Guardians of the Galaxy 3 ★★½
FANTASY (2023)
Directed by: James Gunn
Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista.

The film revolves around the value of true friendship, touching in its own way on issues of ecology, respect for all living beings, and diversity.

One of Marvel’s most successful movie franchises returns with a third chapter, bringing back a diverse but close-knit group of heroes led by the outgoing Peter Quill (Chris Pratt). The latter, however, still mourns the loss of his beloved Gamora, but soon he will have to regroup in order to face the mortal danger that threatens the Rocket with the others. Overall, the story of a genius raccoon with a sharp tongue takes center stage here, igniting the action and pushing the protagonists to the extreme to save their friend. Marvel’s Golden Recipe, in its good version—because there’s a lot worse—is used by James Gunn, one of the most accomplished superhero movie directors ever. Initially, the third part of “Prisoners” has, albeit rudimentary, themes: on the one hand, it revolves around the value of true friendship, and on the other, in its own way, it touches on issues of ecology, respect for all living beings, but also for diversity, diversity, which is often ensures the progress of (any) culture.

Of course, we must not forget that this is a comic, so all of the above is presented strictly in a schematic way – but it exists – in a script that otherwise prioritizes humor and wild action. The latter is quite well done and is often accompanied by Guardians’ signature playlists played on Peter Quill’s vintage Walkman, from Radiohead’s brooding acoustic version of “Creep” to “No Sleep Til Brooklyn” by the Beastie Boys, Alice Cooper. “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows” and “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence + the Machine marking the grand finale. As for the humor we mentioned above, it goes beyond the usual witticisms, and takes on a more surreal dimension when the characters arrive on a planet that acts like a living cell and they have to perform… an operation to get in. The bad thing, of course, is that with this and that we get a full two and a half hours, which is too long even for the best films of this genre.