Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Will Poulter, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, Linda Cardellini, Nathan Fillion, Sylvester Stallone, Elizabeth Debicki, Daniela Melchior, Maria Bakalova, Judy Greer, Seth Green Michael Rooker, and Tara Strong, with cameos from James Gunn and Pete Davidson
Grade: A

After watching the scene on OrgoCorp, I can’t help but think that if the Guardians franchise came out in the 2000s, Nathan Fillion (“I got one of those two“.) would have been a great Star-Lord.

Summary

To open, we get a glimpse of a baby Rocket in a cage with his family of raccoons. An unknown person reaches into the cage and chooses Rocket over everyone else. Next, we cut to the present day. On their new headquarters on planet Knowhere, the Guardians of the Galaxy are going about their day, as their new sign gets put up. A saddened Rocket (Cooper) listens to music from Peter Quill/Star-Lord’s (Pratt) portable device while Groot (Diesel), Drax (Bautista), Nebula (Gillan), and Mantis (Klementieff) all talk outside. At the same time, Kraglin (Gunn) and newest Guardians addition Cosmo the Spacedog (Bakalova) annoy each other. If you didn’t know, Cosmo was added to the team in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Rocket gets inside and a drunk and depressed Quill gets mad at Rocket for listening to his music. Then, he passes out. The other Guardians are used to this version of Quill lately but are growing tired of it. Once Nebula puts Quill to sleep in his bed, he grabs her arm and talks about how much he loves Gamora (Saldana), the woman who has no recollection of what happened between them following the events in Avengers: Endgame. As Rocket and Nebula talk about Quill, Kraglin continues to practice mastering the spear of Yondu’s since he has the power to control it. A bunch of onlookers watch as he accidentally stabs Nebula with it. She’s fine but annoyed. To show him up, Cosmo uses her telekinetic powers to use a rock to knock over the targets Kraglin had set up. This bothers Kraglin enough to call her a bad dog, which she takes to heart.

All the Guardians wonder what to do with the constantly mopey Quill. This is where Nebula acknowledges that Gamora is alive, she just doesn’t remember anything from the last few years, something Kraglin didn’t even know. Rocket suggests Mantis use her powers to make him feel better, but she deems it wrong to do this to someone you’re close with. Later, Adam Warlock (Poulter) flies straight to Knowhere and immediately attacks Rocket, prompting a huge fight between the Guardians and Warlock. During the fight, Rocket is severely injured by Warlock as is Mantis. Quill grabs a med-pack which fixes Mantis’s broken wrist. As Warlock beats the fuck out of Drax, Nebula saves him by stabbing Warlock through the chest. Wounded, Warlock flees the planet. Meanwhile, the med-pack only worsens Rocket’s condition. They take it off and take Rocket to the med-bay on the ship. During his half-alive deliriousness, Rocket gets flashbacks to when he was being tested on as a baby raccoon. A man looks over him and tells the doctors to stitch him up and transfer him to Batch 89. The weakened and scared Rocket is thrown into a cage where he meets the rest of Batch 89 consisting of an otter (Cardellini), a walrus (Asim Chaudhry), and a rabbit (Mikaela Hoover). All of them have been tested on and all have disfigurements and cyborg-like bodies that make up their other half. They are all very nice though and try to comfort the small Rocket.

Back in the present day, Nebula attaches a cord from herself into Rocket to figure out everything they need. This is where the Guardians find that inside Rocket there is a kill switch that will go off and kill Rocket if he’s operated on or if they use the med-packs. Unfortunately, if they don’t operate on him, he’ll still die. Quill asks why he would even have a kill switch, so Nebula deduces that someone considers him “proprietary technology” and they sent Warlock to get him. There is a passkey that can override the kill switch though. Mantis asks what they know of Rocket’s origin, but Quill notes he won’t talk about it. Nebula says much of the tech was developed by a company called OrgoCorp and the code on all of it is “89P13”. Rocket has 48 hours to live. Immediately, Quill redirects course to break into OrgoCorp in search for Rocket’s records because they may be the only ones who have the passkey to override the kill switch. Kraglin and Cosmo are left behind on Quill’s orders to watch over Knowhere. They lock in the coordinates and head out, with Nebula saying she has a contact they can reach as well. As they travel, Rocket gets flashbacks of playing with his group of mutant animal friends. On Counter-Earth at Arete Laboraties, the High Priestess of the Sovereign people Ayesha (Debicki) consoles the injured Warlock. Then, the High Evolutionary (Iwuji) walks in asking if Warlock has Rocket. He’s pissed off when finding out he failed and considers his own design may have failed since he actually created the Sovereign. He trashes Warlock too, but Ayesha blames the High Evolutionary for releasing him from his cocoon early. This is why he still carries child-like traits. When Warlock tries to speak up, the High Evolutionary uses his powers to throw him against the wall.

Immediately, Ayesha apologizes for Warlock speaking out against him and promises to do whatever he says. The High Evolutionary then wonders why they knew for years of Rocket’s existence, who he refers to as “89P13”, and never told him. She apologizes again, but he’s furious. He demands they bring Rocket to him, or he’ll destroy her entire civilization. The High Evolutionary leaves the room with his two assistants. One of them is Theel (Nico Santos). They talk about how smart Rocket is and how the High Evolutionary wants his brain. He also says the Sovereign are actually his backup plan because he thinks he knows where the Guardians are going. Outside of the Orgoscope where OrgoCorp headquarters is located, the Guardians are wondering how to get in. Nebula says the Orgoscope is bio-formed, grown from living matter. The structure is surrounded by three impenetrable plasmic security shields, so it’s not going to be easy breaking in. Quill isn’t worried but privately notes to Mantis and Drax how he blames himself for Rocket being hurt because he was drunk and let it happen, with Mantis trying to console him. As they work through breaking the shields one by one, Mantis suggests to Quill that he go to Earth to see his grandpa, but Quill isn’t interested. Her reasoning is that Quill is so upset that all these people in his life left him, but his grandpa is one person that he left. Following this, they get through the shields but are stopped by the United Ravagers, led by Stakar Ogord (Stallone). They are boarded and threatened, but Nebula stops things by saying they have a meeting with her contact Gamora, who is now a Ravager to Quill’s shock.

They are given OrgoCorp uniforms by the Ravagers for disguises. As Mantis thanks Gamora, she makes it known she’s not doing this out of the kindness of her heart. She’s doing it for the hundred thousand units Nebula promised. Quill tries to talk to Gamora, but she’s not interested and even asks who he is. Stakar tells them that OrgoCorp is in possession of some of the most advanced cybergenetics IP in the galaxy, so they’re heavily guarded by the deadly Orgosentries. Since they don’t have documentation to dock, they’ll have to sneak in on their own. Once they get in, Gamora will lead them to the records to hopefully find the passkey. If they get into trouble, the Ravagers will not bail them out. Groot goes over to check on Rocket before they go on their mission, and Rocket has another flashback. A young Rocket figures out a bunch of math problems to the amazement of the High Evolutionary and sits on his lap as they talk. The High Evolutionary talks about how all the experiments will go to Counter-Earth when they are ready. Then, he teaches Rocket about music and such. He brings Rocket into a room to show him Batch 90 where he says he developed a process in which he can guide any organism through millions of years of programmed evolutionary changes in a moment. They test this on a turtle, and it turns into a violent, human-sized monster. The High Evolutionary explains that the things they have tested on all possess this specific protein that makes them violent, and they can’t create a peaceful utopia just yet because of it. They’re programmed to be peaceful like Rocket, but it’s not working for some reason.

After Theel incinerates the turtle monster, thank God, Rocket points out the problem with the hyptonic filters, solving the problem to the High Evolutionary’s shock.

Back in real time, the Guardians and Gamora break in to OrgoCorp. During it, Quill tries to open his heart to Gamora, but she insists she has no recollection of anything and isn’t interested in Quill’s advances. Eventually, they get into OrgoCorp and security gets a minor detection of some kind of disturbance, so they send a group of Orgosentries to check it out, led by Master Karja (Fillion). The Guardians put their spacesuits in some locker in the room and since they have the uniforms on as a disguise, Quill immediately confuses the Orgosentries by acting like they are mechanics fixing a hole in the building and how the Orgosentries could have put everyone at risk because of their lack of proper precautionary measures. Master Karja buys it and has a pleasant conversation with Quill. At the same time, Mantis notices that the “locker” they put their spacesuits in evacuated into space because it’s actually a contamination bin that expels things into space as soon as you shut the door. Everyone yells at Mantis since it was her idea, but Quill stops things, promising they’ll figure their escape out later and to stay on track. Quill, Nebula, and Gamora go to the records to get the passkey. Gamora has Drax and Mantis go separately to access the spaceport through the elevator, so Groot can land and get them all out of there. In the hallway, Quill accidentally bumps into Theel.

