In one of the scenes of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), Star-Lord, aka Peter Quill, gets blamed for clinging to the past and being unable to let go. During the film, it sometimes feels like James Gunn, who designed and directed all three “volumes” for Marvel Studios, has the same problem as his protagonist. In fact, James Gunn has recently been the creative honcho at DC Films, Marvel’s superhero competitor, and he obviously had a hard time saying goodbye to his characters.
They are all there: Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper in VO), Groot (voice of Vin Diesel in VO), Drax (Dave Bautista), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff), the gang having expanded into Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2) and according to the films avengers.
The first film remains one of Marvel Studios’ finest of any phase. Much of her charm lies in her irreverent nature.
Alas, there are only a few traces of this in the third film, which has the annoying habit of becoming heavy on the dramatic register (a turn started in the second opus). By way of comparison, there were only three frankly moving passages in the first film: the death of Peter’s mother, their “cosmic reunion” and, in between, the timely “We are Groot” formulated by the irresistible vegetable humanoid.
In this case, the scarcity elicited a powerful emotional response. It is therefore not surprising that the overbidding arouses, this time, a lukewarm reaction.
A poor villain
Of the three movies, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the one whose construction turns out to be the least rigorous. As the plot comes to a close, Gunn refuses to wrap it up and instead continues with what looks like a “trimmed” and chaotic second film. It’s a detail, but the first film lasted two hours while this one lasts two and a half hours. Now, this half hour, we feel it. Too much is like not enough.
It’s a shame, because it really starts well; the first hour is gripping and full of humour. We are treated to a glimpse of the origins of Rocket (as the trailer foreshadowed), then to a brutal attack by a certain Warlock (Will Poulter).
Launched in a race against time to save the life of one of their own, Peter and his companions will have to face the Master of Evolution (Chukwudi Iwuji), an antagonist afflicted with a messianic complex.
The better the villain, the better the movie, Hitchcock believed. In the genre, the Master of Evolution is not terrible. His characteristics ? Scream in each scene a little louder than in the previous one, looking a little more hallucinated. That’s not bad.
Visually stunning
On the other hand, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is easily the most visually stunning. The ride on an “organic” space station is a splendor, somewhere between the film 2001: A Space Odyssey (2001, a space odyssey) and the cult series Space: 1999 (Cosmos 1999). And as always, Gunn offers a terrific selection of musical hits to line the soundtrack.
It has also spoiled itself in the radius of creatures of all sizes. The menagerie is unbridled at will – and sometimes downright crisp.
The performers for their part make a good figure, especially Chris Pratt, who continues to embody Peter Quill as if he was born to play this role. Speaking of which, without divulging anything, Quill will manage to “move on”. James Gunn also, but in his case, it will have been more laborious.