The Guardians of the Galaxy series holds a special place in my heart. I didn’t know anything about these lovable goofballs when I saw the first movie in theaters, but I became attached to them because the movie was so fun, with some good emotional beats as well. It wasn’t the first MCU movie I saw, but I attribute my fandom of the franchise to Guardians of the Galaxy.

So, even with my interest in the MCU fading due to recent projects varying in quality, I was all the way in on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. This movie marked the end of an era, in more ways than one. Yes, it was the send-off to this team that we’ve grown so attached to, but also to director James Gunn as he takes over at DC.

The finale of this trilogy had some big expectations to live up to, and in my opinion at least, absolutely met them.

Positives

This trilogy has built itself on its lovable characters, and thankfully, this movie is no different. Nearly every major character gets a chance to shine and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The main star of the show here is Rocket Raccoon, despite being out of commission for a majority of the movie. He’s the most central character to the plot and we finally get to dive into his tragic origins, which were mentioned in earlier installments but never fully explored until now. It’s amazing that a talking, genetically-modified raccoon can become such a complex character, but that’s just the power of this series.

I also really enjoyed the direction they took with Peter (or Star Lord, if you will) and Gamora’s relationship. This Gamora is not the same as the one Peter fell in love with in the first two movies, and Gunn and his team realized this. It would’ve been easy to just make them fall for each other again, but this movie instead takes their relationship in a much more interesting direction, which I ended up really liking.

The rest of the guardians, namely Nebula, Drax, Groot, Mantis and even Kraglin, also get plenty of time to shine with their own big moments. We learn more about each of them as characters and they all end the movie in a way that feels natural and satisfying. Finally there’s Cosmo, who as I’m sure she’d love to hear, is a a very good dog.

That praise also extends to this film’s villain, the High Evolutionary. He is one of the most-dateable characters in the entire MCU, and that’s a good thing. You want to see him taken down because he’s just that much of a psychopath. Not every villain needs to be super understandable, sometimes you just need someone completely evil.

I also think this film nails the tone it was going for. I really like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but there were times the movie felt too lighthearted for what was happening. Thankfully, that’s not a problem at all here. The dramatic moments feel appropriately tense while still leaving room for laughs when those moments arise.

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring praise to this movie’s soundtrack. As a huge fan of 80s music, the soundtracks of these movies (a.k.a the “Awesome Mix”) have always resonated with me. This movie has some great selections such as Rainbow’s “Since You Been Gone” and Heart’s “Crazy On You.” The use of Redbone’s “Come and Get You Love Now,” the intro song in the first Guardians movie, was also fantastic.

Negatives

Some of you may have noticed that I left out one major character when gushing about them earlier: Adam Warlock. For him being in the post-credits teaser of the last movie and having such a big role in the comics, it’s jarring to see him play such a small part and be more of a jokey character. I didn’t dislike him per say, but he felt somewhat unnecessary in the movie.

That’s especially true when the plot can sometimes feel a bit too crowded. There’s a lot of plot lines in this movie and some occasionally get lost in the shuffle. Adam Warlock’s lack of screen time is the most notable symptom of this, but there are a few others.

Verdict

In a time where the MCU desperately needed a big hit, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is just that. It’s not a perfect movie, but James Gunn delivers a great send-off for most of these characters and an emotional powerhouse. This is one of, if not the best Marvel movies since Avengers: Endgame and a must-see for comic-book movie fans.