DUBAI: When the opening scenes of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” play out to the sobering tune of Radiohead’s “Creep,” you know you are in for a different kind of ride with James Gunn’s final installment of his fan-favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe trilogy, opening in theaters in the Middle East on May 4.
Set sometime after the “Guardians of the Galaxy” holiday special, available to stream on Disney+, “Vol. 3” is the darkest MCU film to date, dealing with some hefty themes surrounding personal agency, loss and identity, but manages to cut the intensity with Gunn’s personal brand of twee humor that propelled the first “GOTG” movie into an instant blockbuster hit.
“Vol. 3,” while still dealing with universe-saving stakes, takes a more personal route to that destination via telling Rocket’s (Bradley Cooper) hitherto unknown backstory, connected to this film’s big baddie, the morbid and dangerous High Evolutionary (played with a scarily manic energy by Chukwudi Iwuji).
When a gold alien man, Adam Warlock (Will Poulter putting his comedic chops to good use), unsuccessfully tries to kidnap Rocket, the Guardians — led by a heartbroken Quill (Chris Pratt) still pining for Gamora (Zoe Saldana) — are pulled into action, tracking down the aforementioned High Evolutionary, a mad scientist and eugenicist with Thanos-like powers to boot.
The movie goes back and forth in time, revealing Rocket’s story in bite-sized chunks (keep the handkerchiefs ready, folks). And while the various plotlines and story threads may seem overstuffed at first, they all lead to rewarding closure for all the main characters involved, including Drax (Dave Bautista), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Groot (Vin Diesel) and Nebula (Karen Gillan), with Kraglin (Sean Gunn) and Cosmo the Spacedog (Maria Bakalova) joining as the newest recruits of the growing gang.
It is also refreshing to meet these characters again in a post-Thanos world, all visibly changed. Showing most growth are Bautista’s Drax and Gillan’s Nebula.
However, despite the unbelievably gorgeous spectacles, out-of-this-world set design, a better-than-ever soundtrack and jokes that land every single time, “Vol. 3” still suffers from Marvel’s third-act problem. The movie would have benefitted from a tighter edit, especially in its final climactic showdown, but instead plods through, going through the motions of predictable action showdowns, leaving more than one viewer squirming in their seats.
But as the final scenes of the “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” play out, set to Florence and the Machine’s ever-hopeful track “Dog Days are Over,” you will, without doubt, be left with that bittersweet feeling of having witnessed something special while knowing that this magic will probably never be recreated again.
