But Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 takes a different path. This is a standalone Guardians’ yarn – and is all the stronger for it. In fact, GG3 (let’s call it that, I’m not much of a typist and I have a deadline) is an origin story for a character who has been one of the best things about the Marvel Universe, but whose existence has never been properly explained.
Rocket is a genetic experiment. That much we know. But GG3 digs deep into his backstory. Gunn even fashions Rocket’s early years as an occasionally heartbreaking lash against the whole idea of animal experimentation.
The bad guy in GG3 isn’t much more than a demented vivisectionist with delusions of being a god. Unlike most other Marvel villains, even Thanos, he really doesn’t have a sympathetic side. But as played by Chukwudi Iwuji (John Wick 2), he is at least the most charismatic villain Marvel have had to work with in years.
Once in a while, even a theme park ride can be bold and a bit unexpected. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is one of those.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is a hell of an achievement. Unlike most superhero movies of the last few years, the storytelling here is more than a join-the-dots rehash of a familiar plot. It’s no secret this will be the last Guardians of the Galaxy film, so I walked in knowing there were no guarantees any of these characters would survive. But also with no real idea of what direction the story would take. And Gunn achieved something I was beginning to think Marvel couldn’t do any more: he kept me engrossed throughout.
Guardians 3 is also quite stunning to look at. Gunn and his designers have gone for a retro-futurist aesthetic that evokes everything from Logan’s Run and 2001 A Space Odyssey, to Barbarella and Zardoz.
Chris Pratt returns as Peter Quill aka Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
A couple of years back, Scorsese himself said that superhero movies were nothing more than theme park rides. And everyone knew that he had a point.
But, once in a while, even a theme park ride can be bold and a bit unexpected. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is one of those.
And hell, surely even Scorsese would appreciate that soundtrack.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now screening in cinemas nationwide.
