Why Critics Hate Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3
It looks like Marvel’s last-ditch effort might actually pay off with Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3! It’s no secret the MCU is in absolute shambles. Phase 4 has been an unmitigated disaster due to poor planning, activism, and just poor writing. James Gunn is going out with a bang. But will Disney learn anything from their mistakes going forward? And what can we learn from the third installment of the Guardians of the Galaxy? Join me dear viewer, as I dive back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and see what can be done to save it!
After Endgame, Marvel Studios was riding high. How could they top their success, they thought. They unfortunately ended up squandering whatever good graces they had with fans. Phase 4 ended up being an absolute trainwreck which many have dubbed Phase Bore. The post Endgame films have been, how to put this mildly, a disaster. Without the careful planning and strategy that was implemented throughout the first three phases, films did not have the same level of cohesion, and frankly, quality as their predecessors. With the exception of Spider-Man No Way Home, most films in the series flopped. The latest flop was Ant-Man 3 which failed to break even with box office receipts. And with the other disaster of The Marvels looming large, Marvel needed to score a win. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 was their last best hope of salvaging the franchise. But did the film actually deliver?
By now, it’s no secret that this was the last Marvel film James Gunn was going to do. Marvel and especially Disney, treated James Gunn so terribly due to the Tyranny of the Hyperminority of the woke Twitterati, that I’m honestly not surprised he didn’t leave earlier. But being the stand-up guy he is, he went out with a bang with this final film. I guess it was his way of showing Marvel how to do things. This film was completely devoid of identity politics and woke ideology. This, in and of itself, is a huge shock because the last few entries pushed the identity politics and woke ideology very hard, negatively affecting the box office receipts. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 focused very much on story and character development which is something I harp on in all my videos. So, let’s talk about that!
Story-wise, the film seems to straddle the line between being a Rocket Raccoon origin story and being a Guardians of the Galaxy film. The story begins with Adam Warlock coming to kidnap Rocket and inadvertently triggering a self-destruct mechanism within Rocket’s heart. So, the Guardians set out on a quest to save Rocket’s life. Through flashbacks, we see Rocket’s meager beginnings as a baby raccoon being experimented on by a sadistic mad scientist known as the High Evolutionary. These flashbacks really hit home for me. I’m a huge lover of all animals and am an ardent supporter of animal rights. Animals being tortured or mistreated is quite disturbing in and of itself, which I’m surprised was portrayed in a Disney film, even with CGI. However, the story overall, was at its core, a story of the enduring power of friendship. We see that before the Guardians, Rocket did have friends which he lost at the hands of the High Evolutionary which was one of the things that made the High Evolutionary a compelling villain.
The mad scientist trope is nothing new in films. It’s even been done in the MCU before. But somehow, it wasn’t done well until now. Much the same as Thanos, the High Evolutionary was working to improve the universe, however his good intentions were very malignantly executed. He wanted to forge the perfect society, but his methods were less than desirable to say the least. He experimented on a wide variety of animals in order to create the ultimate peaceful society. Among his experiments was Rocket who we see was a timid, cute baby raccoon. In the past few films in the MCU, the villains weren’t very well written, making very questionable and illogical decisions. One of the things that makes the High Evolutionary a compelling villain is his decision making in each situation actually makes sense to the audience. His motivation is communicated quite clearly and is well executed. Obviously, we don’t agree with his decisions, unless there’s a psychopath or two in the audience. But the character was very well written. This makes the High Evolutionary one of the best villains in the MCU in my opinion.
The rest of the characters weren’t as well developed in this film, however. We still see Star-Lord pining over Gamorrah. Drax, Nebula, and Groot were relegated to minor roles. We do however see a decent conclusion to Drax’s story. In the first film in the series, we saw that Drax was still mourning the deaths of his wife and daughter at the hands of Thanos. By the end of this film though, we see him retaking the role of father figure to the children they rescue from the High Evolutionary. While this could have been explored a little bit further, it did feel like a satisfying conclusion of Drax’s story.
Fans of Adam Warlock, what can I say? You will definitely be disappointed by his appearance in this film. This was not the same character as in the comics, whatsoever. The best place to have introduced Adam Warlock was prior to Endgame as his purpose in the comics revolved around the Infinity Stones. This film has Warlock playing the bit role of a mercenary. It’s a huge shame because of how hugely influential he was in the comics. Being relegated to a bit role wasn’t very respectful to the lore of the character. He was so underutilized that it was really disappointing having him even be in the film. What was the point? Don’t get me wrong, Will Poulter has really come into his own as an actor following his earlier films like We’re the Millers. He did the best he could with the script he was given but ultimately the performance fell short due to bad writing of the character.
Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 also seemed to want to cram in way too much into one movie. We could have just had the Rocket origin story and the film would have been just fine. Trying to cram in so many story elements ultimately hurt the exposition of those elements. The film is also James Gunn at his very most James Gunn which is simultaneously a good thing and a bad thing. We get it James, you love music. But trying to cram in every 80’s song you possibly could into the film made it appear a bit formulaic. The characters engaging in slapstick comedy, followed by an action sequence, followed by a song insertion. Wash, rinse, repeat. Although, maybe that wasn’t so bad. Perhaps the formulaic nature of this narrative direction made the film much more organized and ultimately more cohesive despite not hitting all the plot points with the side characters. This is certainly something that the MCU has lacked lately.
The lesson for Marvel Studios here is to stick to the formula that worked throughout the first three phases. Writing compelling villains who undertake logical decisions in every situation such as the High Evolutionary would improve the overall narrative because the heroes would react accordingly. This would improve the character arc of each hero as well. What the film did very well was developing Rocket’s story arc. This, in turn, kept the audience engaged throughout the film. So, Marvel filmmakers, like a fine wine, must make sure to let the characters breathe a little so they can develop their own individual flavors through careful and concise character development. Additionally, this film seemed to have the freedom to breathe a little from the overbearing control that the studio had in previous films. For a while now, it seemed that directors weren’t really being given permission to insert their own artistic flair into the films. That’s why films like Captain Marvel flopped so hard and were ultimately very forgettable. James Gunn was allowed to insert his creative take into the film and we got a pretty good movie out of it.
Overall, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 was the movie that Marvel needed to right the ship that is the MCU. Whether it’s too little too late, remains to be seen. Marvel may have squandered way too much of the fandom’s good graces with the last few films. But if they allow their directors a little artistic freedom, they may get excellent films like they used to. For example, Kenneth Branagh was given free rein in the original Thor film and we got a great fantasy film out of it. Disney needs to stop casting directors and go back to hiring them and letting them do their jobs without restraints. Then we’ll get very satisfying films such as this one. I do hope to see these characters return and the ending certainly implied that. Not only with the message that Star-Lord will return but also the final montage of what looks to be a new Guardians of the Galaxy team. Get out to see this film, it’s definitely worth it!
If you liked this piece, check out my youtube channel for even more deep analysis of cinema: