A month has passed since the release of James Gunn’s latest movie in the Marvel Cinemative Universe, but its status as the top film since Phase 4’s start remains unchanged.  Quantumania and Vol. 3 both kicked off Phase 5 with the conclusions to beloved trilogies in the MCU; one ending subpar, the other exceptional. From its must-see villain, to its suprisingly heartbreaking character arcs, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 wrapped up one of the better experiences Marvel moviegoers have seen in the 9 years that the Guardians films have existed.

To summarize and not to spoil, the plot largely revolves around Rocket, voiced by Bradley Cooper, and his past. While on Knowhere, Adam Warlock — played by Will Poulter — from the first movie’s post-credits scene crashes right into the Guardians’ home, and takes them on one-by-one. Eventually, Karen Gillan as Nebula takes care of the threat, but not without Rocket being seriously injured. The gang tries to save him, but there’s something in his body interrupting the medical care. The dominoes fall, and our cast discovers Rocket’s origin with the creepy main villain of the movie: the High Evolutionary, played by Chukwudi Iwuji. The Guardians embark on a journey to find what they need to save Rocket, until their ship is boarded by the revived Gamora (Zoë Saldaña) and the space-faring theives, smugglers and mercenaries from way back, the Ravagers.

From there, the movie only goes uphill. The highlights are plentiful. Rocket’s backstory is rough, but it makes for a great character as his arc concludes and he discovers who he really is. The High Evolutionary is ludicrously entertaining, and in my completely unbiased opinion, makes for a much better villain than Kang the Conqueror, the antagonist of Quantumania and the planned Big Bad of the MCU after Thanos’ reign. The Guardians we’ve come to love reprise their roles; Chriss Pratt as Peter Quill, Dave Bautista as Drax, Pom Klementiff as Mantis, and all aforementioned Guardian actors. Regardless, the biggest takeaway we can learn from this movie is that we need to see more of Cosmo the Space Dog in the MCU. She is possibly the most entertaining character in the film.

The movies takes as many twists and turns as any other, even if it is a conclusion to the story of the Guardians (or at least, most of them.) It’s safe to say that any spin-offs will be a long time coming, as Vol. 3 is James Gunn’s final Marvel movie for the timebeing until he’s done overhauling the DCEU; something he’s already made progress on with his stellar The Suicide Squad movie and Peacemaker show. Fans will have to wait for the answer to the elusive:
THE LEGENDARY STAR-LORD WILL RETURN