The Marvel phenomenon changed the movie industry. For better and for worse, Hollywood is caught between the powerful tentacles of the house of Iron Man, Spider-Man, Captain America, and the entire legion of superheroes that have been born on the pages of their comic strips. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) is the 32nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 15 years. When the first Guardians of the Galaxy premiered in 2014, it marked a change of pace and stood out for its more acid humor and its daring characters that fit more into the profile of the antihero than the typecast of superheroes to which we were accustomed.

Once again director James Gunn takes the reins and does so to close the cycle of the franchise that he brought to light. The ease and good pace with which we were introduced to the Guardians faded in the second installment, but now Gunn once again finds the balance to tell a story that is relevant beyond the special effects and riveting action sequences. The only obstacle that the director and screenwriter cannot overcome is the duration.

This time the Guardians, led by Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) will have to embark on a mission to save one of their own. The story revolves around the singular Rocket and we delve into his past with a series of flashbacks that help create the context for the present situations that the characters are experiencing. Those escapes to the past are the main reason why the film stretches to those 2 hours and 30 minutes. For the most part, the flashbacks are used correctly in the service of the story, but there was certainly room to reduce the footage and achieve a more compact edition.

Same old Guardians of the Galaxy

What made the first installment of this saga so effective were its characters and their individuality. Here once again this becomes the greatest strength of the film. The chemistry achieved by this group of rebels is fascinating, starting with Peter Quill, going through Drax (Dave Bautista), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Nebula (Karen Gillian), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), and even the monosyllabic Groot (Vin Diesel), all play like the instruments of an orchestra to create a perfect symphony. They have their space to show off separately, but they also work seamlessly when they must perform together.

Music is another element that has become a trademark of Guardians of the Galaxy. Here once again the sound universe becomes the protagonist. The music transitions from diegetic to incidental constantly. We can have a character listening to a song, and it is integrated into the soundtrack to accompany the action on the screen. This resource has been used very effectively in all three installments. On this occasion, songs like Creep by Radiohead, Crazy on You by Heart, No Sleep Till Brooklyn by the Beastie Boys, among others set the pace for the Guardians’ adventures. Perhaps the best achieved moment of the film is the battle that is captured in a sequence shot to the rhythm of the Beastie Boys theme.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is a very entertaining movie and allows the Marvel universe to get a breath of fresh air, which it desperately needed. The story and its characters matter to us, the visual humor and jokes flow without getting stuck. As a result, we have an effective film that leads us to disconnect and let ourselves be carried away by evasion until the final credits roll.