Early Reactions To Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.3 Are A Mixed Bag
After a complicated production history, "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3." finally premieres on May 5, bringing James Gunn's successful Marvel Cinematic Universe space opera to a doubtlessly heartstring-tugging conclusion that centers around Rocket's (Bradley Cooper) extremely tragic backstory.
We already know that the "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" soundtrack will be as awesome as ever, and now that some people have already been able to see the movie, eagerly-awaited first reactions have started to arrive. Fortunately for fans of the series, many of these first impressions are nothing short of stellar ... but as a flipside to the coin, there are also those who have spotted some creaking at the seams.
Steven Weintraub of Collider was among the people who were enamored by the film. "Loved #GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3. @JamesGunn is leaving Marvel with an exceptional last film and it's loaded with so many great moments it's hard to pick my favorite scene," Weintraub wrote on Twitter while praising the experience the movie provided in IMAX.
On the other hand, Verge's Charles Pulliam was somewhat more critical, finding that the film leaned a bit too much on the wrong things. "Anyway, Guardians of the Galaxy 3's very pretty, too jokey, and hinges on you still being wrapped up in the emotional fervor of Endgame, which I don't think a lot of people are," Pulliam tweeted. Let's take a look at what others have been saying about the movie.
Some call the movie an emotional conclusion to the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy
Gunn's final work for the MCU has been a long time coming, and numerous folks who have seen it feel that "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is an excellent way to wrap up the show — not to mention a highly emotional one. In fact, more than one first reaction specifically advised the viewer to bring some tissues due to the sheer impact of the emotional beats.
"Emotional, action packed, comedic, and a tone that delivers," Leo Rydel of Geekly Goods enthused on Twitter. "GRAB THE TISSUES cause DAMN there are some MOMENTS man!! Rocket is the MAN!! Music choices Great per usual and VFX deliver! HAD A BLAST!"
Andrew J. Salazar of Discussing Film agreed. "#GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3 has the most heart & soul from any MCU film in a long time. At times it's hard to believe that Gunn got away with so much of this, in the best way possible. You're going to need tissues, but not for the reasons you're expecting," he tweeted.
Several others, like Mike Ryan of Uproxx and Sean Tajipour of Nerdropolis, also praised the movie and the sheer emotional punch it packs, while Pop Cult Planet and MTV's Kristen Maldonado credited "Vol. 3" for breathing new life in the genre. "After so much superhero movie fatigue, #GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3 is a refreshing & unexpected joy to watch," Maldonado wrote.
Others feel that the movie has its flaws
Though many early viewers highly enjoyed "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3," some found the movie wanting. However, even the critical first impressions seem to be mostly positive about the film, pointing out individual issues rather than outright lambasting "Vol. 3" as a whole.
Hoai-Tran Bui of Inverse saw good things in the movie and compared it to another sci-fi action film, but lamented its apparent lack of stakes in the grander scheme of things. "GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 is the STAR TREK BEYOND of the series, in the best and not-so-best ways. But Gunn is really good at this whole disarmingly earnest superhero thing, and even more so when he unleashes his old Troma instincts. Wish it felt less like a side quest tho," she tweeted.
Movie critic Alex Madden felt the movie couldn't quite deliver on the level the very first "Guardians of the Galaxy" did, but still rated it above "Vol. 2." "#GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3 takes a lot of big swings and mostly delivers. A couple hiccups here and there but the glue that holds this movie together is definitely Rocket," they wrote. Meanwhile, Matt Neglia of Next Best Picture took a harsher approach. "GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 aspires for sweeping emotion, gut busting laughs & thrilling action. It sometimes succeeds but as a send off for all of these characters, it feels strangely uneven & anticlimactic," he deemed the movie uneven, though still praised its impressive visuals.
It seems that the people who enjoyed seeing "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" love it very, very much, and even the ones who weren't quite so swept away with it found plenty of good things to go with the bad. Fans will get to find out where they stand when the movie premieres on May 5.