DISCLAIMER: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!! & TRIGGER WARNING!!

Please DO NOT continue reading this article if you intend on seeing this movie since it does contain MAJOR Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 spoilers (originally released exclusively in theaters on May 5th, 2023). 

Please be aware that this article covers topics of animal cruelty as that is shown and expressed in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. It places a crucial part of the film and Rocket’s origin story but is explicitly shown and not intended for young viewers. Please be advised!!

“We’ll all fly away together. Into the forever…and beautiful sky.”

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Review (covered by Val Kohan)

James Gunn had one more, with feeling. Was Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 the perfect ending to an ideal trilogy?? Personally, the closing on this chapter of the Guardians felt flawless. There are only three words to describe Guardians 3; Tragedy. Heartbreak. Emotional. 

The film is tragic, heartbreaking, and emotional due to the flashbacks of Rocket’s origins. Any scene really that includes Rocket was depressing. 

One scene everyone seems to be talking about is when Rocket says, “The name’s Rocket. Rocket Raccoon!!” This is the first time Rocket calls himself a raccoon. Don’t get me wrong, this is a great scene for Rocket’s arc. But the part I found more pivotal was when Rocket saw the cage of raccoons and then the camera focused in on the tag that read, “raccoons”. Rocket had the realization that he is a raccoon, which is a complete shift from when we first saw in Guardians of the Galaxy back in 2014. If fans don’t recall from the first movie, he says, “Ain’t no thing like me, ‘cept me!!” Rocket had this full circle moment, that he doesn’t only realize what he is but accepts the fact that he is a raccoon. Rocket Raccoon. 

A scene all fans should re-watch after seeing Guardians 3 is from the first Guardians when Rocket drunkenly says, “I didn’t ask to get made!! I didn’t ask to be torn apart and put back together over and over, turned into some… some little monster…” Peter then replies, “Rocket, no one’s calling you a monster…” Rocket painfully says, “He [Drax] called me vermin!! She [Gamora] called me rodent!!” 

One of the only bearable yet depressing flashbacks with Rocket is when he and all his friends name themselves. It’s so pure, just for them to rip your heart out and stomp all over it!! Floor the Rabbit was the most precious and naive one of the creations… You can bet your bottom that I’m holding a serious grudge on High Evolutionary. 

Besides crying your eyes out over Rocket, the soundtrack made the movie enjoyable. 

“Dog Days Are Over” by Florence + the Machine perfectly transcribed the ending, the Guardians as we know it are over. But it doesn’t mean it’s completely over, new Guardians are assembled (as seen in the post-credit scene). When Rocket decided to play a new song from the 2000s on Peter’s playlist just proves yet again that it’s the end of an era. Mentioned above Rocket is finally the Captain of the Guardians as he’s forming a new team to defend the galaxy. 2012 Gamora is returning to her true family; the Ravagers. Drax and Nebula are going to take care of all of High Evolutionary’s kid experiments. Mantis is heading off on her own adventures with her three new tentacle friends, she befriended on High Evoluiontary’s ship. Finally, Peter returns to Earth and reunites with his grandfather he hasn’t seen since the 1980s, the night his mom died when he was abducted by Ravagers. 

I loved at the end when Nebula and Drax were dancing. It reminded me of Dave Bautista’s film, My Spy. Dare I say that “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” at the end of the first Guardians is just as emotional as “Dog Days Are Over”. I loved how Guardians of the Galaxy ended. “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” was perfectly used with having Peter open his present from his mom after all these years just for it to be addressed to her precious Star-Lord. But especially how the camera cuts from Peter during Marvin Gaye’s part and then to Gamora during Tammi Terrell’s. But “Dog Days Are Over” felt more final, since this is the last ride. 

“Do You Realize??” by The Flaming Lips was used in the scene when all the Guardians are in the multiple color space suits. “Do you realize?? We’re floating in space??” During this scene and exact moment in the film, the Guardians are actually floating in space. But this song makes perfect sense in the context of Rocket’s story. “Do you realize?? That everyone you know someday will die??” This, of course, is a nod to Floor, Teefs, and Lylla. Someone pointed out that Rocket’s obsession with collecting mechanical limbs from the prior films is probably a way to remember his friends. Which is highly depressing… “Do you realize?? We’re floating in space??” Once again, this can relate to Rocket when he says, “We’ll all fly away together… one last time… into the forever and beautiful sky.” One of the last lyrics from the song that resonates with Rocket is, “And instead of saying all of your goodbyes. Let them know you realize that life goes fast. It’s hard to make the good things last.” This specific quote just explains how important the Guardians are to Rocket. He found his family after so much heartache and pain. 