They don’t know each other though, so everything is fine…for now.

Mantis and Drax walk around the lobby where we hear an infomercial talk about for over 300 years, OrgoCorp has been producing cybernetic implants and genetic upgrades across the universe under the eye of the High Evolutionary. Just then, the two are spotted on the security cameras and the Orgosentries are alerted. Quill, Gamora, and Nebula spot worker Ura (Melchior), who’s in charge of the records. Quill tries to flirt with her, but Gamora jumpstarts things by interrupting them and threatening Ura with a gun. She shows them to a room with all the species patented over the years using OrgoCorp tech. Every species the company has created has its own individual file. They grab Rocket’s file, but the alarms go off and the Orgosentries circle both groups. Gamora takes Ura as a hostage, and they are able to get to a room for cover while Drax and Mantis fight in the open. After Drax and Nebula are severely wounded from gunshots and they are on the verge of surrendering, Quill convinces Ura to let him into some computer system, acting as if he was going to try to convince them to stop out of the kindness of his heart. In reality, he just used the system to control the supersuits the Orgosentries have on, and it sends them flying all over the room, allowing for the Guardians to escape.

Rocket has another flashback hanging out with his animal friends. This time around, they all come up with names to call themselves once they move into the utopia the High Evolutionary was talking about. The otter names herself Lylla, the walrus names himself Teefs because of his teeth, and the rabbit names herself Floor because she’s on the floor. Then, Rocket names himself on account of his dreams of flying in the sky with his friends.

With the file in hand, the Guardians search through it and see some disturbing videos of Rocket’s earlier life. Unfortunately, the passkey isn’t in the file, and information from it was deleted by Theel that day, with his picture coming on the screen. Quill remembers him from the hallway at OrgoCorp, and Gamora says he’s one of the High Evolutionary’s recorders. She says OrgoCorp is just a way to fund his experiments that lie outside intergalactic laws. He’s created whole societies such as the Xeronians, the Ani-Men, and the Sovereign. Corners of the universe consider him God. Groot suggests that Theel downloaded the passkey of Rocket into the computer on his head. Quill agrees and deduces that if they find Theel, they save Rocket. Now, they’re heading straight to the High Evolutionary. Though Gamora insists it’s a trap, the Guardians don’t care. They’re doing this because Rocket is family. Plus, Quill considers it more of a “face-off” rather than a trap anyway.

My Thoughts:

Following a tumultuous path behind the scenes to finally make the third film of the irreverent franchise a possibility, James Gunn gives us Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the culmination of a decade’s worth of cosmic chaos, fun, hilarity, emotion, and space exploration that gives us exactly what the Star Wars sequels of the 2010s didn’t do. Despite Phase Four being hit-or-miss and the outlook of Phase Five being uncertain in terms of quality, Gunn proves that the Guardians franchise still haven’t lost their step as being one of the best things to ever come out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In addition, he proves his worth as a director and storyteller, giving fans an emotional sendoff of the current iteration of the ultimate ragtag group of intergalactic superstars.

Now, this third film in the series is very different from the previous two. Yes, the Guardians are still a team and Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill is still the star who spearheads the movie, but the focus of the story is centered around Rocket. Following an attack from newcomer Adam Warlock and being nearly killed because of it, the Guardians have only one mission in this film: save Rocket by any means necessary. They aren’t going on an adventure or doing the freedom fighter thing like they have done in previous films. This is a rescue mission plain and simple. Following years of wondering the secretive backstory of our angry little raccoon and only getting a few tidbits here and there, we finally get to the nitty gritty of it all in some of the most captivating and disturbing sequences of any MCU film thus far. Animal testing is always a hard subject to cross into film because if you want to get as realistic as possible in the name of storytelling, it’s pretty horrific stuff. Gunn doesn’t pull any punches with his visceral flashback sequences that change your entire outlook of the Rocket character. Finally, we have an answer to why he’s this closed-off angry animal, who took years to trust and let people in again after all these years.

