SPOILERS AHEAD: Writer/Director James Gunn teases the audience with the deaths of no less than five Guardians in the course of a movie centered more on character moments than an actual plotline.
Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) is nearly kidnapped by Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), acting on behalf of the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji). It is revealed through a series of flashbacks that the High Evolutionary is a nutcase obsessed with creating a perfect race through genetic engineering, and wants his former experiment back because Rocket possesses a unique gift for extrapolation of analytical data.
The ticking clock is provided by Rocket slowing dying, and his teammates need to find and encrypted data key to halt the process. This forces them to seek out the High Evolutionary, who is on a spaceship docked on Counter-Earth, a near-replica of Earth but populated by forcibly-evolved animals living much like we do on Earth.
The “funny” bit is that at various points of the movie, Drax, Mantis, Groot, Rocket, and Nebula are each almost killed off in different scenes. One of the big pre-release questions was about killing off some Guardians, particularly since Bautista (100% I believe him) and Saldana (95% I believe her) both said this was definitely it for them. There is plenty of action and mayhem and death in GOTG Vol. 3, but has a warm, feel-good ending that pays homage to the characters but doesn’t undo the really nightmarish elements they had to go through to get there.
I definitely feel this is the best of the three GOTG movies, and I have it currently in my top 5 of the MCU. I mainly feel that way because I was so impressed with GOTG Vol. 1 and this movie tops it. GOTG Vol. 3 is, I believe, the sixth appearance of the core group, and we discover more about each of them we didn’t previously know. And it leaves you wanting more for the future, whatever shape that future turns out to be.
I think James Gunn is a really solid screenwriter, but I don’t kiss his rings and I think his upcoming DC movies are going to reveal a lot about writing for big-name characters he hasn’t already put his stamp on. I do give him total props for what he has done with GOTG, however. This collection of aliens are relatable, nuanced, and heroic. The adventures have been both cosmically epic and singularly personal.
Here’s to seeing more of the gang in the future!
PS: I will save my thoughts on Adam Warlock for a separate post.
