Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was a 2023 film, the third in the MCU Guardians of the Galaxy series. The previous films are described here and here. The film was written and directed by James Gunn, and features an ensemble cast including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper.
Now headquartered in Knowhere, the Guardians are between jobs, with a depressed Peter Quill spending most of his time drunk to avoid coping with the loss of Gamora. He is forced to sober up quickly when Rocket is almost killed by a gold-skinned flying man.
Normal medical treatment is prevented by a previously unknown security device designed to stop Rocket's heart if his body is tampered with by anyone other than his original creators. This leads the rest of the Guardians on a Race Against the Clock to find the shadowy company that made him, and obtain the control code to allow him to be saved. The mission is especially hard because not only is their main tech guy incapacitated, but the attack turns out to have been ordered by the same company in an attempt to wipe Rocket out.
On the way the Guardians meet several old friends and learn a great deal about Rocket's mysterious back-story.
As before, the soundtrack is based on Quill's music collection, but as it turns out the Zune he was given in Volume 2 contains a lot of 90s tracks.
- A God Am I: This episode's egomaniac-of-the-week is the High Evolutionary.
- Arc Words: "It's not a trap, it's a face-off."
- "Did that look cool?"
- A Worldwide Punomenon: The Guardians have a final face-off with the Big Bad. They take it quite literally.
- Body Horror: We get to see Nebula's somewhat Squicky self-repair in action again.
- Some of Rocket's memories also fit.
- Break The Cutie: Young Rocket.
- Cerebus Syndrome: While still a whacky comedy, this installment is decidedly darker than the first two.
- Chekov's Gun: Yondu's arrow
- Fate Worse Than Death: Rocket's creators don't just want to kill him, they want to remove his brain for study.
- Hey, It's That Guy! / Actor Allusion: Adam is played by Will Poulter, and some of his dialogue is hilariously reminiscent of Eustace Scrubb.
- Petting Zoo People: What do you expect from a company that made a talking racoon?
- Ragtag Band of Misfits: The Guardians. The Ravagers also qualify.
- Reason You Suck Speech: Rocket gives a short but effective one to the High Evolutionary.
- Shout-Out: The High Evolutionary is basically Doctor Moreau In Space.
- Suddenly Always Knew That: Drax turns out to know the children's language, right when it's needed. Partly Played For Laughs (it is Drax after all), but he makes it into a Take That at his friends for always assuming he knows nothing.
- Tear Jerker: There's a reason Rocket doesn't discuss his past. Even Nebula is horrified.