Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

James Gunn directs a successful action movie, darker than expected, particularly moving, a wonderful conclusion to his trilogy.

On the planet Nowhere, the Guardians of the Galaxy, these misfits that are Star-Lord, Nebula, Mantis, Drax, Rocket and Baby Groot, must face the High Evolutionary, mad geneticist. This highly successful villain is played by Chukwudi Iwuji.

Nine years have passed since the surprise of the first film, six years after the second. The global Covid-19 epidemic has hit the Earth. Director James Gunn was fired and then rehired by Disney, for this film which concludes his trilogy and is particularly important for him. So he goes straight to the point and hits hard. The first film was the story of the Mother, the second the story of the Father, the third is the sotry of the Self, intimacy, and compassion. For him, loneliness is the central theme of the Guardians of the Galaxy. As writer and director, James Gunn loves these outlaw characters. He gives them an attention that we can fell in this movie. He gives each of them a path, an evolution, a key moment.

If James Gunn came back, it was to tell the poignant childhood of Rockett, this cantankerous raccoon, to which he is particularly attached. "Rocket, it's me," says the director, former rebellious teenager . Already in 2017, the character of baby Groot allowed him to speak about the mistreatment inflicted on animals and the planet by humans. Here, he deepens this theme. There is the story and the interpretation of Seann Gunn, who plays Rocket. His expressions, his look, his voice, the emotions that are expressed in his postures give an unequaled emotional power to this character. Bradley Cooper lends his voice to Adult Rockett. The strengths of the previous films are still there: powerfull action, special effects, humor, great soundtrack, sometimes crazy but always meaningful sets. Note that the special effects supervisor is Frenchman Stéphane Ceretti, trained at BUF.

The end of the trilogy does not mean the end of the story for these characters. James Gunn probably loves them too much to sacrifice them. During the press conference, Chris Pratt, on behalf of the actors, expressed his gratitude to James Gunn for his writing, his direction, his unique tone, his love of animals, his sense of comedy and the ten years spent together. The freedom that allowed him to express this specific tone makes this trilogy stand out from formatted blockbusters.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Written and directed by James Gunn
Based on Guardians of the Galaxy by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning
Produced by Kevin Feige
Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, Will Poulter, Elizabeth Debicki, Maria Bakalova, Sylvester Stallone
Cinematography : Henry Braham
Edited by Fred Raskin, Greg D'Auria
Music by John Murphy
Production company : Marvel Studios
Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release dates : April 22, 2023 (Disneyland Paris), May 3, 2023 (France), May 5, 2023 (United States)
Running time : 150 minutes

Seen on Thursday April 20 at The Walt Disney Company France

Sabine's Mark:

Some rare directors have managed to transcend the simple adaptation of a comic book universe into a film capable of bringing together different generations of spectators in a cinema and above all imposing a real visual style. Certainly, the Guardians of the Galaxy cinematographic saga has allowed James Gunn to find a playground large enough to allow him not only to have a real control of the writing of his film but also of its direction. Started almost 10 years ago, this cinematographic saga was here with its third installment even if we suspect that some of the characters might make appearances in other upcoming films of the Marvel Cinematographic Universe, either in the form of a series for Disney+ or a film like the highly anticipated Avengers: Secret Wars (2026). 

While the first part remains in all the memories of movie and comic book fans as a cult movie in many ways, the second part had surprised us a bit by its orientation and its willingness to propose a movie quite different from the first part. This third part seems to have fully understood the public's expectations and far from playing the safety card by applying a preconceived formula, it takes some interesting risks such as proposing a real graphic violence at times and above all a melancholic tone that will not leave any spectator insensitive. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 proves to be the most moving part of the film, but above all it allows a psychological development of the characters. The film picks up after The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special in which we learned that Mantis was Peter Quill's half-sister, who still hasn't recovered from the tragic loss of the woman in his life Gamora.  This third part puts at the center of this story the origins of Rocket and how the Guardians of the Galaxy team will have to find a treatment to save his life and especially to face his creator, a being as evil as very dangerous and strong.

