Hey film fans, it’s Slick Dungeon! I’m back to review yet another Oscar nominated film. This time we are taking a look at Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3. Wait what? That’s right, the 32nd film in the MCU has been nominated for an Oscar. It’s up for Best Visual Effects. Be warned there will be spoilers for the movie below so if you have not seen it, head on over to a Terran theater, see the film and come on back here to read the review.

What’s it About?

If you are an MCU fan, you probably know who the Guardians of the Galaxy are. But just in case you are not familiar with them, they are a ragtag group of outlaws and misfits trying to make their way in the galaxy and often find themselves confronted by maniacal villains looking to destroy the galaxy in one way or another. They are led by Peter Quill, aka Starlord who is a human from Earth. There is way too much background here for me to get into a deep dive of even just the first two films in the series but you can just consider this to be a science fiction, action, comedy thriller type of film.

I most definitely don’t recommend watching this one without watching at least the first two films in the series. And if you really want to know what is going on you have to watch a substantial chunk of the MCU, including at least two Avengers films.

For the third film in a series I didn’t expect this to cover much new territory. There is, of course, a bad guy who has to be stopped. But the film gets surprisingly emotional when it comes to the background of one of the key team members, Rocket Raccoon. It’s an impressive feat to see James Gunn pull off an emotionally compelling story about a raccoon with a machine gun. In fact, I was not the only Marvel fan to tear up just a bit during the film as we see Rocket both make and loss some dear friends.

It is one of the more entertaining films of the later MCU phase, although it still has spots of trouble where it could be more compelling to the viewer.

Like pretty much any MCU film, the good guys defeat the bad guys after a bit of misunderstanding and some teamwork. There are quippy one liners, lots of striking visual effects, and the hint of a romance or two.

The Awards

While this is all standard fare for Marvel, this film was never going to be nominated for best picture, screenplay, or acting. This is not the type of film that wins prestige awards. But, it is the type of film that could win an award for visual effects. The films in this category and those nominated for best sound tend have the largest audience appeal, and I will also admit, tend to be the ones I like the most.

But does Guardians of the Galaxy have enough here to win the category? I don’t think so. While the film is better than the third movie in a superhero story has any right to be, and the effects are fairly stunning, this film is just not quite up to the quality of competing films. It is up against The Creator which is my bet to win on visual effects, Godzilla Minus One which pulled off the nearly impossible feat of making a Godzilla film relevant again, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 which has incredibly good stunt work and Napoleon which is a sweeping epic full of intricate detail.

In Conclusion

I recommend this movie to those who are familiar with Guardians of the Galaxy and enjoy a good superhero romp with a bit of a story to it. But, if you are already over superhero films, or you haven’t even started in on the MCU somehow, there is no need to rush out to see this. It’s fine. The story is fun and it is nice to see a competent film in the later MCU phases but it’s ultimately skippable if you are not that interested.

Galactically yours,

Slick Dungeon