A Review of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 by Nick
Olszyk
Distribution Service: Theatrical
MPAA Rating, PG-13
CNS Rating, A-III
Reel Rating, Five Reels
Disclaimer:
Contains spoilers.
The Guardians series has always been the weird
cousin of the MCU. Virtually unknown outside their niche fans when it premiered
in 2014, this motley crew quickly captured audiences’ hearts with their silly
sense of humor, cool fighting styles, and unapologetic friendship. Vol. 3
is easily the best of the trilogy. Equally fun as heartbreaking, this film proves
the superhero genre is not, as Scorsese
infamous surmised, merely “theme park entertainment.”
The Guardians
have cooled down a bit from their tussle with Ego last outing, setting up shop in
the decaying celestial head of Knowhere and hiring themselves out as
intergalactic samurai to defend the weak. Suddenly, Adam (Will Poulter) – a golden
metahuman who is alternatively vicious and childlike – breaks through their defenses
and mortally wounds Rocket (Bradley Cooper). While attempting to revive, the
Guardians discover Rocket has a kill switch around his heart that will activate
if they attempt an operation. This begins an Orphean journey into Rocket’s past
where they discover a mad scientist called the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi
Iwuji). He has created numerous species and worlds (including Adam’s society)
in a quest to create a utopia in his image, and Rocket, one of his former projects,
holds a secret key to fulfilling this dream. Of course, that means harvesting
his brain, which the Guardians are firmly against.
The audience
knew from previous entries that Rocket – who appears as an anthropomorphic, wise-cracking
raccoon – was some sort of experiment, but he was always hesitant to reveal the
details of his origins. Now we know why. He was created as specimen #89P13 in a
nightmarish lab of Frankenstein creatures including a walrus with wheels for
legs and a creepy robot spider rabbit. Their cages are cramped, dark, and
filled with feces. Despite this, he makes friends, especially Lylla (Linda Cardellini)
an otter with cybernetic arms. It was her cruel execution that propelled Rocket
to escape and start a life of crime.
Many critics
have interpreted this as a commentary on animal cruelty; PETA, surprising no
one, gave it a specular review.
However, this misses a fundamental point. These are people, not animals. Like
Lewis’ Narnia, this is a universe that has non-human persons as well as animals.
Thus, the HR’s philosophy is one of eugenics, transhumanism, and a misanthropic
disregard for life – with a modern twist. His emphasis on replacing body parts
with the goal of improving life, combined with his legions of child prisoners, reeks
of the contemporary conversation on transgenderism, especially the horrifying insistence
on drugs and surgeries for minors. Could a mainstream Hollywood film, owned by Disney,
go against the
stream as parable for bodily integrity? Perhaps that walrus wasn’t an accident.
Early in Rocket’s
life, the HR showed him a machine that could speed evolution but also made people
unusually violent. Rocket, then only a child, noticed a problem in the machine’s
mechanisms that was overlooked. Despite thousands of trails, the HE had never
been able to replicate Rocket’s independent problem solving. Why? Why could
Rocket see past his conditioning? As a fundamentalist materialist, HE is
convinced the answer must be neurological. Yet, the answer is in his soul.
Rocket made friends with Lylla. He cared for someone, and that is what made the
difference. It is this friendship between misfits that propels the success of
the franchise. These scoundrels constantly jab, prank, and neg one another, but
that’s what best friends do. The whole film is centered around the Guardians crisscrossing
the galaxy, constantly endangering their lives, all to save their friend.
The “playing God”
motif has waned quite a bit in recent decades as less people believe in God and
more put their faith in science, so Vol. 3 is a nice return to form. At
once point, the HR yells to his minions that “there is no God, that’s why I
stepped in.” Yet the HR is not truly a creator, only a treacherous tinkerer. He
does not create life, only distorts what God has already brought into the existence.
“You didn’t want to make a perfect world,” Rocket challenges him. “You just
hated what was already here.” Yet the true God does make a very brief
appearance. As Rocket nears death, his deceased friend Lylla appears to him. He
breaks down, expressing his deep existential despair. “Look at us,” he cries, “He
created us this way.” Lylla smiles and tenderly speaks the greatest line of
2023: “No. There are the hands that made us, and there are the hands that guide
the hands. We meet again, but not now.”
Besides thematic
material, Vol. 3, like predecessors, was just a ton of fun. The action
was amazing, the dialogue hilarious, and the new characters were fantastic. My
favorite was Cosmo (Maria Bakalova), a Soviet era space dog with telekinetic powers
who just wants people to be “a good dog.” It is debatable whether Vol. 3
is the best MCU film overall, but it certainly is the most profound and one of
the most entertaining. On second thought…yes, it’s the best.
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