GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3

The Guardians of the Galaxy are back.

James Gunn, after being (wrongly) fired, and then (correctly) rehired after pressure from the cast, returns to the directors chair, and all of our old favourites from cast are with him.

After numerous appearances across the MCU these characters are now part of the furniture, however upon until now The Guardians felt like Star-Lords (Chris Pratt) story.

Similarly to how even though Thor has his own little gang, they are still very much his films, it felt like the rest of The Guardians were hanging onto Quills coat tails. They were along for the ride, but the main character arc was his - and to a lesser extent Gamora’s (Zoe Saldaña)

In Volume 3, however, the focus shifts, slightly, away from Star-Lord, and looks instead at exploring and developing the character arcs of his fellow Guardians.

Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Nebula (Karen Gillan), and Drax (Dave Bautista) are all given satisfying endings to their journeys, but it is Rocket (Bradley Cooper) who is the real star.

Volume 3 takes us into his past, and shows us how he became Rocket Racoon in scenes that swing between genuinely disturbing body horror, and heart wrenching tales of friendship and loss.

His back story is the single most affecting, not just of The Guardians, but of the MCU as a whole, and it is testament to Bradley Cooper, James Gunn, and his original creators (Bill Mantlo & Keith Giffen) that they have made a character - which could have been a cheap joke - into the beating heart of the franchise.

Volume 3 is, as we have come to expect from The Guardians incredibly funny, but it's the poignancy that comes from Rockets story that will be the overwhelming memory of the film.

And the film sets the tone immediately. Whereas in Volume 1 we open with Star-Lord dancing along to Come and Get Your Love, and Volume 2 with a bombastic fight scene set to ELO’s Mr Blue Sky, we start with something altogether more downbeat in Volume 3.

Where the first two in the franchise open with songs that set the mood for a fun, breezy, adventure, Volume 3 opens with an acoustic version Radiohead’s Creep.

There is no dancing here. No fight scenes. Just Rocket, listening through Star-Lords Soon, and singing to himself as he walks slowly through Knowhere.

The way he sings along, to himself, with barely any recognition of anyone else around him, beautifully setting up that we’re in for something slightly different here.

And that’s not to say Volume 3 isn’t fun, it absolutely is, just that from the off we are going to be dealing with some deeper themes, and exploring these characters - Rocket in particular - in more depth.

In The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) we have potentially The MCU’s greatest one-time villain. His insanity outweighed only by his ruthlessness, cruelty, and one track determination to get what he wants, he is willing to destroy everyone and everything that stands in his way

Iwuji is a genuinely threatening, and utterly captivating screen presence, and makes a welcome change from some of Marvels previous villains, who have become increasingly forgettable as the franchise has gone on.

He is used somewhat sparingly throughout appearing, at least in the first two acts, mainly in flashbacks. But as these moments reveal his relationship with Rocket, and his ingrained monstrousness, his true threat becomes apparent.

Volume 3 is the MCU at its best. A best that it was beginning to feel like had been lost. It manages to balance the humour we have come to expect, with a poignancy that has been lacking from all of its most recent output.

For James Gunn and The Guardians trilogy, it is the perfect way to bow out

For Marvel however, this is a bittersweet achievement.

Guardians 3 is easily one of the best MCU films since 2019’s Endgame, and Guardians of the Galaxy as a whole is arguably its best trilogy, but this in turn raises questions.

It is a concern that the only true great MCU films since the end of Phase 3 (Spider-Man: No Way Home and Guardians 3) stem from characters and series which existed in the Universe before the Multiverse saga began.

Marvel are saying goodbye to these characters, and in a lot of cases, the creative talents behind them, but few of the newer additions have captured the publics attention in the way that the old favourites did.

Let's not forget that The Guardians of the Galaxy were not mainstream names before 2014’s first volume. The general cinema going audience were unfamiliar with them. Certainly, compared to the like of Iron Man, Captain America and Thor they were relative unknowns.

Yet these same audiences immediately took to them.

Therefore, it cannot be the case that Marvel are only struggling because they are having to use lesser known heroes.

They have tried this before to great success.

Nor do I completely buy the idea of superhero fatigue. Superhero movies continue to be commercially successful, and the critical reaction to Guardians 3 and 2022’s The Batman show that there is still an appetite out there for the genre.

Therefore the only logical solution is that, creatively, The MCU is running low on ideas. They have, over the last few years, thrown a lot at the wall, but very little of it has stuck.

So to be losing one of their biggest behind-the-camera talents, to their biggest rivals no less, should be a huge cause for concern for them.

James Gunn has, up to now, been one of the MCU’s biggest attractions, but as he puts his considerable talents to use at DC, he could become their biggest problem.