The last time he had a real friendship was when he was in the prison-like outfit of the High Evolutionary’s testing laboratories. He was there for his entire childhood and early life, knowing nothing of the outside world other than what this evil man taught him. This includes something as small as teaching Rocket what music is and how it’s a bunch of noises mixed together to create beautiful sounds and melodies, which is essentially what he is doing to all of these animals to create the perfect race of people. Being that he was in the earliest developmental stages with the High Evolutionary playing the role of his pseudo-parent, Rocket had no reason not to trust him because it’s all he had. It was this and his three friends he was locked up with. It’s sad to watch play out because despite everything happening to him and his friends and how we know that the High Evolutionary is the one who caused all of this, Rocket, Lylla, Teefs, and Floor all believe in this god-like being and his ultimate vision of what the future holds. It fascinates these innocent baby animals because they think they’re along for the ride and are essential to the operation. It creates this bond that Rocket never forgets. It shapes who he is, along with his outlook on life. We can trace this back to the first film too, with Rocket trying his hardest to avoid a solidified friendship with the team because of the lack of trust ingrained in his head from his early life shown to us in Vol. 3. It felt as though Gunn had this plan for the third film right from the beginning just because of how well all the pieces connect.

When the High Evolutionary tells Rocket flat-out that they were just being tested on and they won’t be a part of the group that will live in peace and harmony on Counter-Earth, Rocket’s world is shattered to pieces. Even in CGI-form, you can feel the emotional state of Rocket once he hears the truth about their position with the High Evolutionary and how they were essentially born to die in this cage and nothing else. Even with all of his skill and how he was used and abused, Rocket is being treated like nothing more than garbage because the man who “created” him deems him not important enough to be kept alive. For the rest of his life, this is burned into his psyche, and Rocket never feels worthy, even when something positive happens to him. This is how broken he is, and it all starts to make sense. In Vol. 2, he continuously causes problems because he’s too afraid to feel vulnerable and to care about the people in his life because he’s scared of things going south again, acting out as a result. It’s all because of the horrific events depicted in Vol. 3. This trauma he suffered changed the innocent raccoon into the cynical, jaded, bitter, angry criminal who had no problem stealing or killing as he got older. The world wronged him, so he had no problem giving it right back. Of course, him becoming a part of the Guardians started to help him back on the path of becoming the animal he was destined to be, a hero. All he needed was a second chance and the right people to change his mind and he was able to become someone entirely different, a lesson that translates to real life just as well.

The idea of getting a second chance is reiterated to Warlock in the third act. Though it may sound corny to those not as invested, it makes sense of everything going on and is a pretty much on-the-nose description to explain the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise as a whole. The series boils down to a group of criminals that come together to create a superhero team, saving the world when given this second chance. When we’re given a reason and have the right support system, we can do great things. Now, this is a great message to send everyone home with. Hell, this idea of a “second chance” is even a great way to explain James Gunn’s whole relationship with Marvel and Disney after being fired for old Tweets and being given a second chance and getting rehired to complete the film. This message is the heart of the franchise, and whoever has come into contact with this series has resonated with it whether they have realized it or not.

I don’t know if Lylla was right about saying that this story was Rocket’s all along because it’s clear this franchise was about Star-Lord, but this film was about Rocket. Once you learn about the pain and suffering that he went through at such an early age, this raccoon deserved the spotlight this time around. James Gunn always felt a personal connection to the character and always considered them one and the same. He channeled this energy into writing this screenplay and it was powerful, emotional, and heart-wrenching stuff. By the time the film comes to a close, teary-eyed fans will more than likely be covered in goosebumps with a newfound appreciation for the already beloved character.

The purgatory scene was pure fucking cinema.

The character of Rocket is a representation of resiliency. In a world where he is always the underdog, what Rocket has been through and what he has fought to become over all these years is a character arc we never see coming when we first laid eyes on him back in 2014. Bradley Cooper deserves special praise for his voicing of the character. He always nailed the comedic beats of Rocket and the little sliver of emotional bits they would write in within the previous films, but what we got in Vol. 3 was an all-time voice acting performance. When he lets out that wail in the escape sequence once the High Evolutionary attempts to begin his massacre, the rage within our hero explodes onto the screen via Cooper’s all-in energy, with feelings of open-mouthed shock and empathy shooting straight into the veins of the viewer. It was incredibly moving. Even though Bradley Cooper’s schedule becomes busier by the year, if they plan on keeping Rocket in the MCU in the future, they have to make sure Cooper is retained as the voice actor. He proved he’s essential to the operation and why the character is as entertaining as he is.

