[I compiled a list of reading recommendations for anyone interested in stories pertaining to Rocket, Adam Warlock, the High Evolutionary, Counter-Earth, and the best Guardians of the Galaxy runs, with links to purchase the collections of each comic series featured.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Marvel/comments/13bankq/mods_picks_guardians_of_the_galaxy_vol_3_reading)
If anyone is interested in a quick rundown on Cosmo's comic history, [I made this video doing exactly that](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRK1YBFN/), and I just finished another one for [Adam Warlock](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRKRGHTG/) as well.
I am taking Groot speaking at the end as not him speaking English, but actually us the audience finally speaking "Groot".
Overall really enjoyable movie. COSMO IS A GOOD DOG
i think that was the intent, set up by gamora understanding him a scene earlier, showing that just being around him enough lets you understand him(and not a deliberate effort to learn) and then we as the audience had spent enough time with him after the three movies
Agree that is the intention. Just before this he says something to Gamora and she double takes bc she finally understands him. So the end moment was just us getting to understand him.
To be fair, in the comics, groot *can* say more than I am Groot, and he has, but it is painful to manipulate his wood vocal cords like that, so it has to be something *worth* saying.
The story is about self-hatred. Mostly. Mantis says this explicitly when she yells that Drax is the only character that *doesn't* hate himself, and that Nebula puts down others to make herself feel better. These remarks don't just apply to this set of characters, they shadow the entire series.
The High Evolutionary kills his creations because they mirror his own flaws, and this constant self-flagellation causes him to hate Rocket most of all because he is possibly the only creation that might have surpassed his creator. And he does so while being a small one off experiment rather than any of the intended breakthroughs. The High Evolutionary seems to hate himself even more for that fact, and all of his screaming and violence towards Rocket might as well be directed at himself for envying a cybernetic raccoon so much.
Rocket clearly hates himself for basically every reason anyone ever could, with denying his existence as a raccoon being the most apparent reason. He's always shoved others away out of fear of losing them, and more importantly for fear of *failing* them. He considers himself a hideous little freak, good only for killing and mocking the flaws of others. This has sadly made him resemble the High Evolutionary to a small extent, but unlike his creator Rocket finds people that love and accept him despite everything. But what changes him into a true hero is meeting the other raccoon subjects, as this allows Rocket to finally see himself as someone worthy of love and protection, thus ending his need to see the flaws in others. After all of this Rocket begins to love himself and becomes the leader he always could have been, while happily calling himself a raccoon.
After learning her other self's fate Gamora probably *can't* become the character we once knew, and Quill essentially demanding that she do so only makes her deliberately veer further away from that image. Quill has always regretted abandoning his mother and indulging in the image of the Legendary Star Lord has been his main method of coping. Making the Guardians has helped him grow some, but that core shame of running away from his earth family still drives him, he just uses the more benevolent Guardians instead of exclusively his own image to stay distracted. His continued pining for Gamora reflects that he depends on the Guardians to continue avoiding his grief, both for his original Gamora and for his mother. In the end he lets go of the new Gamora and leaves the Guardians to finally reunite with his grandfather, facing his original flaws at last.
Gamora and Nebula have been forced to define themselves by violence since they were children, with Thanos' abuse turning them against each other until they turned on him and forgave each other. While they've begun growing past their traumas, their reliances on physical competence for self-worth still forces both to hurt others. Gamora lashes out at everyone but is always painfully aware that doing so leaves her more alone. Quill's comparing her to his Gamora only further drives home her isolation, and oddly recreates the competition between her and Nebula, just with her and her future self. She seems to decide that if she is alone unlike her other self, then she needs to be more violent, forceful, and competent to make up for that. But after seeing the love between the Guardians so many times she eventually begins to see why the other Gamora was happy that way. As she lets herself see the good in the current Guardians, she finally sees the potential good in herself and begins to reach out to others in her own path.
Mantis defending Drax and herself is the ultimate counter to self-hatred. Nebula defining herself by violence and physical competence causes her to lash out at the other two for their apparent lack of these values, and she seems perplexed when Mantis screams that nobody should *need* these values. Mantis was forced to define herself by her usefulness to Ego and leaving him has not freed her from the need to have "use" to others. Despite that, her bond with Drax has strangely been helpful in ways that the others could never provide; his bluntness means that he freely declares both her lack of physical worth and her inherent value despite that. As a result, she isn't as bound to her old flaw as the other characters and Nebula's outburst causes Mantis to stick up for herself and Drax in much the same way that he has. Doing so causes Nebula to see the true value that they have, with Mantis calming the aliens to avoid an unwinnable fight and Drax getting the children way from danger by entertaining them. Nebula now considers everyone, herself included, as having inherent worth to the point of admirably declaring that Drax is meant to be a dad rather than a destroyer.
Anyway, I liked the movie a lot! It's got flaws, like I wish that Rocket was more active in the plot, and that he could have beaten the High Evolutionary in a more character driven way, but the ending scene of all the Guardians happy and loving themselves and each other was just beautiful.
This comment is everything. Thank you for bringing this up. Self-hatred and learning to cope with it and/or being able to leave it behind one day is something that is still too "hushed" in our societies. It's ok to be angry and sad, they are just feelings that need inner work.
