When Guardians of the Galaxy came out in 2014, I didn't know a single person who knew who they were. No one knew who Starlord was, Gamora, Drax, Groot, Rocket Raccoon, none of them. It was one of the only times I walked into a theater for an MCU movie and thought, “Why am I here? I don't care about these characters at all.” Ironically, the other instance of this thought was before watching Captain America: The First Avenger. Luckily, I was very wrong on both occasions. What James Gunn did with the first Guardians movie was nothing short of a small miracle. The Guardians of the Galaxy were a middling hero team devised in the late 60s. One that, as I mentioned before, never really reached any amount of wide acclaim. When the team was rebooted in 2008, with the members seen in the movie that would come six years later, still its readership remained low. In May of 2023, the names Starlord, Gamora, Rocket, Groot, Drax, and Nebula are household names.

Guardians of the Galaxy, as an MCU team, is unique. Preceding the now-inbound Thunderbolts, the Guardians are the closest thing to DC’s Suicide Squad. Though the Guardians aren't ostensibly villains, nor are they part of a government initiative to leverage villains into doing good things by holding a proverbial gun to their head, the Guardians of the Galaxy are all misfits and ne’er-do-wells. Peter Quill being a thief, Rocket an arms dealer, Groot being Rocket’s muscle, Gamora is essentially an assassin, and Drax is called The Destroyer. They are all bad people to differing degrees. So what James Gunn had to do with the first film was two or threefold: He had to introduce us to who these people were, convince us we should care about what they do, and then make us care about them both individually and as a group. To this day, the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie is one of the closest things to a perfect execution in establishing a relationship with unknown characters.

Now, nearly ten years later, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 seeks to remind us why we cared, show us we were right to care, and make us root for our beloved misfits one last time. Ya’ll…it fucking rules.

It’s been a while since we last saw The Guardians. We saw them off in Endgame, traveling with a disheveled and melancholic Thor, and then in Thor: Love and Thunder we saw them unload the God of Thunder, moving on to do their own thing. When the Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Special came out Thanksgiving weekend last year, we got to see Knowhere (the Guardians’ base) rebuilt, and the introduction of Cosmo the Space Dog. We also fully establish that Starlord isn't doing well with the death/return/departure of Gamora. Guardians Vol. 3 picks up from there. Starlord is out of it, drinking himself into a stupor, the rest of the team is just kind of milling about in Knowhere, and the mood is pretty stale. Enter one of Marvel’s most powerful and heroes Adam Warlock, only the Warlock is here not to help, but as a repo man for the fabled High Evolutionary, the madman who turned Rocket into the creature he is today. This initial and shocking attack sends the guardians on a quest to save the life of a mortally wounded member. It’s a race against the clock film, with a little globetrotting heist film stirred in.

Along this journey we are served up dollops of emotion. The film is framed around flashbacks illuminating Rocket’s journey under the knife and eye of the High Evolutionary. A villain portrayed brilliantly by Chukwudi Iwuji, and a villain that outshines so many villains in the MCU purely because of his acting. The High Evolutionary is a despicable, maniacal, monster of a man and each moment he is on screen your skin crawls. Truly, everyone in this movie is acting their whole asses off. Each performance is nuanced and intense, emotional and gripping. ITs something only a movie following two parts, like this one, can pull off. We all know everyone so deeply, we’ve grown to love them all, grown to admire their found family. So when this family of weirdos is put to a real test, one that threatens all of their lives in ways we haven't seen before, what comes through the cracks is this pure and natural love and passion. It works like glue throughout the film, like connective tissue, pulling each little bit you’ve ever remembered about this rag-tag team and placing it neatly in order for you to experience again.

Rocket and Groot share their dynamic in new ways, Starlord and Gomora have some truly dynamite scenes navigating their new and nonexistent relationship, Mantis remains one of the best additions to the team as she and Drax foil each other, and Karen Gillan’s Nebula is a tremendous stand-in for the Gamora we lost in Infinity War. But this movie isn't merely old bits. It’s reimagined bits, moments illustrative of the ways family evolves and adapts. As you are recognizing the way these people interact with each other, you are also recognizing that the first time we met them, none of them would have been willing to do this. This Guardians of the Galaxy is stronger, closer, and emotionally available to each other in was the previous movies simply couldn't convincingly do with everyone. Furthermore we get more Kraglin and we get Cosmo. The Guardians of the Galaxy has changed so much in the comics over the years it begins to feel like dozens of heroes have claimed membership. In the hands of a lesser director and writer this can be a pitfall that lends to shallow writing and skin-deep characters. In James Gunn’s hands instead it lends to this tone of acceptance and love, resolute with making it clear: all types are welcome here, strange and broken as you may be. It’s downright endearing, and such a refreshing take in a world far too comfortable being unaccepting and cruel.

James Gunn’s delicately procured playlist of songs is present again in this film, and just like the films that precede it, each song fits and feels like it was meant for each moment it is played in. Perhaps as a result or side-effect, sometimes the film’s score feels a bit out of place, but I rarely caught myself caring so much it interrupted my enjoyment of what I was watching. Perhaps because what you will be watching throughout the film is pretty outstandingly composed. Action scenes are cooperative and hectic, without losing fidelity or readability. In-fact, most of the action is so well shot and choreographed it plays out like anime fights, dripping in style and out of the box angles. I deeply appreciated this simply because superhero flicks, especially those featuring folks with similar powersets or fighting styles, can start to feel less like composed orchestras and far more like pop singles. And while Guardians Vol. 3 has its pockets lined with singles from the 80s and 90s, the format doesn't permeate or seep into the action.

Also, for a movie in a freshly launched Phase 5 MCU, it feels like both the real and proper send off to Phase 4 and the best foot to start Phase 5 on. A dichotomy that is not easy to navigate and perhaps even harder to accomplish with a legible, parsable plot. We take everything we knew before and expand our knowledge, but we also wrap up our loose threads, tucking them into a neat-ish bow. In the process of doing this, James Gunn and his cast deliver what will end up being one of the more emotional Marvel movies released yet, content with plucking on heart strings like Redbone.

Ya’ll, it’s just such a good movie. They did all the work they needed to beforehand, allowing them the runway to gracefully land this deeply heartfelt trilogy in a way most other properties are unable to. There are dark moments and joyous moments, funny and sad, furious and tender, and all of it fits because we know who these people are and we know how they feel. It all feels just so deeply earned and earnest. It may be a lot to take in for young fans, but this trilogy is nearly a decade old now, those fans that were young in the first film are adults now, and as those fans aged with the Guardians, the Guardians came to them with more deep and pointed stories about loss, brokenness, and family. Messages that will stick with people for years.

If this truly marks the end of James Gunn’s involvement in the MCU then it is a masterful goodbye to some of the best characters in the whole MCU. If he decides to come back someday, well then I will be just as excited for whatever comes. But for now, go and see if the galaxy’s quirkiest band of misfits can worm their way into your emotions too. They sure found a way to pummel mine. In the best way.

@LubWub
~Caleb

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Marvel Studios, PG-13)