The scene with “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” by Beastie Boys was hilarious!! Especially Gamora’s reaction. Slow motion hero walks are some of the best shots but Gamora breaking the fourth wall the way she did was such a James Gunn thing to do. 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 had a first for Marvel. It was the first Marvel movie to take advantage of its PG-13 rating and add the eff word. When trying to get to High Evoluinary’s headquarters, Peter, Nebula, and Groot’s get-away car is giving Nebula a bit of an issue to open the door. Trying to help out since Peter is the only one from Earth, he says, “Push it down.” Nebula, being stubborn, says, “I am pushing down on it.” “Push the button. It looks like you’re pushing the keyhole.” “The what?!” “There’s a button under the handle. Press that in!!” “Okay… Now what??” Losing his patience, Peter says, “Open the f—ing door!!” James Gunn actually announced that this was not in the script and that he and Chris Pratt decided to change that on a whim on the day of shooting.

Michael Rooker returned one final time as everyone’s favorite Ravager… Yondu’s cameo was just one of the many emotional scenes in this film. This scene was just so moving. Yondu, which was a figment of Kraglin’s imagination, is pointing to his heart. Which is a callback to Guardians 2 when Yondu says, “I don’t use my head to fly the arrow, boy!! I use my heart.” This is exactly how Kraglin finally learns to use the arrow, with his heart. Fans suspected Michael Rooker would have a small cameo since he is such great friends with director Gunn. But the scene was still surprising and emotional. 

There was a slight nod to Michelangelo’s Fresco painting; The Creation of Adam. There was a recreation of the painting between Peter and Adam, which was flawless. 

Adam Warlock was an interesting character that I don’t think many people understood. Personally, I loved him and Will Poulter’s portrayal of the character. Adam himself is mentally immature, Ayesha even says in the movie that High Evolutionary took him out of his cocoon too early, hence why he is not grown to full capacity.  

The hall fight sequence at the end of the film was one of the greatest ones yet in the MCU. Between all the Guardians wearing their matching, comic accurate, Guardian suits and everyone working together, fighting side by side shows the unity of the team. 

Something that has gone past many fans’ heads is Nebula and Rocket’s relationship that has grown thanks to Endgame due to The Blip. They were the only two Guardians that survived which made their bond stronger. One scene in particular in Guardians 3 that shows their new found bond is when Peter resuscitated Rocket and the first thing he asks is about Nebula. 

Gamora was never really my favorite Guardian but I loved how her and Nebula’s roles were reversed in Guardians 3. Gamora was a stone cold killer, as she is part of the Ravagers now, where Nebula is the more humane, level headed, hero (kind of). She’s still a bit sadistic as Tony said in Endgame, “… the blue meanie back there. Oh, you would love her. Very practical. Only a tiny bit sadistic.” But Nebula truly had one of the best redemptions in the MCU. 

Peter and Gamora’s goodbye at the end is up there with the “I love you, 3000” (Tony Stark from Avengers: Endgame) and “I love you in every universe” (Doctor Strange from Multiverse of Madness). Gamora says with her back turned from Peter, “I bet we were fun.” Peter says with his back to Gamora, not even looking at her, “You wouldn’t believe it.” Painstakingly, they part ways from each other because that’s not his Gamora and the Guardians aren’t her family. 

Fans finally understand Groot!! Throughout the entire film Gamora was the only character who hears, “I am Groot”. Where the rest of the team understands him, and now the same goes for audiences. It isn’t until the end of the film when fans hear Groot say, “I love you guys.” After twelve years, fans finally get to understand what Groot has been saying. 

Though this film was a complete and comprehensive masterpiece, full of heartache, action pact sequences, comedy, and just the theme of found family. I would rate Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 a 9/10. I only give it a point off due to the animal cruelty shown in the movie. I understand it was crucial to the story, Rocket’s arch, and the villain’s plot, but all of the scenes showing Rocket’s origins were beyond heart wrenching. I could not handle that animals were being brutally tested on or that Rocket’s first words were “hurts”, but especially Lylla’s death. When Lylla first gets shot and Rocket just stands there in shock and screams agonizingly. All while Floor just keeps repeating, “ Rocket, Reefs, Floor go now”, over and over again… It all goes silent after Rocket steals High Evolutionary’s gun to fend off the guards. It isn’t until Rocket shoots both of them does he realize that the guards shot Teefs and Floor… It is completely disgusting that they showed all three of their lifeless bodies dead on the floor… 

After the end credit scene for the screen only to say, “Legendary Star-Lord Will Return”, was like a knife through my heart. Though they finally called him by his true comic name (same with Drax and Rocket in the movie), for it only to have Peter returning after the other two Guardians films said the Guardians as a team will return just proves it’s the end of the line. 

Peter always wanted to be some galaxy known hero, so of course he’d “sacrifice” himself in some way. Guardians 3 just proved him to be the “Legendary Star-Lord”. 

Even though my favorite band of misfits will never be the same again, there’s one thing for certain; We Are Groot!!