After launching the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, filmmaker James Gunn returns to the franchise to wrap up his trilogy of space-based superheroes with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Infamously, there was a time when it seemed Gunn wouldn’t be the director in charge of giving the Guardians of the Galaxy team their sendoff, since the filmmaker was fired from the project in 2018. However, he was re-hired by Disney and was able to complete the story he started back in 2014. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 mixes Gunn’s usual wacky action and laugh-out-loud humor with a grounded, emotional story to create something special.

In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Rocket Raccoon’s (Bradley Cooper) past catches up with him, and he’s being hunted by the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), a would-be god who created Rocket. When Rocket is injured, it’s up to his closest friends — Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Groot (Vin Diesel) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) — to save him. They’ll need the help of Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), who’s made a new life with the Ravagers, especially since Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) is making their mission more difficult. As the Guardians race to save Rocket and take down the High Evolutionary, it remains to be seen if they’ll all make it out in one piece.

Ever since the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, Gunn’s fingerprints have been all over these movies. In a franchise that has faced criticisms over how similar its movies can look or how often they recycle the same basic origin story plot, the Guardians of the Galaxy films have always felt like a breath of fresh air. It’s something the MCU is in dire need of at this particular moment. And Gunn delivers exactly that. The film strikes the right balance — it works perfectly within both the Guardians series and the MCU overall. The threequel is much darker than previous installments, but balances its tragedy with Gunn’s natural levity without overdoing it. The result is a triumphant finale, not just for the Guardians, but for Gunn’s time with Marvel.

For the actors, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 marks as much an ending of their time in the MCU as Gunn, and they ensure the writer-director’s story is brought to life with as much emotion as possible. Both Cooper and Sean Gunn, who voices young Rocket, are standouts, largely because they get some of the most emotionally resonant scenes to work with. Pratt as the ostensible lead of the franchise is good, with his particular charm buoyed by Gunn’s script. The other actors — Gillan, Bautista, Klementieff, Saldaña and Diesel — are strong in their own right as well, and Poulter turns in a remarkably charming performance as newbie Adam Warlock, though the character is undoubtedly underserved in a movie more concerned with its main characters. Iwuji is also perhaps the strongest of the Guardians movie villains, turning in a multifaceted performance as the High Evolutionary. The cast and their dynamics together are what made these movies so much fun to watch, and they don’t disappoint in the trilogy capper.

Beyond the story and the performances, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s greatest accomplishment is showcasing how Gunn’s filmmaking has evolved and matured since the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie nearly a decade ago. This is evident in many aspects of the film, from the way Drax has evolved from a character who punches down on the female characters (calling Gamora a “whore” in the first film and making fun of Mantis in the second), to the implementation of music in Vol. 3. Music has always been a big part of the series, but it’s woven so much more seamlessly into the third movie and carries more weight, setting the tone of each scene phenomenally well. The film is also more visually interesting, with Gunn experimenting in the way scenes are shot and getting weird with it in a really fun way. It’s exciting to see how far the filmmaker has come, and to see where he goes next.

Ultimately, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the weirdest, grimmest, most emotional entry in Gunn’s MCU franchise, but it’s also the strongest. As such, it’s an absolute must-see for those who have followed these characters’ stories over the past decade, as well as for casual Marvel fans. It’s perhaps not the movie you may be expecting, but it’s a largely satisfying ending for this particular iteration of the team — even if, in a franchise like the MCU where there’s no real endpoint in sight, there isn’t a sense of true finality. Still, it’s a blockbuster that is perfectly suited to its time, and offers a much-needed win for the MCU. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the perfect ending to Gunn’s MCU trilogy while still leaving the door open for more to come.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 starts playing in U.S. theaters on Thursday evening, May 4. It is 150 minutes long and rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, strong language, suggestive/drug references and thematic elements.

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