With fans starting to head to theaters for the first Thursday night preview screenings, the reviews are in for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and they are mostly positive.
The highly anticipated sequel has earned a solid 79% ‘Fresh’ rating from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 217 reviews.
While the reviews are pretty strong… it’s still the lowest score in the trilogy, well behind the 92% score for 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy and the 85% for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Brian Viner, Dailymail.com’s own critic, gave the superhero sequel four out of five stars, calling it “wonderfully crazy.”
While Viner and other critics praised Guardians 3 for its heart, others slammed the 150-minute film (by far the longest in the trilogy) for being “bloated” and “aimless.”
Reviews: With fans starting to head to theaters for the first Thursday night preview screenings, the reviews are in for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and they are mostly positive
Strong but Low: While the reviews are pretty strong… it’s still the lowest score in the trilogy, well behind the 92% score for 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy and the 85% for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Viner added that the film has its humor but should not be taken too seriously, although there were moments where tears were shed.
Needless to add, it’s not meant to be taken seriously at all, although it does try a little too hard to be funny at times. Come to think of it, the forced humor of all three Guardians movies could be another academic thesis,” Viner said.
VarietyPeter DeBurge noted, as did Viner, that the backstory of Rocket Raccoon, Bradley Cooper’s character, is revealed, adding that this film makes the Guardians “Marvel’s top heroes.”
During a jam-packed, planet-hopping 150 minutes, it also feels less like a conventional movie experience than the endorphin rush that comes from waiting years for the next season of your favorite TV show, then binge-watching all the new episodes in a single meeting,” DeBurge added.
DeBurge admitted, “The story may not always make sense,” he added, “it keeps things moving.”
He added that director James Gunn “keeps the surprises coming so that the audience is actively involved all the way through, trying to manage multiple storylines and the ever-changing loyalties between characters.”
The Hollywood Reporter critic Frank Scheck also gave a positive review of Guardians 3, although he admitted that Gunn’s writing left something to be desired.
‘Gunn doesn’t quite succeed in tying all those threads together into a coherent whole. And the storyline is far too complicated, with so many things happening at so many different times and places that multiple viewings are practically necessary to keep it all straight (not that Disney has a problem with that),’ Scheck said.
Tears: Viner added that the film has its humor but should not be taken too seriously, though there were moments where tears were shed
Humor: ‘Needless to add, it’s not meant to be taken seriously at all, although it does try a little too hard to be funny at times. Come to think of it, the forced humor of all three Guardians movies could be another academic thesis,” Viner said
Backstory: Peter DeBurge of Variety, like Viner, noted that the backstory of Bradley Cooper’s character Rocket Raccoon is revealed, and adding this film makes the Guardians “Marvel’s top heroes”
Packed: “At a jam-packed, planet-hopping 150 minutes, it also feels less like a conventional movie theater experience than the endorphin rush that comes from waiting years for the next season of your favorite TV series and then binge-watching all the new episodes.” all at once,” DeBurge added
Moving: DeBurge admitted, “The story may not always make sense,” though he added, “it keeps things moving.”
Surprises: He added that director James Gunn “keeps the surprises coming so that the audience is actively engaged, he tries to manage multiple storylines and the ever-changing loyalties between characters”
Positive: The Hollywood Reporter critic Frank Scheck also gave a positive review of Guardians 3, although he admitted that Gunn’s writing left something to be desired
Despite the story problems, he added, “this edition largely succeeds like the others, thanks to the chemistry of the main ensemble, who have grown into their characters with relaxed ease.”
He also praised Will Poulter’s performance as the new villain Adam Warlock, saying that he “plays the part with an enjoyable mix of physical menace and babyish confusion, but ultimately fails to make a lasting impression.”
One of many negative reviews was from Wall Street Journal critic Kyle Smith, who called the sequel a “blahbuster.”
He adds the sequel, “jogs along from one visually extravagant, powerfully joking set piece to the next without offering much in the way of dramatic engagement or actually funny ideas.”
Vanity purse critic Richard Lawson called the sequel a “strange, ponderous patchwork of a movie, occasionally fascinating but otherwise bloated and aimless.”
Johnny Oleksinski of the New York Post added, “The constant punchline of the misfit team and the I-break-just-your-chops dynamics have become tiresome. They’ve become the guy at the party who thinks he’s hilarious but is really just drunk.”
Just as Guardians of the Galaxy 3’s Rotten Tomatoes score is the trilogy’s lowest, box office earnings also appear to be dropping, with an expected $110 million domestically and $250 million worldwide, far short of Guardians’ debut. of the Galaxy Vol. 2.