The interstellar gang is back in the third instalment of the hugely popular Marvel franchise, but it is the last movie featuring Peter Quill, a.k.a Star-Lord, Drax, and Mantis, as curtains ‘probably’ fall on the Guardians of the Galaxy series.

We have seen the ‘gang of misfits’ gel together to form one of the most hilarious groups of superheroes over the years, and this film proves to be the perfect finale. It is also director James Gunn’s final hurrah, who has moved on to reshape Marvel rivals’ DC Comics.

The story of GOTG 3 revolves around Rocket the Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), and Drax (Dave Bautista) have created a home on Knowhere and are living peacefully, until Raccoon is attacked for reasons unknown to them. The way the Guardians respond and stick together reminds us of the way we usually do at home, in difficult situations. Messing things up, not listening to orders, and trying to be funny.

Mind-controlling Mantis and the dumb Drax remind the viewers of an alien version of Laurel and Hardy until we see a different Drax, never experienced in the previous films. Nebula is as sensible as ever, but the still-grieving Star-Lord gets it all. Scenes between him and the time-displaced Gamora (Zoe Saldana) are sympathetic to the former, who has been unable to cope with the loss of the original Gamora in Avengers Endgame.

However, there are lots of flashbacks in GOTG 3, focusing on how a baby Raccoon ended up the way it is. As a young kit, Rocket falls into the hands of High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), a mad scientist with a God complex. He believes that a perfect society can be created by turning smart animals into perfect creatures and genetically tinkering with all kinds of beings — walruses, otters, orphan children. Whenever his plan for a utopia fails, he restarts the mission, killing all his creations. Like all Marvel villains, he doesn’t really think he’s bad but badly misunderstood.

The movie has got the regular flavour — bro-ish banter, mercenary violence, and multiple single-shot action sequences. One must watch the 150-minute film to know how Rocket got its name, what use would be of a small raccoon to a powerful bad guy, and how far the rest of the Guardians can go to help one of their own. The film brings the trilogy to a close with cameo appearances from many characters from the previous films, but the teamwork, friendship and love they shared, would always be there in the galaxy.

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 5th, 2023