On the other hand, Vin Diesel should pay Marvel to continue to be in the MCU as Groot. What a waste of money he was.

Bringing in the character of Adam Warlock into the Marvel Cinematic Universe was an excellent decision. Honestly, it’s about time. With the overarching story of the Multiverse and space exploration being so crucial to the next couple of phases in the MCU’s direction, a character like Adam Warlock is very important. However, Will Poulter’s casting was questionable. Like many others, it’s hard for me to get over his hilarious awkward portrayal of Kenny from We’re the Millers. A big part of my glowing review of the first Guardians of the Galaxy was Chris Pratt’s sudden transformation from chubby comedic star to superstar action hero and pulling it off with flying colors. It seems as if the same idea inspired Poulter’s casting. After watching the film however, I’m starting to think Pratt’s transition may have just been lighting in a bottle. Poulter just has such a distinct look even with his new physique. Plus, since We’re the Millers is on network television every week, it’s very hard to see him in a different light. The way he’s written didn’t do him any favors either, as he just got stupider as the film progressed, despite such a huge introductory scene that made him look good. He should’ve been a fully serious character. The idea of him having child-like attributes because he was pulled out of his cocoon early made him vulnerable enough to where he didn’t just defeat everyone right off the bat, so this helped his role in the movie. However, he acted way too goofy for someone who’s going to have such a big role in the future of the MCU. It only reminded the audience that they shouldn’t be ready to take him seriously just yet.

Though I did chuckle on his delivery of “Don’t be rash” when Gamora threatened his little monster pet Blurp. That was kind of funny.

With this being said, I don’t want to harp on him too much because Poulter is in this for the long haul. He’s young, the character is important, and knowing how the MCU is structured, he will be back in some sort of capacity in a future ensemble film or bigger production as a whole. Plus, he still showed flashes of potential as Warlock, and those scenes where he was flying with intent, with those in-your-face closeups as he does it, were awesome. Poulter doing that in space in a future world-ending film might make for some really cool moments. Here’s to hoping he changes my mind in the future. However, as it stands right now, I’m still disappointed in his casting when Zac Efron was rumored and available.

Zac Efron as Adam Warlock?! Now, this would have been ideal casting.

The High Evolutionary was nuts. Very rarely will you see such a character that deserves an awful fate more than the High Evolutionary, but as you learn more and more about him, you just want Groot to curb stomp him American History X-style. In so many MCU films, even the craziest, all-powerful, god-like villains have reason, or garner sympathy or understanding on why they are doing what they are doing. It’s not that you feel bad for them, but you do understand things from their side a bit more because of their thorough explanations. Even previous Guardians movies do it with Ronan the Accuser and Ego. Obviously, they are terrible people and supernatural beings, but in their own minds, what they are doing makes sense. In turn, it makes sense to us as to why they would act this way. With the High Evolutionary, James Gunn decides to go into the opposite direction for the final film of this trilogy. Fully embracing the energy of the 80s sci-fi movies this franchise has emulated from the start, Gunn gives us one of the most despicable villains in all of Marvel. Just the disturbing horror scenes on Counter-Earth alone will be enough to tell you this guy has to die for the sake of everyone. Powered by newcomer Chukwudi Iwuji in an aggressive and twisted performance, the High Evolutionary is an alien supervillain who is a modern throwback to the “mad scientist” archetype made famous a hundred years ago. Obsessed with creating worlds and societies and perfecting them, the nightmarish abominations this outright evil antagonist creates in his experiments are terrifying, yet remarkable. He’s insane and is fixated on this singular goal to create a utopia consisting of a race of peaceful animal hybrids. He’s obsessed in his mission for perfection

Despite failing after so many years in creating this perfect world, he came across Rocket. Being a regular patient that he would test on, the poor raccoon was thrown in with Batch 89 as trash. Then, his intelligence started to soar, and the High Evolutionary started to take notice. Being as intelligent as he already is and the fact that he helped Rocket in becoming who he is, the High Evolutionary is infuriated to see Rocket come up with a solution to his problem. How could something he created be smarter than him? This is enough for the High Evolutionary to make it a personal mission to hunt down the raccoon. He wants his brain. There’s no other option to saving his race of freak animals. Rocket’s intelligent brain is the key to helping him reach perfection. In addition, this is what makes Rocket special and not just some rogue animal that acted quick enough to escape his clutches. He’s different from every other animal the High Evolutionary has messed with because he’s the only creature to show the ability to pull off “true invention”. All of the other animals’ intellect that our villain has experimented with has been based off of “rote memorization”, a skill in itself but not the innovation that Rocket possesses that makes him the special individual he is.

