Zoe Saldana signs autographs at the “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” European Gala at Disneyland Paris (Photo Credit: Getty Images).
(“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” trailer courtesy of Marvel Entertainment)
Finally.
After all these years, fears and tears, Hollywood has finally listened to Todd A. Smith.
It is not hard to please Todd A. Smith.
All Todd A. Smith asks in his movies reviews is for Hollywood to spread their wings and fly away from the formula.
The formula for superhero movies has often been the same.
Superhero movies have a villain trying to destroy the world.
Therefore, it is up to the superhero and his buddies to save the world and restore the natural order of the universe.
Well, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” wondrously flips the script with the villain wanting to create a perfect world, not destroy the world as it currently is.
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” exemplifies the saying that life comes at you fast.
In “That’s Life,” old blue eyes himself Frank Sinatra sang, “You’re riding high in April, shot down in May.”
No, Todd A. Smith is not saying that Marvel Studios is up on April 29, but will be down on May 5 when “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” hits theaters.
However, the crew of superheroes in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” are dealing with the normal roller coaster of life like Gamora (Zoe Saldana) still having Peter (Chris Pratt) whipped even though she does not remember him, when the grits hit the pan for real.
An unknown nemesis named Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) appears out of nowhere, and critically injures Rocket.
When the Guardians attempt to revive Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), it only makes matters worse.
Rocket has always been a valuable member of the Guardians.
However, an open book about his past he has never really been.
Thankfully, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” fills any gaps that might remain about who and what Rocket really is.
In “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) has become so dissatisfied with the state of the universe, that he aims to create his own.
He claims that there is no God.
As a result, he gladly takes the mantle.
But where the universe failed in creating the perfect humans and animals, The High Evolutionary will use science and his powers to engineer perfectly evolved species.
When his efforts are complete, he plans to take those flawlessly engineered beings and transport them to counter Earth.
Unfortunately, Rocket is one of the beings that The High Evolutionary experiments on.
But like many mad scientists can attest, sometimes their creations can become uncontrollable.
And when that happens, good or bad can ensue.
Although the Guardians call him Rocket, The High Evolutionary refers to his “creation” as 89P13.
Furthermore, the fact that 89P13 is no longer in The High Evolutionary’s control puts his plans of counter Earth in danger.
In “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” The High Evolutionary needs Rocket to return to finish his creations of perfect beings.
Therefore, he sends another creation in Adam Warlock to bring back his wayward animal.
But what The High Evolutionary discovers is something that all the gods have always known.
No creation, other than God, is perfect, not even Adam Warlock.
And because of Adam Warlock’s attack on Rocket, and his dire health, the Guardians realize that they must pay The High Evolutionary a visit to save Rocket from a seemingly inevitable demise.
Therefore, the Guardians have a problem like Apollo 13 when they called on the great city of Houston for help.
An even bigger problem is that the Guardians must reach out to former colleague Gamora to help them gain access to the Orgo Corp., which holds the secrets to reversing Rocket’s dire predicament.
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” truly represents the best of both worlds when it comes to the current state of superhero movies.
The James Gunn directed film keeps the same energy that fans have grown accustomed to with the movie’s quirky, goofy and lovable characters.
But it does not rest on the laurels of virtually every superhero movie since the beginning of time with the premise of a bad guy comes to destroy the universe, while good guys save the day.
Gunn keeps it true to the villain versus savior theme.
But flips the script just enough to avoid the status quo.
Additionally, like many Marvel movies “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” boasts a who’s who of Hollywood talent like Vin Diesel and Sylvester Stallone.
Of course, Dave Bautista appears as the non-Mensa but still purposeful Drax.
Unfortunately, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” gets off to a somewhat slow start.
However, when it picks up steam not much can be done to stop the freight train from rolling full steam ahead.
As expected, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” would not be a part of the franchise without dope visuals.
Furthermore, what critic can fault a move that injects “Reasons” by Earth, Wind & Fire into the program?
Phillip Bailey’s falsetto in “Reasons” still sounds so beautiful all these decades later, don’t you agree?
The pop sensations known as Earth, Wind & Fire also went by the name the elements because they contained every element needed for a legendary band.
Likewise, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” contains all the elements needed for a number one movie at the box office next weekend.
First, it is a Marvel movie.
Second, it has A-list star power.
Third and most importantly, it shakes things up enough without going too far from a winning game plan.
REGAL RATINGS
FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT
THREE CROWNS=GOOD
TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE
ONE CROWN=POOR
