Plot Summary – Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Peter Quill must rally his team to defend the universe and protect one of their own. If the mission is not completely successful, it could possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.

★★★★½ 

Watched 04 May 2023

Everytime I feel like I’m about to give up on the MCU, they pull me back in. After Quantumania, I was OUT. I couldn’t believe the lows that Marvel had stooped to, but James Gunn is so good at making you care. The decision to make this movie about Rocket was genius. Star-lord and Chris Pratt had begun to lose their charm and he was getting less and less likeable every time he appeared on screen, so shifting the focus from him and fleshing out the other characters was a masterstroke in bringing the emotional investment back in this series. That wouldn’t be enough if it hadn’t been carried by some really excellent action. After so long, the action in an MCU film felt creative and unique. Each character’s skillsets were used to their advantage and it made for such enjoyable fight scenes for the first time since No Way Home. This movie hits all the right beats and has one of the best emotional climaxes I’ve seen in a Marvel movie. Each character, even the ones who seem like they wouldn’t have much relevance gets their chance to shine in this movie. Usually, I feel like the villains are weak in the MCU, especially post-Endgame, but I thought that the villain of this movie was emotionally complex, and even though his motivations and plan weren’t as genius as Killmonger or Thanos, he felt emotionally and thematically opposed to the protagonists. There was a minor cop-out at the end of the movie, which I felt like if they had committed to, I would have enjoyed this movie even more. That being said, this is one of the best Marvel movies since Endgame and it left me slightly optimistic about the future of Marvel and of DC since such an intelligent person is taking over there coming off of this movie. A fitting and wonderful conclusion to the Guardians trilogy and a strong recommendation from me, especially for fans of the franchise!