In "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3", Chris Pratt returns as Star-Lord Peter Quill to lead his rag-tag troop of unusual heroes to take down an evil force once again trying to take over the universe. But this time, the danger arises from Rocket’s original creator, known as The High Evolutionary, a mad-scientist hell bent on creating a new master race. Rocket, the lovable but gun-wielding kill-first-ask-questions-later super-Racoon, is unique in his intellectual development and The High Evolutionary seeks to re-capture Rocket to harness his mutated brain to re-engineer a new breed of genetically modified beings.
Director and writer James Gunn bounces around a non-linear storyline to highlight the origin story of Rocket. The audience is spared no emotionally traumatizing details of Rocket’s capture and genetic manipulation. Rocket survives his early ordeals through friendships with similarly modified creatures held by The High Evolutionary, but when an escape plan backfires, Rocket’s fate is set upon a collision course with the Guardians. While prior Guardian films held no punches in the use of violence and gore, the emotional trauma was always blunted by slapstick humor and hilarious use of a nostalgic soundtrack. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said here.
Of course, the Guardians rally to take down the bad guy and save Rocket, but Gunn spends an inordinate amount of time on each character’s own emotional baggage. Peter Quill is devastated over the loss of the real Gamora, while Drax, Mantis and Groot over-communicate their feelings in juxtaposition to inartful fight scenes. You know something is wrong when the previously acrimonious Nebula is nicer than a high school guidance counselor.
So, on my Black Diamond ski trail rating system, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” earns my intermediate BLUE ski trail rating. Over-indulgence in melodramatic group therapy, unnecessarily horrific animal scenes, and character mutilation dilute the balance of oddball humor, killer soundtracks, and character sentimentality which anchored the prior films. Fans will still enjoy the sendoff which keeps the banter of our misfit band of heroes at the forefront but Director James Gunn misfires on several pivotal scenes, including a core farewell which departs from the original film narratives.
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is playing in theaters and rated PG-13 for intense violence, language, drug reference, and animal abuse- much more impactful than prior films. Parental guidance is strongly advised.