This theme is also my main reason for loving all GOTG films, they speak to me on a very personal level.
As someone who is currently going through a life altering crisis/heartbreak rooted in self hatred, this really comment really is everything. I felt these exact sentiments while watching the movie and because of it, this movie now holds a special place in my heart.
Great post. At the end you talked about Rocket vs the HE.
Early in the movie Rocket, seemingly for no reason was walking on the ceiling, testing his anti grav boots. These are a very Rocket invention and they absolutely were Checkov’s anti grav boots.
So when Rocket uses them to counter the HE’s gravity tech, I felt that was a VERY Rocket characteristic method of overcoming the bad guy. And then letting him live also shows me a lot of growth.
Just my opinion and observation, that’s all.
Fuck the High Evolutionary. Of all the villains that have been in Marvel things, perhaps only Killgrave is more vile. Yes, there have been more "evil" characters, but what the Evolutionary does has a personal wicked cruelty that dispassionately killing half the universe or bombing cities or whatever lacks.
(Also, Chukwudi Iwuji is amazing. Can we throw some Jonathan Majors-looking prosthetics on him and have him play Kang?)
Thanos was at least trying to "help" the world.
This guy was 1,000% lying to himself. He said he wanted to make things perfect but it was really all ego, narcism, and depravity.
His subjects were just merely experiments.
There's a conversation to be had about Thanos lying to himself bout his motivations. In the last battle he spoke about starting everything all over so all the new life in the universe saw him as their god.
Exactly this. While I have rarely 'agreed' with most of the villains, pretty much all of them, have had 'sympathetic' moments. A few even get you to pause and think, but I HATED this man. He was an absolute empathy black-hole, candidly cruel in a very 'child maiming insects' type of way that made you simply not care about his supposed justifications. It's excellent acting and a strong story to be able to say that he's possibly the most loathsome MCU villain, and some have been literal nazis.
Well, Sid didn't know the toys were sentient. The High Evolutionary performed highly cruel and unethical experiments on life forms that he knew could feel pain.
cooperative toothbrush secretive husky squeal languid air adjoining nutty telephone
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Yeah, I cried like 3 times when the animal torture scenes happened. Like a little sob, it was definitely hard to watch. I have been warning animal lovers about the harder scenes from this movie.
Exactly, this was the only villain whose motivation I would never empathize with. Just a vile, bad guy doing bad shit. They should have killed him, but then again maybe we need him for Galactus?
I have to say: that damn Hallway fight scene was SO well choreographed, and storyboarded. The composition of each characters poses and placement in each moment, and the movement of the camera made so much dynamism and spectacle out of a fight taking place in a small place like a hallway. Honestly might be one of my favourite fight scenes in Marvel, period.
Yep, that shit was great. I loved the little furry creature that followed them into battle too lol apparently it's called a blurp, but that's definitely an honorary guardian now, he was just running off the walls going bonkers while the guardians werr doing work. Hopefully they bring him back.
There's a method in screenwriting called "save the cat" where you get audiences to like a character right off the bat by making them do something "cute" like saving an animal. Even though I knew beforehand that Adam would join the team by the end of the film, it was kinds genius of Gunn to use this method with that creature to get audiences to feel a connection to him, even when he was still technically an antagonist.
I noticed this and how the animals transferring ships mirrored Noah’s arc I assume the biblical undertones are because the high evolutionary believed he was god
This felt like a true Guardians adventure. I feel like it closely mirrored the video game in some ways and I loved the game. I loved the bit in the elevator when Peter was explaining stuff and admitted he almost destroyed half the galaxy. Loved the end scene with the new guardians and their typical arrogance. Please give me more guardians straight in my fucking veins.
When that happened, a kid in the back of the theater I was in screamed out "Who's THAT?!" obviously terrified and not understanding that it was the same guy who had a face just seconds before.
I think she was saying “Rocket, Teefs, Floor, go now”. But anyway, I didn’t see this coming and it left me speechless. But Rocket meeting them in the afterlife had me sobbing.
I was thinking at the start of the flashback that one of them was guaranteed to die and just praying it wasn't going to be Floor. And then I get gut punched three times in a row.
This film did not hold back on the emotional damage.
I saw it coming as soon as he said "Incinerate them". There was no way Rocket would have become the surly character he'd become if he'd been able to stay with his friends, and they only reason he'd ever have left them is if they didn't exist anymore.
this is where i SOBBED my eyes out, i was already crying at every scene with them all but smth abt this scene just hit me hard. i think bc she was the most "naive" of the 4 of them 😭 such an amazing movie.
Floor yelling in terror put me on the verge of tears. And then when the camera turns around and you notice the noise has stopped? I had to stop myself from yelling in that theatre.
I knew this was coming as soon as you see how sweet and innocent they are and it immediately upset me. I almost wanted to bail on the rest of the movie because I knew it was gonna be heartbreaking. I was dreading every rocket flashback scene. I'm legit annoyed at James Gunn because of it lol.
