GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY vol. 3

Overlong, underdeveloped and devoid of any new ideas Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 runs out of creative steam long before you’re put to sleep by an onslaught of VFX and an annoying villain.

Judging by the box office numbers of the latest Marvel films superhero fatigue has firmly set in. The odds that Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 will buck the trend appear slim.

The third adventure of James Gunn's ragtag team of intergalactic pirates focuses mostly on Rocket Raccoon. The picture explores his past as a lab experiment to dig deeper into the reasons why he became the grumpy, gun-toting misfit audiences came to love.

That might seem like a set-up for a darker tale that deviates from the Marvel formula, but alas: Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 simply gives you more of the same. Scenes that come to an abrupt standstill just to give you some puns? Check. Eclectic soundtrack? Check. I am Groot? Check again.

This leads to a movie that underdevelops themes and narratives and overindulges in the VFX diarrhea Marvel has the patent on these days. On top of that the film is dragged down even further by dialogue that is shouted instead of spoken, one villain whose comic book menace is befuddlingly downplayed for laughs and another who annoyingly hams it up more than your local am-dram drama queen.

So even if the end credits promise that 'the legendary Star-Lord will return', I'm crossing my fingers that he never does.

release: 2023

director: James Gunn

starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper