#MovieReview: Guardians 3 hands Marvel a lifeline

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the best Marvel movie in a long time and damn, did they need it.

With a genuinely emotive throughline, trademark James Gunn (director) needle-drops and legitimate laughs, Guardians 3 proves there is still life to be wrung from the superhero genre.

Quite how the D-level superhero team have been the stars of one of the franchise’s most beloved trilogies is a miracle in itself.

But under Gunn’s slightly off-kilter stewardship, the group of misfits and outcasts have earned fervent fans across the globe for their self-contained space side quests.

And it is exactly that status as the ‘backups’ to the Iron Mans and Captain Americas of the world, that allows the Guardians to exist mostly on their own terms.

There is no overwrought exposition or ham-fisted attempt to create Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) synergy that will pay off in seven years’ time.

It is, at its core, a simple story about unlikely heroes fighting for justice – and when has that not worked in the cinema?

Of course there are a few turns for the weird in between, as is to be expected with Gunn and the Guardians, but it never bores the audience and urges you to root for the characters.

The bold central choice of the movie – to make Rocket Raccoon the character around which the story revolves – pays off and you might find your heartstrings have been thoroughly tugged by the time the credits roll.

Early critical response has been strong and Guardians 3 will likely be a huge hit.

It could not have come at a better time for a MCU that has slowly been fading into obscurity after a decade of dominance.

Hopefully the studio takes it as a sign to focus on producing simple stories in a fantastical context, rather than overly complex ones where the background becomes inconsequential.

Whether it is Gunn’s input that creates the magic remains to be seen, but he has left the MCU in far better shape than it was a few months ago.

Gunn has since departed Marvel to run the DC Comics studio and their output will be his litmus test over the next few years.

Although Guardians 3 is fun for the most part, it should be said that Rocket Raccoon’s backstory does depict some brutal scenes of animal testing.

Rocket Raccoon gained his superhero abilities from unwanted experimentation and the movie does not shy away from showing the harrowing details thereof.

There is a good 10 minutes of this movie that plays like horror, so just keep that in mind if you plan on taking the kids along.

It is age rated as 13, but will only suit mature 13-year-olds and more likely those aged 16 and up.

Rated 13 for Language and Violence.
4/5.

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