SUPER FURRY ANIMALS (GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, VOL. 3)

There's a strong sense of loose ends being tied up in 'Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 3'.

James Gunn's space cowboy franchise is one of the last remaining pieces of the original Marvel Cinematic Universe.

But with the Guardians embarking on one more adventure, there are a few matters to clear up.

(SPOILERS ALERT!!)

The death of Zoe Saldana's Gamora in 2018's 'Avengers: Infinity War' threatened to leave a big hole in the franchise, given that her green skinned heroine was a key figure in the gang as well as the main love interest for Chris Pratt's Peter Quill/Star Lord.

An alternate version of Gamora, however, surfaced in 'Avengers: Endgame' the following year.

This version of Gamora, however, had still to reconnect with Quill.

A Christmas holiday special for Disney+ last year laid the groundwork for another instalment of the film series with the Guardians making Knowhere, the severed head of a celestial being their home.

The gang also acquired a former Soviet Union space dog called Cosmo during the special which was built around a plot where Kevin Bacon, playing himself, was kidnapped by Dave Bautista's Drax and Pom Klementieff's Mantis from his LA home and brought to their world as a Christmas present for Quill.

With Bacon a childhood favourite of Quill's, he was appalled by their misguided gesture.

Drax and Mantis were, therefore, ordered by the Guardians leader to return the celebrity to Earth.

All of these shenanigans opened the door, though, to the possibility that with the Guardians flitting between Knowhere and Earth, one day Peter might return to his home planet and reconnect with his family.

Another unresolved issue from 'Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 2' has been lingering.

Elizabeth Debicki's golden skinned High Priestess of the Sovereign race, Ayesha was on a quest for revenge after being double crossed by Bradley Cooper's cantankerous, gun toting racoon Rocket.

Smarting from the theft of her Anulax Batteries - I know, please bear with me - Ayesha created Will Poulter's Adam/Warlock to track the Guardians down and retrieve the precious cargo.

Okay - I know all this sounds like nonsense but that's superhero movies for you.

This being a Marvel film, it's still important to know all this detail if 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3,' is to

make any sense.

Gunn's movie, though, isn't about space batteries.

Primarily it's about animal experimentation.

Effectively a Rocket origin story, the film begins with the angry racoon in a state of melancholy, listening to Radiohead's acoustic version of 'Creep' on Quill's Walkman.

Quill is in a bad way too, boozing as a result of his grief for Gamora.

When he discovers Rocket is listening to his Walkman, he flies into a drunken rage.

While Rocket and Quill mope about, Drax, Mantis, Karen Gillan's Nebula, Vin Diesel's Groot, Sean Gunn's Kraglin and Maria Bakalova's Cosmo worry about Quill's depression.

However their concern is interrupted when Knowhere suddenly comes under attack from Adam/Warlock who overpowers Drax, strips Groot of much of his body parts and critically injures Rocket.

Stabbed by Nebula, Adam/Warlock is surprised to experience some pain but escapes.

The sight of Rocket fighting for his life quickly sobers Quill up.

He is shocked to discover his fellow Guardian has a kill switch inside his body that makes him impervious to med pack treatment.

Planted by Orgocorp, a company owned by Chukwudi Iwuji's cyborg scientist The High Evolutionary, the Guardians decide to head to the corporation's headquarters to retrieve the switch's override code and save Rocket.

It soon emerges that Nebula has been in secret contact with the alternate version of Gamora who turns up with a gang of Ravagers led by Sylvester Stallone's Stakar Ogord.

Gamora reluctantly joins the Guardians on their adventure in Orgocorp HQ but this new version of Quill's long lost love is more gruff and selfish.

While Rocket lies in a coma and his mates plot a way to rescue him from death, we learn more about his back story.

Experimented on by the High Evolutionary as a baby racoon, he and other animals were given human traits as part of a program to create an alternate ideal world called Counter Earth.

Known as Batch 89, Rocket's fellow animals include Linda Cardellini's otter known as Lylla, Asim Chaudhury's walrus called Teefs and Mikaela Hoover's bunny, Floor.

