By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? Well, not if you're director/writer
James Gunn (upcoming, "Superman: Legacy") His
"Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3" is a sprawling, lively, colorful, and final installment in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" film trilogy. It packs quite an emotional punch too.
When we first see Peter “Star-Lord” Quill (Chris Pratt, "The Super Mario Bros. Movie") in "Guardians 3," he's all torn up. The guy still hasn't gotten over Gamora (an excellent Zoe Saldana, "Avatar: The Way of Water") and looks nothing like the strong and confident leader he once was. The rest of the Guardians are kind of whiling their time away on the rebuilt settlement, Knowhere.
All that moping doesn't last for long especially when a super powered, artificial, golden-faced dude named Adam Warlock (a funny Will Poulter, TV's "Why Didn't they ask Evans?") bursts in on them. Adam was created by the Sovereign priestess Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki, TV's "The Crown") to destroy the Guardians.
His specific mission is to capture Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper, "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves"). While he doesn't quite succeed, the feisty raccoon is severely wounded during the ordeal.
Rocket means the world to Peter and the rest of the gang. So, Peter is hellbent on saving him, but nearly loses it when their med packs can't help Rocket because he has this cybernetic kill switch inside him. The only way to override it is to obtain Raccoon's original coding. That's not going to be easy, but it doesn't keep Nebula (a fantastic Karen Gillan, "Late Bloomers"), I Am "Groot" (Vin Diesel, upcoming "Fast 9"), Mantis (Pom Klementieff, "Thor: Love and Thunder"), Drax (a dry/funny Dave Bautista, "Knock at the Cabin") and Peter from pulling out all the stops and trying.
Rocket is wanted by a narcissistic, sociopathic scientist from Counter-Earth known as The High Evolutionary (a terrific Chukwudi Iwuji, TV's "The Split"). He specializes in creating hybrid creatures and is determined to make living beings into a "special race." He also wants to experiment on Rocket since his intellect surpasses most others.
There is an emotional backstory involving a young Rocket and his fellow lab animals/friends like Lylla the otter (Linda Cardellini, TV's "Dead to Me"), Teefs the walrus (Asim Chaudhry, TV's "The Cleaner") and Floor the rabbit (Mikaela Hoover, "The Suicide Squad").
They all try to support each other and escape from their dreadful prisons, but a monumental discovery by Rocket has him joining forces with the Guardians.
Although Rocket's storyline is a bit dark, it still adds a warmhearted touch to the film. "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3" isn't all doom and gloom. There is a lot of humorous bantering that we've come to expect from this ragtag team, most notably between "Star-Lord" and Gamora as well as Mantis, Nebula Drax and yes, even Groot.
What would a "Guardians of the Galaxy" movie be without a booming soundtrack? Not much. Fortunately, "Guardians 3" doesn't disappoint on the music front and includes a mix of bangers and slow grooves from Beastie Boys ("No Sleep Till Brooklyn"), "Radiohead ("Creep"), Bruce Springsteen ("Badlands"), to Earth Wind & Fire ("Reasons"), Rainbow ("Since You Been Gone") and of course Redbone's classic ("Come and Get Your Love").
"Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3" runs a hefty 150 minutes long and almost overstays its welcome. Yet, the frenetic action and these goofy characters we've come to love, still makes this one big fun and satisfying finale.
Look At This Trailer For
"GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: VOL. 3"
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays at 5:17 p.m. and 6:47 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
