Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: big, dumb fun in James Gunn’s Marvel goodbye

Joining Quill are Drax (Dave Bautista, as hilarious as ever), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and, of course, everyone’s favourite talking tree, Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel).

There’s also a reunion with Quill’s green-hued love Gamora (Zoe Saldana). But with her memory blanked following events in Avengers: Endgame, meaning she no longer recognises Quill, she’s now travelling with a faction of space pirates called The Ravagers, led by Stakar Ogord (Sylvester Stallone, in a slightly disappointing cameo).

This being a Guardians movie, there’s plenty of funky tunes on the soundtrack, from Beastie Boys (No Sleep Till Brooklyn) to Rainbow (Since You’ve Been Gone). There’s even room for an acoustic version of Radiohead’s Creep, which sets a rather maudlin tone for the first act that takes quite a while to shake off.

If the Quill-led mission isn’t always so interesting – too many explosions, too much chaos – flashbacks to Rocket’s past add an emotional later that will keep you engaged.

Although Gunn has already revealed this is the last Guardians adventure, the final act feels like a long goodbye. There are a few tears and, as is customary, some great dance moves to enjoy.

Poulter’s Adam is also an enjoyable addition, even if The High Evolutionary doesn’t exactly thrill as the villain of the piece. Gunn revels in the sheer weirdness of alien life forms, and there’s plenty to look at – almost too much at times: this movie really dips into the strangest corners of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

It’s not perfect, but for big, dumb MCU fun the Guardians still deliver.

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