The Hollywood premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, writer-director James Gunn’s swan song in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, took place last night at the Dolby Theatre, where an enthusiastic crowd experienced the final chapter of the beloved sci-fi trilogy.
Official Dolby Cinema poster for “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”
I discussed early box office tracking and buzz for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which you can read here. Those expectations were sight-unseen, however. Now that I’ve watched the film, I think marketing will boost its domestic bow higher than the current $130+/- million estimates, while word of mouth and reviews should significantly extend Vol. 3’s box office legs.
I’ll be back next week with a more up to date look at Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and its prospects ahead of the film’s May 5th release, so watch for that soon.
I’ve attended many premieres and Oscar ceremonies at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, and if you are a regular reader of my work then you know it’s my favorite screening location, for many reasons. The building is gorgeous, the space and its history are impressive and important to any cinephile, and the theater space itself — the massive screen, the balconies and private boxes, the excitement of walking up the grand staircase — is awe-inspiring.
In this era of perpetual Covid pandemic, I’ve largely ceased attending indoor events except on rare occasions (when Covid spread is at a low, when I can wear an N-95 mask the entire time, and when the event itself is particularly crucial or personally important for me. If I visit a regular movie theater — which is exceedingly rare — I either rent out the theater for myself and a few friends, attend with someone else who rented out the theater for a small select group, or I go to early morning screenings when theaters are mostly empty and I can sit in back wearing a mask.
Inside the Dolby Theatre at the Hollywood premiere of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”
Dolby Theatre is one of the few places I’m willing to mask up and show up for an event. Not only do all of the above reasons apply and make it a worthwhile experience, it’s also of course where I can see Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos in the greatest example of Dolby Cinema possible. I will never stop banging the drum for fans to seriously take my advice and make Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos regular, permanent parts of their viewing.
Superhero films, sci-fi movie, fantasy pictures — it all looks the best and delivers the widest array of color and visual treats when seen with Dolby’s projection and audio technology, whether in a Dolby Cinema or at home. I only own TVs and Blu-ray players that are Dolby compatible, and always get the home entertainment version of films that include Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, and I regularly proselytize to other fans and cinephiles about the virtues of my favored movie viewing technology. Because if you’re serious about film and about watching great movies, you should see them the best way possible. And nothing looks or sounds as good as Dolby. Nothing.
So it is that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 once again blew my mind in a pure visual and audio sense. I’m colorblind, so movies attempting lots of bright colors and vivid imagery are more subtle to me and can lack adequate impact. But I never have that problem when watching in Dolby Vision, and — like the previous two films — Vol. 3 didn’t disappoint in that regard.
Inside the Dolby Theatre for the Hollywood premiere of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”
Everything you’ve come to know, love, and expect from a Guardians of the Galaxy movie is here again, and as usually Gunn has ramped it all up even better than before. It’s easy to speak again about the incredible visual treats, the brilliant designs and effects, the jaw-dropping action sequences and laugh-out-loud sense of humor, the joy of watching these characters we know so well as their relationships evolve and grow stronger or fracture and then heal stronger than ever.
But instead of essentially repeating my past reviews or summarizing the plot, I want this final review of the trilogy to be about the same things Vol. 3 itself is really about (I know the series will continue somehow in a new form, but this is the last film with this team and cast and writer-director, so it’s definitely brings things to a close). That’s what it really deserves, to be understood and appreciated the right way, and that’s what you deserve as well — something the film wants you to take to heart.
Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the Marvel franchises that most reaches me on a personal level. I won’t turn this into a review of my own life and feelings, but suffice to say (as I have every time I review one of his films) James Gunn makes movies about broken, hurt people who come to realize maybe everybody is a little bit broken and a little bit hurt, maybe everybody needs to lean on someone now and then, maybe everybody needs to let someone else lean on them, and maybe — just maybe — it means we aren’t broken after all. Maybe we’re just people, maybe we all hurt, and maybe we can all help one another finally stop the pain together. And here’s a secret: the very act of trying is a victory.
This time out, we see the conflicts within the group coming to a head, driven by the fact their closeness and support of one another has made them so interdependent that they’ve become afraid of moving on, of trying to have more of a life than being Guardians, and of even overcoming their own inner turmoil and fears of being alone and lost again. They’ve reached a decisive moment as a family and as individuals, and it’s time to confront the remaining baggage and find out just who they really are together and separately, to see if their friendships and love will keep them codependent or provide them the courage to open themselves up to change.
Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, and Karen Gillan star in “Guardians of the … [+]
It’s clear everyone in the film is having a great time together, but also that they’re conscious they might never be together like this again. It’s interesting how the film’s themes permeate the filmmaking itself, and I could write a whole separate article about that — outsiders who form a family, overcome tremendous odds together, and are now ready to take what they’ve learned and the strength they’ve given one another and carry it forward in their lives and into the broader world.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is about people who feel like outsiders and freaks, who don’t fit in, who found each other and created a family and place where they could belong. But the thing is, that family and that sense of belonging can’t merely comfort, they must also help heal those old wounds, sooth the pain, and let us see themselves as something other than outsiders and weirdos. The best family and friends strengthen us and lift us up so that we can move forward with our lives, so that we can carry that sense of belonging with us anywhere and everywhere we go.
Those who tell us we are imperfect, that we are damaged and lesser for it, that we need to be fixed, are not wrong about the imperfections or damage, but they are wrong to think it makes anyone less or that it must be fixed in order for us to have value. It’s not glorifying pain or fetishizing suffering to say these are things that happened to us, that were done to us, not things that define who we are.
Zoe Saldana stars in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”
Those who love us best will help us see who we really are, will help us find that person deep inside ourselves, and they will give us the support and room to bring that person out and let them shine, to be our best selves. And they will make us feel safe and confident to take that self out into the world, rather than stay inside a safe cocoon.
But here is the important truth to understand — it’s not a metamorphosis, it’s not about changing who you are to fit into the larger world. It’s about learning how to be the person you really are, embracing that person, and letting go of the pain and shame the world made you feel for being that person.
Find the people who make that possible. Find the people who love you enough that you can finally love yourself. Find the other outsiders and freaks who welcome you with a smile and tell you, “Come, let’s be weirdos together!” Have grand journeys with them, have simple happy moments, grow and live and love together. But ideally, carry all of this out into the rest of your life as well, into the entire world. Stop being afraid. Stop being ashamed. Stop feeling alone.
Sean Gunn and Bradley Cooper star in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 understands you feel like a freak. But it’s here to tell you you’re special. So, let yourself feel special, and let other people know they’re special, too. That’s how we save the world together.
I love the Guardians of the Galaxy films. I know some of them will probably return in movies or streaming series, but Vol. 3 is the end of them as a group and the end of Gunn telling us their stories, and I’m going to miss them terribly. Bravo, everyone involved, from the writer-director to the cast to the rest of the whole crew who made these remarkable, hilarious, exciting, human films.
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