Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 movie poster
Poster © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
GenreAction, Adventure & Comedy
RatedPG-13
Runtime2 hr 30 mins
ReleasedMay 5, 2023
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorJames Gunn
StarringChris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

movie.guru URL: https://movie.guru/guardians-of-the-galaxy-vol-3-movie-review
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's Details
GenreAction, Adventure & Comedy
RatedPG-13
Released04/22/2023 (Disneyland Paris); 05/05/2023 (United States)
StreamingSee Where to Watch on this page.
Running Time2 hr 30 mins
Budget$250M (reported)
Box OfficeUpdated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below.
Based OnMarvel Comics
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's Interests
GeneralZunes, Knowhere, matching spacesuits, a squishy space station, and a whole lot of Rocket backstory.
MusicJohn Murphy. Quill's Zune brings Radiohead, Faith No More and the Beastie Boys.
MoviesThe 2017 chapter, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Quill's dad is literally a planet.
TelevisionThe Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Kevin Bacon gets a very weird Christmas.
HeroesRocket. Smartest guy on the ship, and he will tell you so.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's Crew
DirectorJames Gunn
WritersJames Gunn
ProducersKevin Feige
CinematographyHenry Braham
MusicJohn Murphy
Edited ByFred Raskin, Greg D'Auria
ProductionMarvel Studios
Distributed ByWalt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's Trailer
Official Trailer • Marvel Entertainment
How Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Performed
movie guru's TLDR

Three Guardians movies in, James Gunn finally admits the main character was the raccoon all along, and he gives Rocket a backstory rough enough to wreck anyone who has ever loved a pet. That’s the strength and the problem. Vol. 3 runs 150 minutes and whiplashes between creepy lab experiments and Drax bits like a kid flipping channels. The High Evolutionary only has one gear, and that gear is screaming. Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock is a golden toddler who barely gets a scene. But Bradley Cooper’s voice work carries more feeling than half the live-action leads in the whole franchise, and the hallway fight shot as one long take is the best action Gunn has ever filmed. People showed up to say goodbye, to the tune of $845.6 million worldwide. An 8.2 because it gives these characters a real ending, even if it takes the scenic route to get there. $2,396 says you blame allergies the second the otter shows up.

What works: Rocket’s story, Bradley Cooper’s voice work, and a one-take hallway fight that puts most superhero action to shame.

What doesn’t: It’s overstuffed at 150 minutes, the villain only knows how to yell, and Adam Warlock feels like a setup for a movie nobody made.

Who it’s for: Anyone who grew up with these weirdos and needs a proper goodbye, plus anyone who cries at dog adoption ads.

Spoilers

The team saves Rocket and the kids from the High Evolutionary’s ship, then splits up for good. Quill heads home to Earth to see his grandfather, and Rocket takes over as leader of a brand new Guardians lineup.

Guru’s Take
8.2/10
Great
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's Blurbs
About me:

The Guardians have set up shop on Knowhere, and Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is still not over losing Gamora. Then a golden powerhouse named Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) crashes in and leaves Rocket (Bradley Cooper) badly hurt. Saving him means breaking into the company that built him, run by the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji). Nebula (Karen Gillan), Drax (Dave Bautista), Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Groot (Vin Diesel) suit up, while this version of Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) has no memory of any of them. James Gunn directs. One hundred fifty minutes, bring tissues for the raccoon.

Who I'd like to meet:

Anyone who still cries at a good mixtape. Do not call Rocket a raccoon to his face.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's Cast (in credits order)
Chris PrattPeter Quill / Star-Lord
Zoe SaldañaGamora
Dave BautistaDrax the Destroyer
Karen GillanNebula
Pom KlementieffMantis
Vin DieselGroot
Bradley CooperRocket
Will PoulterAdam Warlock
Sean GunnKraglin
Chukwudi Iwujithe High Evolutionary
Linda CardelliniLylla
Nathan FillionMaster Karja
Sylvester StalloneStakar Ogord
Full cast and crew on IMDb.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's Edit History
Every change to this page, newest first. Movie data updates are logged like any other edit.
  • (cur | prev) 14:30, 18 October 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: IMDb users 7.9 / 10 (490,851 votes) → 7.9 / 10 (490,990 votes).
  • (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +520 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $845.6M; Domestic box office $359M; Opening weekend $118.4M; Profit / loss (est.) +$47.8M; Rotten Tomatoes 82%; CinemaScore A; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 82% (404 reviews); Metacritic 64 / 100; PostTrak audience 91% positive; CinemaScore A; IMDb users 7.9 / 10 (490,851 votes); movie.guru score 8.0.
  • (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.