Rocket's intelligence catches the eye of the High Evolutionary who becomes jealous when the racoon spots a defect in his human animal creations.

The High Evolutionary decides to harvest Rocket's brain and eliminate all the Batch 89 animals, callously telling the racoon they are simply a means to an end.

Rocket, however, plans the Batch 89 animals escape from captivity.

But while he succeeds, the plan goes awry and Rocket is subsequently consumed by guilt.

Infiltrating Orgocorp's headquarters, do the Guardians succeed in retrieving the code to rescue Rocket?

How do they cope with the desire by Ayesha for Warlock to avenge the theft of the batteries?

Why should we care?

The first thing to note is that 'Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 3' had a bit of a troubled production.

James Gunn was fired from directing the project in 2018 over controversial social media posts from his past.

Explaining these were failed attempts at provocative humour, Gunn was defended by his cast and Hollywood figures who wanted his reinstatement and insisted on his screenplay being made.

Despite rumours about Marvel Studios courting Jon Favreau, Taika Waititi, the Russo Brothers and Bradley Cooper about directing the script, a deal was struck to allow Gunn to return.

It has to be said, it's hard to imagine anyone else directing it.

Gunn has an intimate knowledge of every nook and cranny of the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' universe and his enthusiasm for the franchise remains as intense as it was for the first instalment.

However as 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2' showed, enthusiasm isn't enough.

The first follow-up lacked the fizz of the original film.

Gunn earned the right to have another crack at getting the franchise back on track.

Does he succeed, though, in getting the franchise back to its best?

Not quite.

'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3' is definitely an improvement on the previous installment.

However at a running time of 150 minutes, it suffers like a lot of studio fare these days from being too flabby.

It's worth noting the first Guardians film was 122 minutes long, while its follow up was 136 minutes.

Gunn's third Guardians adventure could do with at least a half an hour's trimming, cutting back on some really boring fight sequences between characters.

Because it is too long drawn out, what once seemed fresh and irreverent feels stale and annoying.

Quill's wisecracks don't pack the punch of the original.

The quirky behaviour of the Guardians gang has lost its ability to amuse.

Even the savvy needle drops feel forced.

Where the movie does score is in the telling of Rocket's back story.

The flashback sequences are unquestionably the most interesting moments of Gunn's film and they're quite illuminating about a significant character in the franchise, exploring darker territory than most Guardians fans would be used to.

Gunn wisely drops the psychedelia of the previous installment for a look that is more in keeping with the original.

However the film's a mixed bag and while the visual effects are, as you'd expect from a Marvel adventure impressive, the performances vary in quality.

Pratt's schtick really hasn't evolved much from the first film and it has gotten tiresome.

That weariness seems to have infected most of the cast from Saldana to Gillan, Klementieff to Bautista, Diesel, Sean Gunn, Bakalova, Debicki and Iwuji.

Sylvester Stallone has an uninspired and unnecessary cameo that feels like a favour for a friend.

Poulter manages to shine as Warlock, bringing a childlike wonder and naivete to the role of a boyish superhero in a muscular man's body.

'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3,' though, belongs to Cooper, who is asked to do a lot more than usual.

Enjoying the chance to tap into darker themes, he interacts well with Chaudhury, Hoover and particularly Cardellini, giving the movie its heart.

Nevertheless, as with all Marvel movies, you sense the filmmakers' eyes are not solely on the plot but on the future of the franchise.

It constantly feels like an attempt to reboot the concept of tbd Guardians and keep the cash rolling in.

Whether fans will embrace a Guardians reboot, though, remains to be seen.

Marvel are certainly going to have to do a lot more than relying on lame quips during boring battle sequences if a new Guardians adventure is to capture the imagination of audiences.

Tired of Marvel's constant grift, audiences are becoming increasingly weary of the studio's cocky and lazy superhero output.

A new Guardians franchise is going to need a lot more imagination.

It's going to require a fresher tone.

Good luck on that front, whoever is willing to take that on.

('Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3' was released in UK and Irish cinemas on May 3, 2023)

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SUPER FURRY ANIMALS (GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, VOL. 3)

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