James Gunn understood from the first movie the true potential of the comic book series Guardians of the Galaxy published by Marvel Comics. The series features an intergalactic team of anti-heroes who find themselves facing cosmic threats and alien enemies. The different stories of this comic book series have allowed artists like Andy Lanning, Brian Michael Bendis, Dan Abnett and Jim Valentino to offer engaging and humorous stories. James Gunn's treatment to bring his characters to life proves to be perfectly mastered and we quickly get attached to Peter Jason Quill / Star-Lord (Chris Pratt perfect), Rocket (original voice of Bradley Cooper), Groot (see Vin Diesel), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax the Destroyer (David Bautista) and Nebula (Karen Gillan). Even if the three films take a certain distance from the team that appeared in the comics, they totally convince us thanks to the particular care given to the main cast, to the writing of the film, to the numerous special effects but also to a perfectly mastered and daring direction as shown by the excellent work on the sound and the musical choices of the film. This third part is our favorite even if it reveals less originality than the first part. 

Certainly James Gunn answers to the precise demands of the Marvel studios but manages to keep intact his patte of ambitious director. When discovering this film, one can only compare it to the director Sam Raimi who delivered with his first Spider-man an excellent comic book adaptation while managing to keep his visual style intact. While the first two films revolved around Peter Jason Quill and how he grew up in space or how he had to face his father, this time it is Rocket who is the main character of the film and we discover through numerous flashbacks how he was created and why he turns out to be so good at handling all kinds of weapons but also in high-tech by being able to create new creations or drive all kinds of vehicles. His traumatic past allows the director to denounce the mistreatment of animals for scientific research but also to put forward strong themes such as family, surpassing oneself or finding one's place in a world in perpetual evolution. The different missions accomplished by the guardians of the galaxy to find a remedy able to save the life of rocket and the past of this one and how he had to escape from his creator to stay alive follow one another with a perfect editing.  The film is much darker than the two previous ones but with a lot of humor thanks to the right dialogues and original situations.

James Gunn perfectly understood the importance of having an imposing villain to make a real danger on the heroes of the movie and surely the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) will remain as one of the best villains of the Marvel cinematographic universe. While Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania had disappointed us, Guardians of the Galaxy 3 finds all the power of the best movies of this universe and even manages to surpass Avengers: Endgame by this succession of scenes worthy of the best blockbusters. The only small reproach comes from the character of Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) who would have deserved a more important place. We can only recognize that James Gunn kept the best story for the end and in spite of his setbacks with Marvel Studios, which we won't come back to, we can only applaud him for having given the Marvel cinematographic universe its letters of nobility and we can only regret the fact that his road and that of Marvel Studios ends here because he is now one of the two co-presidents of DC Films. 

In the same way we can only applaud him for his excellent career, from his beginnings as a scriptwriter at Troma, to his first two genre films Slither (2006) and Super (2010) before joining Marvel Studios and proposing an equally excellent The Suicide Squad (2021). This comic book enthusiast and connoisseur has managed to establish himself as one of the most talented Hollywood directors of his generation and we are already looking forward to his next film Superman: Legacy when we see this film that we will see many times with untouched pleasure. Finally, we encourage you to stay until the end of the credits because the two scenes are well worth seeing in the cinema.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Written and directed by James Gunn
Based on Guardians of the Galaxy by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning
Produced by Kevin Feige
Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, Will Poulter, Elizabeth Debicki, Maria Bakalova, Sylvester Stallone
Cinematography : Henry Braham
Edited by Fred Raskin, Greg D'Auria
Music by John Murphy
Production company : Marvel Studios
Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release dates : April 22, 2023 (Disneyland Paris), May 3, 2023 (France), May 5, 2023 (United States)
Running time : 150 minutes

Seen on May 3, 2023 at Gaumont Disney Village, IMAX room seat E18

Mulder's Mark: