James Gunn is one of those directors who can make indelibly satisfying mainstream movies in modern times. For making an audience follow five distinct members for almost nine years is incredibly impressive. Gunn’s perfectly-driven needle drops, intimate camaraderie, and uproarious banter are just the exquisite idiosyncrasies of what make the Guardians who they are.“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is an absolute celebration of the titular group and is definitely fitting to be their “Avengers: Endgame”. I find this film very hard to top as the most satisfying movie of the year.

We return to the Guardians’ main headquarters Knowhere, where an intoxicated-looking Peter Quill (played by Chris Pratt) is unmotivated for adventure. That is until he sees a masculine Adam Warlock (played by Will Poulter), part of the highly contemporary, genetically arranged galactic race, the Sovereign. His mission is to not just threaten their headquarters, but also send back Rocket Raccoon to the High Evolutionary (played by Chukwudi Iwuji). In his ravaging rampage, he outdoes the Guardians and ends up wounding Rocket Raccoon.

It turns out that Adam Warlock is not as villainous as he appears to be because he was taken out of his Sovereign cocoon a bit too early. This is where the main story comes to play where the Guardians save Rocket Raccoon the greatest they can. Throughout the film, Rocket starts to remember his brutal past when he was experimented by the High Evolutionary. In his past, he bonded with the Evolutionary’s other test subjects; the compassionate otter Lylla, the wacky walrus Teefs, and the robotic spider rabbit Floor.

Throughout the film, each character gets their focus. There is Peter Quill’s romantic relationship with Gamora (played by Zoe Saldaña). Drax, Mantis, and Nebula are on a mission to save hundreds of humanoid children, whom are bound to be captured by the High Evolutionary. Groot is basically being Groot. However, the main focus of it is on Rocket Raccoon. It is not just about the Guardians saving a wounded Rocket Raccoon, but also knowing the grim origins of where Rocket came from.

From his origins with the High Evolutionary to his friendship with his wildlife experiments, this is the most complex Rocket has ever been in not just Gunn’s trilogy, but also the entire MCU as we know it.

We all jaw-dropped our mouths when Disney fired James Gunn when he made vile comments that did not please the House of Mouse well. The fact that James Gunn got rehired by Disney (and apologized for his comments) is just an absolute miracle because no one can energize “Guardians of the Galaxy” like James Gunn. Out of all of the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Guardians have the most creative qualities in the franchise. The fact that he incorporates little to no references in the saga makes them great stand-alone films.

Unlike a finale such as “Jurassic World: Dominion”, James Gunn elevates almost every single aspect that we love from the first two movies where he accelerates them as intense as possible. Simply put it, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is a perfect example of how to do an excellent finale right.

James Gunn has a great identification on how to pick songs at the right moment. In this third installment, Gunn uses a much more diverse selection of music where he dives into ’90’s-Y2K alt-rock like The Flaming Lips and Spacehog and contemporary indie rock like Florence + the Machine and The Mowgli’s. The best needle drop in the entire film is when Gunn uses Florence’s “Dog Days Are Over” in a certain scene. It could very well be the best scene of the year so far.

Chris Pratt once again as Star-Lord proves that he works best with either James Gunn or Lord and Miller. His dramatic and comedic chops are absolutely on point in this. Not to spoil anything, but he learns more life lessons in “Vol. 3” than in the previous films. Chukwudi Iwuji is an absolute power house as the High Evolutionary, a ruthless villain who poses as an intimidating threat to Rocket’s life. Will Poulter does have fun with his role as Adam Warlock, a youthful version of the character who claims he loves the Adrian Belew-era of King Crimson.

The humor in this film is absolutely bonkers in this. There is a scene involving Star-Lord poking fun at Nebula’s eyes. Star-Lord awkwardly replies to Nebula, “She picked a pretty set.” Dave Bautista’s final performance as Drax the Destroyer is easily be his funniest performance to date. His stand-out moments like explaining metaphors to Peter Quill and interacting with humanoid children are just solid gold.

The best performance in this film is Bradley Cooper’s bravura motion-capture performance as Rocket Raccoon. The best aspect of him in “Vol. 3” is that even if he went through tumultuous times, he still carries so much strength to fight the demon who tormented him. James Gunn stated that Rocket Raccoon was the character that he connected to the most throughout the franchise.

Some gripes with this film is that it can run into over-sentimentality and the action-packed third act can stride a bit too long.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is what perfectly sums up James Gunn’s goals of this movie; to tell a story about compassion and empathy.

Grade: 9/10