I've liked the "Guardians of the Galaxy" films less than most MCU fans, though I still find them pretty enjoyable. I think I've figured out why that is. Though I like the individual characters, the "Guardians" stories up until this point have always been centered around Chris Pratt's Star-Lord. It turns out the proceedings are vastly improved if you lean more on the ensemble, and shift the focus over to Nebula or Drax or the Guardian who has been largely confined to grumpy comic relief up until this point - Rocket Raccoon.
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is really Rocket's movie. He's injured early in the film and spends most of it comatose, but extended flashback sequences show us his horrible past as one of the experiments of the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), a cruel scientist who likes playing God. The High Evolutionary has created and destroyed many species and whole civilizations, including the gold Sovereign people from the last "Guardians" movie. In a subplot, the Sovereign leader Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) has created a new superbeing, Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) to be the Guardians' newest enemy, but Adam has a lot of growing up to do. The High Evolutionary is the real big bad, and he wants Rocket back no matter what the cost.
The Guardians roster is mostly the same from the last "Avengers" movie, but Thor left to be in his own movies again, and the alternate version of Gamora has joined up with the Ravagers, leaving Star-Lord in a funk. Kraglin (Sean Gunn) is now a full member, and they also picked up a psychic Soviet cosmonaut dog, Cosmo (Maria Bakalova) somewhere around the "Guardians" holiday special. In their quest to save Rocket, the Guardians travel to some new places, including the headquarters of one of the High Evolutionary's companies, Orgocorp, which is made of entirely fleshy organic matter, and Counter-Earth, which is a copy of Earth inhabited by anthropomorphized animals.
Everything looks fantastic. I've always appreciated that the "Guardians" movies are willing to be more weird and cartoonish, letting the designs get really outlandish. We meet security guards dressed in armor that seems to be made of spongy flesh formations, and alien critters like the fuzzy Blurp and extremely toothy Abilisks. The High Evolutionary's experiments get grotesque to the point of being upsetting. In Rocket's flashbacks, there are a trio of other experiments who were Rocket's friends - an otter named Lylla (Linda Cardellini), a walrus named Teefs (Asim Chaudhry), and a rabbit named Floor (Mikaela Hoover), who have all been modified into cyborgs. Those who are sensitive to cruelty to animals should approach this movie with caution. All the "Guardians" have skewed more adult, but there's some serious nightmare fuel in this one.
Maybe that's why the rest of the film is generally more upbeat. Since this is James Gunn's last MCU outing for the foreseeable future, things come to a definite conclusion with a round of goodbyes. Several characters get to grow up a bit, and we get some nice resolutions to ongoing issues. I especially like how Nebula and Gamora were handled, and Star-Lord really does seem to work better as a supporting character. All the things you want from a summer blockbuster are here - big crazy action scenes, plenty of one-liners and banter, and spectacle that only a lot of expensive CGI could accomplish. However, it's also rewarding on an emotional level for fans who have stuck with these characters for the better part of a decade. Great hallway fight, but a crying Nebula just gets to me more.
Despite everything, the Guardians have grown on me. I'm sure that they'll be back in some form or another, but for now I'm glad that they got to go out on such a high note. This is the best MCU film we've had in a while, not just because it's another rare good ending, but because it's so committed to doing right by each and every one of its characters, from Rocket and Star-Lord to Adam Warlock. I understand why James Gunn was so keen on getting this movie made, and why Disney un-fired him to make it happen. This one was worth the wait.
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