‘Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3’ first reactions revealed
Critics have praised the final ‘Guardians’ outing as an emotional conclusion
The first reactions from Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 have been revealed after audiences attended screenings yesterday (April 27).
The final chapter in the Marvel franchise – which stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn, Will Poulter and Chukwudi Iwuji – is out in the UK on May 3, two days before the US release on May 5.
Initial reactions from the Los Angeles premiere and subsequent press screenings have been largely positive, with many praising the third instalment as being an emotional final outing for the whole Guardians cast.
Uproxx critic Mike Ryan wrote that directer James Gunn “bets the house on a surprisingly emotional story centered on Rocket and the love and friendship between these characters. Bets and wins. It’s pretty incredible”.
Entertainment reporter Germain Lussier described the film as “simply incredible”, adding: “I can’t imagine #GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3 being a more perfect ending to James Gunn’s trilogy. Every payoff, every emotion, every character journey. It’s about as good as Marvel movies get. Funny, poignant, exciting, I want to watch it again right now.”
Film writer Erik Davis, meanwhile, described Vol. 3 as “beautiful & badass” and “an awesome conclusion to a damn epic trilogy”.
He added: “The pacing, the music, the heart, the humor, the sadness, the lovable lunacy – Gunn delivers his finest work yet. It’s perfect.”
Critic Scott Menzel also said it could “quite possibly be my new favorite Marvel movie,” adding: “This movie worked for me on every single level. It’s emotional, funny, and action packed. It reminds you of why we all fell in love with these characters. James Gunn is leaving Marvel on a high note with the best film of his career thus far. Absolutely superb.”
Other viewers have been less impressed, though, with Next Best Picture editor-in-chief Matt Neglia writing that, while the film “aspires for sweeping emotion, gut busting laughs & thrilling action”, it only “sometimes succeeds”, adding that “as a send off for all of these characters, it feels strangely uneven & anticlimactic”.
Another critic, Robert Daniels, said that they didn’t think any reaction to the film “really captures the weirdness” of it. “Tonally, emotionally, visually, and politically all over the place and overwrought. I don’t want to go so far as to proclaim it interesting, but it’s something. I guess.”
You can check out some more reactions below.
Elsewhere, director Gunn recently spoke to Rolling Stone about the process of soundtracking the final film in the trilogy.
“It was very, very difficult,” he said. “I felt very uncomfortable picking out songs and making sure that this was the right soundtrack. Do I move on to just all Eighties songs? Do I use all Nineties songs? Or do I do what a Zune would actually have — songs from different eras, which is what I ended up doing.”