disclosure: I was sent a digital code for Guardians of the Galaxy 3 in order to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own. No other compensation was received.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has arrived on Digital for you to watch at home. We did not have the opportunity to view this in the theater, so commence family movie night! We are huge fans of the Guardians franchise, and were looking forward to seeing the end of this trilogy. Little did we know we would be watching our least favorite Marvel movie to date. Well, maybe not the least favorite – I think that honor still goes to Eternals.
If you have not seen the movie, Guardians Vol. 3 is billed as “their most dangerous” adventure yet. And the movie does try to leave room for a few spin-offs, which were obvious early on. But let’s start from the beginning.
About the Movie
In Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, our beloved band of misfits is looking a bit different these days. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), still reeling from a terrible loss, must rally his team and embark on a dicey, action-packed mission to defend the universe and protect Rocket. Meanwhile, a new, unpredictable force threatens to bring the Guardians down for good. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is written and directed by James Gunn.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 stars Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/ Star-Lord, Zoë Saldaña as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, Chukwudi Iwuji as The High Evolutionary, Will Poulter as Adam Warlock, Maria Bakalova as Cosmo, Linda Cardellini as Lylla, Nathan Fillion as Master Karja and Sylvester Stallone as Stakar Ogord.
My Thoughts
Unfortunately, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was not a movie I would watch again. It just did not have the same vibe as Vol. 1 & 2. Even the soundtrack, while great music was chosen, was not as upbeat and happy. There was a dark, depressing wave of nightmarish life hanging over this movie. For a big-bang ending to an incredible series, it was awful depressing.
In a chaotic rush to save Rocket’s life, we are made aware of his haunting backstory – serious Tim Burton-esque vibes here. Throughout the movie, chaos ensues, jumping all over the place to where you forget Rocket is the focus of the story. A few new characters are introduced(for spin off purposes) but no one you will bond with yet. While this volume closes a chapter, be on the lookout for a cameo of Yondu and Howard the Duck.
The level of violence and turbulence were exceedingly high. There were times where I felt the movie was spinning(literally) more than the attraction at Epcot. There are scenes of genetically altered animals, which could be enough to cause one to look away. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, strong language, suggestive/drug references and thematic elements.
Be sure to watch all the way to the very end – there is a mid-credit and and end credit scene.
Bonus Features*
Bonus features are generally my favorite part of watching movies at home. With bonus features, you can learn so much more about the movie with deleted scenes and the director’s cut. The gag reels are always fun to watch after the movie. With Guardians of the Galaxy being as chaotic as it was, I was really hoping that the bonus features would offer some sort of redemption. Spoiler alert – they did not.
The featurettes were a nice, nostalgic wrap-up for the trilogy, but not outstanding. The gag reel was ok – but nothing too spectacular. The deleted scenes feature was far worse than the movie. I can totally understand why those scenes would have been deleted, but they should not have even made it into the bonus features. No one needed to see some of those. The deleted scenes feature runs just over 9 minutes. I couldn’t imagine the movie running longer than its 149 minute runtime.
The Bonus Features included are:
- Featurettes:
- The Imperfect, Perfect Family – View the evolution of the Guardians through the cast and crew’s passion for each other and the entire franchise. Join this tight knit “found family” as they leave behind a legacy and recount their best memories wrapping up this epic trilogy’s final film.
- Creating Rocket Raccoon – Director James Gunn talks about bringing Rocket to life and how personal the character is to him. Uncover BTS footage, the research and development of the visual effects process, and the inspiration for Rocket through conversations with cast and crew.
- DELETED SCENES
- A Bit Much – Adam Warlock explains to Ayesha what he plans to do with the Guardians.
- A Lending Hand – Peter lends a hand to an injured humanimal on Counter-Earth and shows he means no harm.
- Drax’s Analogies and Metaphors – Drax gives Peter some interesting life analogies and metaphors.
- The Perfect Society – The High Evolutionary reveals his mission to perfect the universe.
- The Search for 89P13 – Behemoth brings not-so-good news to The High Evolutionary.
- Annoyed Peter – Peter gets annoyed while altering the shield.
- A Burning Escape – Peter runs back to grab his music player before escaping a blazing inferno on the Arête.
- Knowhere After the Battle – The High Evolutionary is brought back to Knowhere and locked up while Kraglin recruits Adam Warlock.
- GAG REEL – Take a look at some of the fun outtakes on set with the cast and crew of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
- DIRECTOR’S COMMENTARY – Watch the film with audio commentary by director James Gunn.*Bonus features vary by product and retailer
Will you be watching Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 at home? Be sure to look for it n Digital now and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on August 1.
A Disney blooded, crafty, fun-lovin’ wife/mom/organizer/planner, etc who is obsessed with all things Disney 🙂 Maria grew up with the Magic Kingdom and has loved watching WDW evolve into what it is today. A firm believer in the Power of Pixie Dust, she is the owner of The Disney Driven Life – A Community for Neurotic Disney People & a d.i.y. crafty blog, Carousel of Projects – create~inspire~share.
