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Bringing the Guardians of the Galaxy into the MCU series, then ten films in, was a long shot. It had just been the key Avengers up until that point, who were outlandish for sure but all still relatively grounded. Then they brought in this group that comprised of various aliens, including a living tree and a talking raccoon. Now though, thirty two films in, they have become a bit of a mainstay and crucially it is the rest of the series that has changed to accommodate them and not the other way around. This gang have become central to this ongoing narrative but have lost none of their idiosyncrasy or surrealism. It’s not all been a total success though; across the seven films they’ve now appeared in there have been highs and lows. Their first movie remains one of the best in the whole series but their second is one of the worst and with Infinity War and Endgame, Thor: Love & Thunder and their own Disney+ Christmas Special, they have continued to slide up and down the quality scale touching every point In between.

What has remained constant throughout though is something that used to be the focus of every MCU film but might have fallen away a bit recently, and that’s great characterisation. This was all Vol. 2 had and it wasn’t enough to carry the stupid plot and misjudged jokes but the way these players interact with one another, and everything else, has always been a joy. They have also gone through great arcs and personality development while still being true to themselves.

This last Guardians of the Galaxy film builds on this more than ever and where these heroes are now is a long way from where they started. We can easily see how they got here though. The balance is probably most finely met with Nebula who was a villain in (most of) two (or three) of the previous films but is now as a brave and selfless a protector as the rest of them. She is still the brash cyborg we know but with a believable heart and real integrity and yet it all feels in keeping with the way she was originally presented. Drax as well has an important aspect added to his personality here, that is both new yet also something that has been there all along. Groot continues to grow in interesting ways as well.

What writer/director James Gunn manages to do really well is give all of the eight main characters decent screen time and development, while still properly introducing some new people (and a dog) to the mix. This is certainly Rocket’s film more than anyone’s, his back story is a parallel narrative that runs throughout the whole film, but this is still an effective ensemble piece and I can’t think of another example where the director so clearly loves his characters as much as Gunn does with these A-holes.

With all this to juggle the danger was that it would get messy again, like last time. The good news is that it doesn’t. It might be a bit scrappy but this is a really strong conclusion to this chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There is a strong contrast of tone between the Rocket flashbacks and the main mission but the clear devision between these distinct parts of the film means this works. The free ranging irreverent humour typical of the Guardians is there in this latter element and while some jokes don’t land it is overall a very funny movie. It also has the MCU’s first F-bomb and actually the way this is dropped is more amusing for small moments it is a part of.

In terms of the plot, it is actually a smaller quest they are involved in this time, but one that still feels quite epic. Essentially they are out to guard one person more than the Galaxy as a whole, and in fact do fail stop the odd genocide here and there, but this slightly amoral approach to some life is typical to these films. In the end I guess they need to look out for their friends, particularly as most of these dramatis personae were initially defined as not having any. The key bad guy is not one for the ages but he serves this movie well. More interesting is his henchman Adam Warlock, who is a big part of the comics but is treated in a way here that the diehard Marvel fans may appreciate about as much as they did Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin. Adam has the potential to become what he is on the page but he’s not there yet and is more engaging for it.

I am not sure the extent to which you need to already be invested in the Guardians of the Galaxy to get the most from this film, I don’t think this is a movie for total newbies but I am sure most people in the cinema would have seen them before in one film or another so that’s okay. This isn’t all quite the emotional rollercoaster some of the marketing promised but there is tragedy among the comedy and the balance is well handled. It seems that there are a couple of ideas they’d taken from Pixar (you’ll know them when you see them but I can tell you that the movies in question are Toy Story and Up) but actually I find that this is more and more common as a regular filmgoer – see also Dungeons & Dragons, Gravity and Everything Everywhere All At Once, so we’ll go with it. The movie is two and a half hours long which is undoubtedly more than it needs to be, but it is all very engaging and entertaining and an appropriate end to one thread in the MCU, as much as any thread in the MCU ever actually ends.

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The Ripley Factor:

The original Guardians of the Galaxy line up was four males and one female but now it has been extended to five and three (four including the dog). The main women continue to stand out and there are several others who hold their own and add to the narrative as well, including several from Gunn’s Suicide Squad most notable of which is Daniela Melchior as Ura. Nebula and Mantis are arguably now the MVPs here and both are strong, capable and utterly utterly unobjectified, which in superhero movies is still fairly rare (just look at Supergirl in the new The Flash trailer). Gamora, who when we first met her was probably the MCU’s best female character, is a little sidelined now but that can happen when you die so we won’t raise any feminist objections over this. Hers is probably the most respectful fridging in modern cinema.