Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: A Movie Review For Parents
Updated September 28, 2023
Overview
If your kid loves Marvel, there’s a good chance they love the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. The franchise is known for its edgy comedy and lovable outlaws who know how to stir up trouble in the universe. This third volume has Rocket as the center focus, the loyal yet pessimistic raccoon. Rocket usually helps the Guardians save other people, but this time, he’s the one who needs saving.
The Guardians movies are some of the most beloved by Marvel fans, but is the latest installment safe for kids to watch? Read our review to find out more!
Harmful Content ❗️
In all of the Guardian adventures, they usually find themselves breaking the law or causing some chaos for the sake of their mission. In this movie, the mission is Rocket, whose life is in peril due to the genetic lab that mutated him when he was born.
Some of the scenes exploring young Rocket’s life may be emotional for some viewers. Rocket, along with other animals who were experimented on, are seen being neglected and severely mistreated. Parents may want to be prepared for one particular scene, where the animals that Rocket was imprisoned with are killed in front of him. The scene is purposefully hard to watch so that the audience understands the trauma Rocket went through at the hands of the “High Evolutionist” (the main nemesis of the movie).
Aside from these scenes, the movie is fast-paced, funny, and heartwarming when it comes to the friendship between the Guardians. There’s some heavy language and violence that parents should know about, but overall it’s right in line with most other Marvel movies.
Language
The movie doesn’t shy away from adult language, with frequent flyers such as damn, hell, and a**. There’s also a couple instances of words like “d*ck” and “f*ck”.
Sex
There are no sex or explicit scenes in this Guardians of the Galaxy movie. There are some references to the romance between Peter and Gamora, but it’s not the main focus of the movie.
Violence
As to be expected with most Marvel movies, the movie has tons of intense action scenes. The movie even starts out with a fight between the Guardians and a new nemesis, Adam, involving shooting, stabbing, and throwing people into the ground. This is also where Rocket receives his fatal injury. The audience can see him bleeding and foaming at the mouth.
These intense scenes are never overly gruesome but could still be upsetting to some viewers.
Positive Value 💫
Despite the chaos and trauma of Rocket’s past, the movie has strong values of friendship and loyalty that drive all of the Guardian’s decisions. This movie — and the whole franchise — hinges on the theme of sticking by your chosen family. All of the Guardians are outcasts in some way, but they have each other’s backs no matter what.
Another reason fans love the Guardians movies so much is its humor and lovable characters. This third volume has some great one-liners and character interactions that will make the entire family chuckle!
So, should my kid watch it?
Due to the violence, language, and highly emotional scenes, we’d say this movie is appropriate for ages 13 and up.
