Luke McWilliams gives his review of the 2023 Marvel superhero film, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, starring Chris Pratt and Bradley Cooper.

At the new headquarters of the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Guardians are still reeling from the fallout of the Infinity War. Out of nowhere, a Sovereign warrior named Adam (Will Poulter) tries to abduct Rocket (Bradley Cooper). Left seriously injured from the attempt, the Guardians are unable to assist Rocket due to a kill-switch on his heart made by a company called Orgocorp, which leads the group to its headquarters.

The first Guardians reinvigorated the Marvel Cinematic Universe at that point, shifting the series from its traditional stoic and dour hero origin stories to embracing their more comical, colourful and cosmic source material. The Guardians kept things light and fun, being a rag-tag team of space pirates while also serving as a surrogate family for one another due to sharing tragic and traumatic pasts. Vol. 2 doubled down on this message of the importance of the family one chooses, especially with its unexpected and exhilarating third act. Vol. 3 serves as a wrapping up of the current cast of characters’ stories and as writer and director James Gunn’s swansong for the MCU before jumping ship to relaunch the DC Universe.

Focusing heavily on the tragic backstory of Rocket Raccoon, the Guardians must break from their individual grief to reconnect to save their friend from an antagonist who, while attempting to create a perfect society, misses out on the point of human imperfection.

Verdict: A beautifully produced best-of compilation track, hitting the same old notes to once again pull at the heartstrings. 3 stars.

Luke McWilliams, themovieclub.net.

Viewed at Dendy cinemas.