As you would expect, the soundtrack is still very good. However, I will say that with the exception of the “No Sleep Til Brooklyn” sequence where they decide to stay and save the kids and Florence the Machine’s “No Dog Days” embodying the emotional ending, the music wasn’t nearly as essential to the movie’s story or certain emotional beats like it was in the last two. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s just that superfans of the franchise may be slightly agitated with this fact because it’s a big part of the franchise’s continued legacy.

Despite the biggest news coming out of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special being that Cosmo the Spacedog joined the team, she was a non-factor in terms of entertainment. The “bad dog” joke was lame and stretched too far into the movie, and she didn’t really do anything until the third act, though I do enjoy Maria Bakalova’s stunted delivery as the character. Gunn was also grasping at straws to give Kraglin something to do, with him still struggling on how to figure out how to make that spear work (something he should have figured out by the holiday special), but we got a Yondu cameo out of it, so there’s that. Thankfully, the impeccable chemistry, timing, and comic delivery of Dave Bautista’s Drax and Pom Klementieff’s Mantis make up for it. At this point, everything they say is funny, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. They have these characters down to a science. Though they will more than likely move on from these characters after this movie, it’s clear through their dedication in their performances on what should be one-note, goofball characters that they have very bright futures in the world of acting.

In general, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is still very funny. Don’t get it twisted just because I focused on the somber stuff. Quill considering Nebula for a second was very funny, and the scene on Counter-Earth in the animal hybrid’s home was absolute gold. There’s no way you don’t laugh when you see how happy Quill is when they all say how good his drawing is. Eventually, it leads to the first “F bomb” of the MCU, and this honor couldn’t have been given to a better person than Chris Pratt.

Pratt is still back to his usual antics as Peter Quill and still retains that lovable charisma you can’t teach. Within the story however, Quill is a bit aimless and loses his purpose. Thankfully, they don’t play it off as goofy humor like in Thor: Love and Thunder. There’s much more of an understanding of human emotion with how Quill has dealt with losing Gamora. Even fighting for others hasn’t had the same impact it once did. This is why the attack on Rocket, as morbid as it sounds, couldn’t have come at a better time. It rejuvenates Quill. It reminds him of who Star-Lord is, as well as how important Rocket is to the family he helped create in the Guardians. Immediately upon learning some basic information about Rocket’s file potentially being in OrgoCorp, he redirects course for the whole team and sets them on the mission. The immediacy of the action shows how vital Rocket is, how close their bond is despite constantly being at odds, and also how Quill needs this more than ever to wake him up and give him his purpose once again, a common theme in these later MCU movies. The bond between Rocket and Nebula has also grown considerably and seeing the usually cold alien cyborg sob once she hears Rocket’s voice again can make any fan of this series tear up just because we know how Nebula is as a person and how rare it is to show this much emotion. THAT is how you show the importance of Rocket’s presence to this team. They are family. They know Rocket has had a hard life, but only after all these years are they truly learning about what he went through. When they watch some of the videos in Rocket’s file of the traumatic experiences involving the High Evolutionary and how he treated those animals, it cuts deep in the faces of the Guardians, igniting their fury and passion for their fallen friend just as it does for the viewer.

Though Peter Quill’s story with Gamora in this sequel is a bit of a retread in terms of humor, capping off their romantic angle in the manner they did was a great way to end things. Their final conversation (“I bet we were fun”) was a poignant, bittersweet conclusion that couldn’t have been done any better. In this final exchange and the cheerful closing moments of the film, where we find out where our characters will go in the future in an excellent sequence that wraps up all the character arcs and storylines we’ve been following from the beginning, it hits even harder internally because reality starts to set it in. This is the end of an era. After ten years, this iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy team is now complete. Though we’re sad to see it go, man, were we lucky to see it happen live. What a wonderful decade this has been. We’re going to miss it. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was the ending this series deserved. It’s not perfect, but it’s exactly what we wanted.