‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3’ a magnificent Marvel masterpiece

When it comes to the Guardians of the Galaxy, it’s hard not to feel unduly deceived. Make no mistake, the initial promise of the fun misadventures of a ne’er-do-well band of miscreants in space has been ultimately delivered on, but with an unprecedented level of emotion. None among us could have predicted that the franchise with a talking tree and raccoon would end up being one of the most heart-wrenching series in the Marvel universe.

With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, that strange dichotomy of humour and pathos reaches its peak, with the most emotional entry yet. Rocket Raccoon might have provided the audience with a bucket of laughs in the last decade, but as his story is revealed in this film, those buckets will instead be filled with tears.

While Rocket’s origin takes centrestage, the film has several other guardians to develop. Miraculously, the film is able to carry its ensemble with no character feeling left be hind. It cleverly carries over the stories of previous films and builds upon them significantly. Character interactions are strengthened by their history, with a cast that plays off each other excellently.

Despite a universe worth of baggage to unfold, this film makes a mountain out of the most intimate moments. Personal conflict gets centrestage, but not at the cost of the plot. It’s a cohesive and well paced film that makes good use of every second of its near three-hour runtime.

New members to the cast like Chukwudi Iwuji are a welcome addition, with Iwuji giving one of the most despicable presences in recent memory as The villainous High Evolutionary. It’s definitely the darkest in the trilogy with some intense scenes, but it also has some of the best jokes, proving once again that Guardians of the Galaxy can make you cry sadness and cry laughter within minutes.

The film delivers a broad spectrum of emotions, while also giving you a bevy of eye-popping scenes. It makes a spectacle of its outer space setting, feeling truly limitless like any good blockbuster should, while also having the handcrafted attention to detail of an independent film. The same can be said of the film’s treatment of its narrative, with universe-ending stakes treated with the same level of drama as a quibble between teammates. With its tear-jerking tale, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 does the job of any film worth watching, evoking empathy for those we least expect.

Rating: Big Screen Watch

Damian Levy is a film critic and podcaster for Damian Michael Movies.