THE GUARDIANS of the Galaxy square up for one more ride on the Bowie while kicking ass, blasting baddies, and dropping the very first F-bomb in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Peter Quill, A.K.A. Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), is still hung up on Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and is going through his marupok (simp) era. But when Rocket’s (Bradley Cooper) past comes back to haunt him, Peter must bring the band back and teams up with Drax (Dave Bautista), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), and Groot (Vin Diesel) once again to fight yet another megalomaniac ready to conquer the universe.
Will any of them survive this dangerous mission? Will Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 be the perfect finale to close the trilogy and reignite MCU’s Phase 5?

Guardians of the Galaxy cast’s chaotic chemistry puts the 'ship' in friendship
What would the GOTG movies be without its fair share of internal arguments, pranks-gone-wrong, and cringey conversations?
Across two movies and appearances in the two big Avengers movies, viewers are already familiar with the respective quirk of each Guardian. ButVol. 3 gets to have fun mixing up the character combos so that everyone has a chance to interact and annoy everyone else. Even Kraglin (Sean Gunn) and Cosmo the Space Dog (Maria Bakalova) have their funny moments. The quips and accidental innuendos (“Touch him and make him happy!”) will make you actually laugh out loud and not just type “LOL” with a deadpan expression.
But when they stop playing and start slaying, the battle sequence is pure poetry in motion. Special mention goes to the Orgocorp heist and the final team battle.
The drip was legendary in this space fantasy
Every GOTG film feels like watching a one long music video based on a sci-fi concept album — with technicolor swirls representing the vastness of space — and the third movie in particular goes all out.

The scene where the team goes exploring in color-coordinated gear was an inspired choice. GOTG maintains its campy, retrofuturist aesthetic, with production probably blowing a big chunk of its budget on alien prosthetics. There are also gross-out scenes that feature fleshy exteriors, pus, and open wounds in full detail that might trigger your gag reflex — unless you’re into that.
And as always, the Guardians soundtrack gets a big W for helping us rediscover classic bangers. (And by "classic", that means some choice cuts from the 2000s. Yep, we're old.)
Did Marvel get its groove back with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?
Another big goalpost for Vol. 3 is to make you cry as hard as you laugh. Rocket’s backstory is depressing AF (content warning: animal cruelty) and while the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) doesn’t look physically intimidating, this villain maxed out the emotional damage as a toxic and abusive parental figure.
This flashback-heavy backstory even explains Rocket’s behavior from as far back as the first film, where he kept shouting that he wasn’t a “monster.” *Cue waterworks*
This emotional send-off for the Guardians crew isn't guaranteed to save the MCU's entire Phase 5 (which kicked off with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania), but Vol. 3 definitely sets the bar high for Marvel’s future projects.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has everything we love about the GOTG movies, amplified to the nth level. The character development was always strong in this film franchise . In Vol. 1, the Guardians were constantly fighting each other but after all the crap they went through leading up to Vol. 3, they are now fighting for each other. When even Nebula joins the dance party, you know they’ve grown into a tight unit.
Because it’s space business as usual, you almost forget that it’s supposed to be their last film. The movie likes to constantly remind you that all bets are off and everyone is at risk, which increases the anxiety with every possible threat heading their way. Emotionally charged moments will also turn you into a blubbering mess. (There are never too many slow-motion walking scenes!)
The final Guardians film captures the bittersweet feeling of letting go and provides a satisfying conclusion for each character before peacing out — including the director, James Gunn — while still leaving things open-ended enough to be revisited in the future. Even with a runtime that’s almost three hours, as with every heartbreaking farewell, you’re desperate to spend just a bit more time together and you’ll be stuck in your seat as the credits roll. (Which is good because there are two post-credit scenes!)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now showing in cinemas nationwide.
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