Parents' Guide to

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Trauma, teamwork at heart of darker MCU threequel.

Movie PG-13 2023 150 minutes
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: Movie Poster: The crew stands in front of a pinkish-orange space backdrop

A Lot or a Little?

What you willā€”and won'tā€”find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 15+

Based on 71 parent reviews

age 14+

Lots of Animal Abuse - Know before you go

I read reviews and warning about the animal abuse in this movie, but I was not prepared for how much of it there was in this movie. I have an almost 11 year old who enjoyed the other GoG movies, and can take the action and people killing, but has a very tender heart when it comes to animals. The movie left her sad and shook. Even though Rockets "friends" have nice personality the way they are treated is hard to watch. My daughter was saddened that someone even "thought that up". I did open the door for us to have a deep conversation. The other elements of the movie were okay and I can see a lot of people enjoying it. But please beware if your kids are animal lovers.
age 13+

Too sad and violent and not very good or funny.

My whole family absolutely loved the first two. This one wasnā€™t as funny, didnā€™t have much of a story, was super violent and just really, really sad and emotional. There were super young and adorable / sweet animals that you get to know and love that then get killed. My kids were both so sad.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (71 ):
Kids say (88 ):

Surprisingly heartfelt, this movie is the darkest and most personal of the three Guardians films -- but also the most uneven. Writer-director James Gunn knows how to make this ragtag bunch work, but there's a layer of sadness that envelops the proceedings, despite the many laugh-out-loud moments. On the one hand, this mission has the established camaraderie of the second movie, one of the most ruthless villains in the entire MCU (The High Evolutionary is memorably terrifying with his perfection obsession), and a decades-spanning soundtrack that includes everything from Radiohead's "Creep" and the Beastie Boys' "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" to Bruce Springsteen's "Badlands" and Florence and the Machine's "Dog Days Are Over." On the other hand, the extensive flashbacks to Rocket's past, while illuminating, have such a different pace and character development that Vol. 3 sometimes feels like two stories smooshed together. The introduction of Adam Warlock is also uneven, and Poulter, who's a talented and funny actor, isn't given much to do except preen, kill, and whine for most of the movie.

Then there's the Gamora factor, which is necessarily complicated because she's not the same Gamora audiences have grown to love. It's difficult to feel invested in this Gamora, and her presence is sometimes more unpleasant than humorous. Like Peter, many viewers are likely to miss the old Gamora too much to enjoy Saldana's performance here. Pratt knows how to continue to make Star Lord lovable and messy and a bit of a wreck, and Cooper does a lovely job of conveying the trauma that Rocket experienced, as well as his core desire to belong to a found family. Bautista gets a great moment to shine when he forms a bond with a group of genetically engineered children, and Gillan's Nebula has her biggest role in the group to date, stepping up as a real leader. The visual effects focus on hybrid creatures created for potential utopias and sequences of violent whole-world destruction. The hybrids are purposefully uncanny and unsettling. It's unclear whether there will be more Guardians films in the future now that Gunn has left the MCU, so this is a good time to enjoy his final contribution to the franchise -- and be thankful for the questions he finally answered here.

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