-Zivouhr "Rocket was the star, good story for him vs the evil, indifferent villain."
-Cremildo "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is shameless in its pulling of the audience's heartstrings and resolutely adherent to the tried-and-true MCU formula consisting of sitcom-y zingers coupled with computerized maximalism. It is also a gleeful space adventure and a moving ode to friendship, willing to go some previously unexplored dark places for the sake of character development.
Packed to the brim with delectable group dynamics, chortle-worthy banter, eye-melting visuals, exciting action setpieces, actual high stakes, and pitch-perfect needle drops, it's a de facto corporate product that manages to convey the palpable passion and care James Gunn and co. put into it - the kind of all-too-rare paradox that makes blockbuster filmmaking worth watching."
-The Debts "You pull back the curtains
And the sun burns into your eyes
You watch a plane flying
Across a clear blue sky
This is the day, your life will surely change
This is the day, when things fall into place
So the ends the saga of the MCU's misfit family. After copious production delays, James Gunn finishes his trilogy with the ending these characters deserve. Refreshingly, Gunn has opted to go with a personal finale for the Guardians, as their beloved loud mouth furball Rocket Racoon (Sean Gunn in motion capture, Bradley Cooper in voice - and doing a better performance here than in Maestro) finds himself heavily injured by a villainous force hellbent on tearing him apart limb by limb and his newfound family having to save his arse from certain death. This is easily the most downbeat and emotional chapter of trilogy, as Gunn bluntly deals with trauma, corporate greed and animal abuse in way that other MCU would not even dare to touch. At times, the film almost feels bipolar in its emotions, bouncing between being gut wrenching in one scene and then goofy as hell the next. But ultimately, it all comes together in a way that delivers all the emotions and excitement you would want - and more - out of these movies. Here's hoping Gunn's take on Superman continues this magical feeling I'm hooked on."
-sandman slim "Proof, yet again, that awards season needs to recognize mocap & voice actors. Rocket's backstory will break your heart into a million pieces, largely due to Bradley Cooper's amazing performance."
-acroyear2 "Not only does my favorite furry Guardian get an emotionally rich backstory, but the entire cast gets a great send-off in this heartfelt (and hilarious) final installment of the trilogy."
-Al The Strange "It's been a long six years since the last volume, and it's hard to shake off the negative buzz that plagued James Gunn lately. Even harder to shake off the apathy I've started to feel towards Marvel and Disney properties. Should have kept my faith in Gunn being Gunn though, because once GOTG Vol. 3 found its stride, it becomes a fairly remarkable sprint that outpaces Marvel's mediocrity.
Volume 3's opener comes off as mopey, not only because they used Radiohead's "Creep" to frame Rocket's painful backstory, but also because trauma becomes the through-line for the every character. It's not particularly becoming to watch our favorite misfits pout and shout at each other, but it doesn't exactly come out of left field either—the film recognizes how far these characters have come, how things have changed since the beginning, and it becomes quite an emotional struggle for them to hold things together as a family. That's where all the heart is, and it does hit hard at key moments. All that being said, the film still has its hilarious moments from the second act onwards, as if humor factors into the healing process. There are some very bizarre and eye-popping creative designs on show (a meat planet, seriously?!). Action scenes are as spectacular as ever. I even appreciate that all the threads left from the last volume are addressed. It's a much more satisfying adventure than I expected, and I'm grateful that it wears its broken heart on its sleeve and still troops on. It's a lot more merit than any other Marvel film has shown throughout...whatever phase we're on now.
I lost count, is this phase twelve now, or something?"
-bubbamoo "Gunn and the Gang invite us back to their awesome Universe for more frolic and fun."
-Creed "Volume 3 trumps over 2, and is on par with 1. The darker and emotional tone is very much welcoming, Gunn's signature humour mostly works, and man, it's truly a fitting way to end the trilogy. Excellent work from the ensemble cast as always (Bradley Cooper MVP), and once again, isn't it great to witness an MCU Gunn flick that visually looks fantastic?!"
-Member-866753 "Unapologetically bearing the idiosyncrasies of it's director, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is a deeply satisfying send-off for it's characters that is packed with emotion-rich action, humor, and affecting dramatic stakes."