Speak Now Storyteller

Summary: Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Peter Quill rallies his team to defend the universe and one of their own – a mission that could mean the end of the Guardians if not successful.

Might be a little short because of spoilers

Pros:

Cast and Characters. There are a ton of characters so I’m only gonna pick out a couple but everyone was overall great.

• Karen Gillan as Nebula. Nebula I think is hands down one of the best characters in this movie and she’s had such an amazing arc since her introduction. It’s crazy to see where she started and where she ends up by the end of this movie. She in a lot of ways, is like the Deputy leader of the team and I really loved how hard she was going for Rocket in the movie and I had to remember that when everyone else was gone, it was literally just her and Rocket left from the team. So they had to have gotten close. Her arc in the film is being able to see the actual value in the others and not just what she thinks they are or should be and I liked that. It’s not easy to let something like that go when that’s how you were treated all of your life. Karen Gillan is great as Nebula, she’s probably my second favorite character in the movie after Rocket.
• Bradley Cooper as Rocket. Rocket is my favorite character in the guardians and I think overall the best character and a lot of that is because James Gunn clearly loves him so he really gives him a lot of great material. I can only go into so much because of spoilers but just know that his story will pull at your heartstrings and if it doesn’t, you’re made of stone! Bradley Cooper is also fantastic and his voice work for Rocket continues to surprise me lol.
• Chukwudi Iwuji as the High Evolutionary. He is a scientist specializing in creating hybrid creatures and Rocket’s creator, seeking to forcibly enhance all living beings into a “special race”. I thought he was a very interesting and terrifying villain, especially in the flashback scenes. I have some gripes which I will talk about later but I think since his goal isn’t to “conquer” but to “perfect” definitely puts him on in the same level as Thanos. He doesn’t see the individuality of people, instead only looks for what he can improve which of course is destructive and also makes him lose it along the way. I’m not familiar with this actor but I thought he was fantastic and I personally would love to see more of him. I think he was truly at his best in the flashbacks though.

Rocket’s Backstory. The driving force of this movie to me was Rocket’s backstory and I actually never saw trailers for this movie so I didn’t really know what it was gonna be about going into it, but I loved that we got see more of his story. It’s heartbreaking and super emotional, I teared up a few times. I also don’t know if I would take children under 10 to see this movie but I’m not a parent so lol… but I think since Rocket is so beloved, it was necessary to see where he came from, why he doesn’t think and/or know that he’s a Raccoon and why he acts the way he does. Bradley Cooper is absolutely amazing in this role and I think this is his last movie and I’m going to miss him.

Character Chemistry/Relationships. One of the stronger aspects of this movie are the characters, the guardians specifically and how they interact with each other. It’s very clear that James Gunn loves this group of people. I think they all work very well together, they at this point, know each other well but at the same time, they still have so much to learn about each other. Quill and Mantis have a lot of great moments, I missed the holiday special so I didn’t see the revelation that they’re half-siblings, which make a ton of sense. It adds another layer to their relationship, especially when she’s asking him about his life on earth. Drax and Mantis continued to get paired off together and I liked them a lot in this one, I didn’t like Drax in GOTG2 so it was nice to see that while there was still a little bit of that “you’re stupid” in there that I don’t really care, there was more kindness and care in their relationship, but Mantis seems to have a more involved role in the teasing. We don’t get to see it a ton but I love that Nebula and Rocket are close since they are the only Guardians who didn’t get blipped. Quill and Gamora’s relationship is interesting in this since she’s not the Gamora we know but he keeps trying to get her to remember the memories of future Gamora and she’s resistant to this because that’s not her. It’s a little annoying but they have chemistry and clearly there’s a pull so it’s fine. We don’t see it a ton but I love the little head nod and grunt that Nebula and Gamora do to each other lol. Quill and Nebula also seem to be quite close which I also like. Groot is still there for everyone but seems to be really close to Quill, way more than I’ve seen him in the past lol. Drax, Mantis and Nebula have a lot of really good moments as well that results in each of their arcs/storylines to grow through each other.

Action Scenes. The action sequences are really good but it’s very rarely that Marvel misses on that point. But I think outside of a bit of weird editing at the beginning during the first fight, everything else is done really well. The best is the scene in the long hallway that literally everyone has mentioned lol. It’s a great scene. Well choreographed and I love when Rocket and Groot work together when they fight, literally my favorite thing lol.

The Humor. I feel like this movie did a good job at balancing the humor. Obviously it’s subjective but I did laugh and I didn’t feel like it was trying too hard to be funny, that’s how I felt about GOTG2 lol. Everyone loves to say that the MCU’s humor is ruining their movies and I have thoughts on that… but regardless I think Drax and Mantis had great banter. Nebula is very funny, just her delivery, the voice that Karen Gillan does for her is so funny to me, I love it. Rocket is hilarious to me but he doesn’t get a ton of humor here since he’s the emotional center of the film but when he does it’s good. While I don’t care for Chris Pratt, he’s funny. There’s also a good amount of physical comedy in some places which is also good.

