First Opinion: by Connor Sutherland
When the “Guardians of the Galaxy” first hit the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2014, the series was an instant fan favorite. The first “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie from 2014 made over $700 million dollars at the box office. This massive success would tower over the likes of 2015’s “Ant-Man”, which made a notable $520 million dollars. Fans of The Guardians would have to go 3 years until getting to see the gang back on screen in, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” After the release of Guardians 2, the love for the Guardians only grew stronger. With new additions like “Baby Groot” and Yondu’s lovable charm, there was only more to love with this sequel
“The Guardians of the Galaxy” would reappear a year later in 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War” where the gang would feel a decorative palate of emotions. The Guardians are set with loss and despair after losing their fight with Thanos. Rocket Raccoon and Nebula are the only members of the Guardians to survive Thanos’s use of the Infinity Stones. The remaining Guardians would be brought back into existence by the Avengers in the overwhelmingly successful sequel, “Avengers: Endgame”. “Endgame” left the Guardians struck with the betrayal of Gamora who no longer accepted the Guardians. The crew returns back to their natural roles and continues to save the lives of many every day.
We as viewers would not see the return of the Guardians for another 3 years until their very brief appearance in “Thor: Love and Thunder” which was greeted with a mediocre reaction from audiences. The Guardians would also return for “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special”, which has the Guardians run into festive shenanigans with the likes of legendary actor, Kevin Bacon. This leaves us with their newest stand-alone installment, “The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3”, which places the Guardians in breakneck action with our beloved main crew racing all over the Galaxy to save each other from all sorts of adversaries, old and new.
Where other recent Marvel movies fail, Guardians 3 soars. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” excels in showing viewers a well-scripted and wonderfully written tale of loss, love, and tragedy. Guardians 3 is incredibly immersive in its storytelling, making viewers feel like part of the Guardians themselves. There are a plethora of tear-jerking moments and heartfelt scenes that let the viewer fall in love with the story and become part of the universe. New characters debuting in Guardians 3 feel well-written and like believable characters ripped straight from a comic book. That being said, nothing is without flaw and Guardians 3 is no exception.
While direction, acting, and computer graphics all soar far above Marvel’s other recent projects, Guardians 3 seems to have an odd selection of scenes, including violence against animals. So much so that it does begin to detract from the film itself, pulling the viewer out of the immersion. While this does not ruin the viewing experience, it certainly makes some scenes difficult to watch, with the violence crossing new boundaries for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Overall, “The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”, is a massive success for the MCU, and masterfully creates the perfect send-off for one of Marvel’s most beloved collections of heroes. Guardians 3, is perfect evidence that Marvel can still construct an amazing story.
A Second Opinion by Miles Page:
As someone who only got into Marvel very recently, I’ve been able to watch trilogies like the Guardians movies back-to-back without having to wait between entries. This can sometimes make each movie feel stale. Binging all the “Lord of the Rings” movies can run you out of tolerance for the hobbits’ misadventures. With the “Guardians of the Galaxy” trilogy, though, I can confidently say that each entry is as good as the last--if not better--and offers up very different perspectives on themes like family, honor, and compassion.
The newest “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie story is simple but impactful: defeating the villainous High Evolutionary, whose only mission is to “upgrade” the universe by means of genetic experimentation. These scenes are tough to watch, as they feature animal cruelty, but they succeed where other attempts at meaningful moments (like the death of Superman in the DCEU) fail. The scenes in “Guardians 3” succeed in their emotional weight because they involve characters we’ve come to love and appreciate, rather than throwing in a character who hasn’t had any time to develop.
Rocket Raccoon is the main focus of the movie. Rocket’s origin story is poignant and often hard to watch, but that makes it more meaningful to the audience and makes us want to see the villain be beaten. Other characters have smaller but just as well-developed arcs. The rivalry between Nebula and Gamora is at the forefront of a lot of scenes, and other characters get very tense at times, but everything is resolved in an organic, thoughtful way.
The secondary antagonist of the movie, Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock, is criminally underused, but every scene that he’s a part of is fun to watch and over the top. Ironically, the least utilized character in the whole movie is Star-Lord, the main character of the trilogy. His attempts to reconnect with a variant of Gamora are his only real events throughout the movie, but instead of feeling like a weak part of the film, it leaves room for other characters to shine.
Overall, “Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3” is an incredible movie, a fun watch, and a sign that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is taking note of the criticisms it’s been subject to. Whether you’ve been a part of the MCU since “Iron Man” or just joined, “Guardians 3” can’t be missed.
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