By now, you will likely know the drill. A truly weird team of humans, aliens and animals and a talking tree team up to ‘guard the galaxy’ which at times needs guarding from them!. This third and apparently final episode is 2 hours and 30 minutes long, which by the way is too long, with long dragged out blow em up scenes, and frankly doesn’t have the same verve and humor for the most part as the first two. And then there is the music— not really familiar classic rock with one or two small exceptions (like Heart’s Barracuda) but then perhaps they couldn’t get permissions this time to use some of the real classic hits. Basically, this episode focuses on Rocket Raccoon (not to be confused with Paul McCartney’s Rocky Raccoon) and gives his back story. There is also an update on the strange and estranged relationship between the Star Lord and Zoe Green skin. Along the way there is social commentary on the problems with genetic and indeed even human engineering in trying to speed up evolution and create a perfect world, and at one juncture the bad guy stresses ‘there is no God which is why I had to step in’. Unfortunately there are actually people out there who think like that.
Frankly I don’t agree with the reviews that suggest this is an instant classic or the best thing since Avengers End Game. It has some good moments, (Groot aka Vin Diesel actually gets to say something other than I am Groot), but what carries me through the film is I like the main characters that are Guardians. I could have used more of the lady Mentis who presents us with a kind figure. Some of the alien creatures, especially the bad guys, are interesting, but most are just unappealing and one doesn’t have a lot of empathy for them. And we could have done without the guy with the bronzer tan and his mom. They really add nothing to the storyline. Of course this is sci-fi fiction but when certain figures should have been dead 3,4,5 times ago considering what blows they took, one grows weary of suspending your disbelief. Some verisimilitude would have been nice.
Hopefully there will be some better summer movies than this one, maybe the new Indiana Jones, but I’m not holding my breath. The over-reliance on CG and spectacular explosions and fight scenes quickly wears out its welcome for this reviewer.
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