Cons:

The High Evolutionary (and Rocket). My biggest issue with this guy was that he was way too yelly in the present time. I liked it way more when he was quietly seething or enraged but it was quiet. He yelled way too much and I think it took away from his scariness and instead became annoying and too much. I feel like the first time he should have officially yelled was at the end on the ship with the animals. If that was the first time, oh man, it could have been so good and chilling. I also feel like a particular scene with him and Rocket should have been longer.

Adam Warlock/Ayeesha. How unfortunate how underutilized he was. I’m not gonna boast that I know a lot about him in the comics so I didn’t have expectations for his character but I expected him to be way more involved than he was. He would literally fly in and fly out and then I was annoyed with him at one point because like… bro, the Guardians didn’t do anything to you at the end? Like, you’re fighting the wrong person. Will Poulter was good, he’s funny and I enjoyed him in the role but if you remove both Adam and Ayeesha, not much changes in the story. Just switch Adam out for some other creature that the High Evolutionary made who is disposable. I also didn’t like how Ayeesha’s hair was just in her face, it made sense at the end of GOTG2 because she was unhinged and upset but I feel like doing a balance of her usual uptightness and the unhinged, like a half up-half down style would have been better.

Dropped/Awkward Storylines. The biggest thing for me is Rocket and Groot’s relationship and then Quill’s alcoholism at the beginning. I feel like they just dropped that Quill being drunk has affected them, it’s mentioned here and there “oh I was drunk…” or “if I wasn’t drunk” but he was literally fine, he didn’t struggle with it at all throughout the movie. I’m not saying he should have been carrying around a bottle… though now in hindsight, maybe he should have, especially after Gamora was brought into the fray. But if they took it out of the movie it wouldn’t change a thing, don’t mention it at all. Instead of being sleep because he was drunk, he could have just been sleeping. They could have found another way to get that cool shot of all the Guardians at the beginning. As for Rocket and Groot, I feel like their relationship was really ignored in this film and their kinship has been a crux for every movie they’ve been in, I don’t understand why it wasn’t in this one. I feel like Groot was way too adjusted for what was going on with Rocket, he’s a young adult, I feel like he should have been more emotional. Also, this might just be a nitpick but there’s a scene where something happens to both Nebula and Drax and they play up the scene like the outcome was going to be really bad but then it wasn’t and they just seemed to forget that what happened even happened… it was literally like it never happened lol, so what was the point of including it??

The Way They Present Rocket’s Story. I will have to continue this at the end since it’s spoilery.

Overall, I think Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is very good and that it’s a strong end to a trilogy. All of the characters are very good here, all of the acting is great, I don’t think anyone was bad, even if their characters were underutilized (looking at you Adam and Ayeesha). I think the villain was wonderful, particularly in the flashbacks scenes and I would love to see more of him. The action sequences are very well choreographed and filmed, while also being badass and fun. The humor is good. Rocket and his story is truly the emotional core of the film and while I didn’t care for how it was presented to us, I think it was necessary and so well done. Along with Rocket’s story, the characters relationships with each other are done so well that even if you don’t like one character on their own, it’s very easy to like them in conjunction with someone else. Most of my issues are storytelling issues, like with how Rocket’s story was presented, I have an alternative idea below. I also wish the High Evolutionary wasn’t so yelly, it took away from his intimidation. I also think Adam and Ayeesha were very underused and it’s unfortunate because they’re interesting. But in the end, Guardians 3 was a great movie.

Rating: 3.8 out of 5 stars.

Have you seen Guardians of the Galaxy 3? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section! Be sure to like and subscribe for more movie reviews!

Spoilers Here:

Okay, I feel like Rocket’s story should have been presented to us differently. I think it’s heavy and a lot to take in so I don’t know if I wanted just a large chunk in the middle of the movie where we just get his backstory. Maybe instead of him being incapacitated for most of the movie (which I did not like by the way), his injury from Adam could have injured him but not to the point where he spends most of the movie in a coma but where it’s painful and he could still work with the team to save his life. His flashbacks could have happened in those painful moments, there’s still a time limit and as the flashbacks go on, we see that he’s getting closer and closer to death but he’s holding on. I also didn’t like that we saw a lot of those flashbacks unsolicited without the movie going back to Rocket in his coma to show that he was thinking about it before or after the flashback, they would just cut into the middle of the movie. I also didn’t like when we thought that Rocket was gonna die, we see him in the King’s Cross limbo and he’s talking to Lyla and she doesn’t immediately tell him he can’t go, they do the whole cliche “Can I come?” “Of course you can…” *lets Rocket walks towards his friends but then stops him* “But not yet…” I was like bro… just tell him no lol. It wasn’t suspenseful lol.

Thanks for reading!