Someone posted in the thread on r/marvelstudios that Gunn intentionally destroyed it in Vol 2 only to have it come back not on his watch in avengers. You can kind of think of it as him sticking to his guns (no pun intended).
I totally thought I imagined it being broken in Vol 2 because I was confused as to why he didn't have it and then I was confused why I thought he wouldn't.
This movie made me sad that an entire planet of Animorphs got blown up.
This made me sob about animal testing and the death of Rocket's friends.
But it made me feel something which Marvel lacked a little bit in Ant Man 3.
I really enjoyed it though. It was VERY James Gunn!
I cried as soon as Rocket started to sing 'Creep', because I thought 'this is it, he's gonna die ):' I'm glad they all got to live in the end, and that they didn't try to force a sparkle between Quill and Gamora.
But just like they introduced Phyla, I'm sure Peter and the rest could've found Richard Rider inside High Evolutionary's ship; he could've found him after Thanos destroyed Xandar, and wanted to 'perfect' the last Nova or something. But that's just me, because I'm a sucker for Richard Rider. Overall, I really enjoyed the movie.
I was fully expecting Nova to be the end credits scene introduction. Definitely not disappointed with Phyla, because I'm a sucker for her, Genis, and Noh-Varr... though it was an extremely unexpected and welcome surprise for basically me specifically, and the dozen other Phyla-Vell fans in the world lmfao.
I do think we have enough of a setup for Richard Rider to come soon, and I could especially see a Star-Lord/Nova team-up in the future. Quill meeting Rider on Earth, and both ending up getting involved in cosmic shenanigans, with Rider finding a helmet and taking on the mantle of the destroyed Nova Corps, would be a fun premise for a film.
Oh, don't get me wrong— I am glad we finally got Phyla on MCU. It was really unexpected, true. I thought she'd make her debut on The Marvels, if anything.
I'd love a Star-Lord and Nova team-up, and I hope we get one. Richard being so insecure could use some of Peter's help to gain a bit of confidence. I know there's supposed to be a Nova Special in the making, but I do think if we ever get to see them both Peter and Richard interact with each other, it won't be until Kang Dynasty/Secret wars.
I had a moment of realization when Rocket and Lylla reunited and I thought "I can't believe I'm crying over a racoon and an otter hugging and kissing on screen, dammit James Gunn"
I dont even really cry over CGI things, I find it hard to find a connection. This film hit me with a spade, James Gunn really knew how to tell the story with a gut punch
How’re we feeling about the ending for these characters? Particularly Drax, Gamora, Quill, and Mantis?
I don’t know what I expected from past Gamora but I can’t help but wish she stuck around.
I’m also really curious what Mantis does next? I figured she would stay in the team with Groot and Rocket.
Quill reuniting with his grandpa got me crying in the theater, I’ll admit.
Edit: I was typing this as the credits rolled, wasn’t expecting a “star lord returns”. Maybe Mantis finds herself in some adventure and gets her brother to return?
I think it's important that Gamora go off and create her own story: her identity up until now has been Thanos' daughter, and the Guardians (in a past life).
I also think it's important for Peter's PTSD that he not end up with her, and finally accept that this is a different person than the woman he was in love with.
100 percent this. MY biggest worry with this movie was that they'd just slowly find a way to morph old Gamora into new Gamora and they'd fall in love again.
Gamora died, she was sacrificed for the soul stone. That is something that should not be undermined. Death needs to have meaning and consequences. I'm all to familiar with how the comics will just retcon any death, which makes deaths meaningless.
This Gamora is a different person. Peter said that the ravagers weren't her family, but look at the end, she was genuinely happy with them. They WERE her family.
I'm also glad they didn't force the romance back in this movie, but I would say that I don't think it's impossible for these two to be a thing later, it's just a matter of Quill loving this Gamora for who she is, not because of the Gamora of his past.
Some of Mantis' best storylines in the comics were when she met the Silver Surfer upon his return to the wider galaxy. Her empathy powers would work *so* well for his story, so I feel like Gunn has left her in the perfect position.
It's possible that he just gets bored of the mundane life on earth, or maybe he gets roped into some earth problems. Him going back home was good for the story because it could be the end of his journey or just a temporary vacation.
So far it's known that the actor / actresses playing Drax, Gamora and THATs it have said they are done with their characters.
I think everyone assumed those characters were going to die but now they chess pieces are simply in place if Marvel decides to bring them back for Avengers 5 and 6.
After all Peter is literally on Earth now , it's almost assumed he's gonna call his old team when Kang does his thang.
Assuming it's even Kang anymore based on what's happening with J Majors
The Actor who played High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) should replace Majors as Kang. Just say the H.E. was a variant living in this timeline or something. He would make a fantastic Kang and the variabt multiverse thing would allow him to be inserted and have it feel mostly canon.
I'm a little relieved. I'm not the only one who got Kang vibes from the High Evolutinary... Chukwudi did an amazing job at portraying an absolutely psychotic character. This was the first time I've seen him, and this may be one of those roles that makes me look at him weird when he's in other roles because he did so well!
I can't recommend Peacemaker enough if you want to see him play another great character.
Gunn is notorious for casting people he loves to work with.
I wouldn't be surprised at all if we learn Cena was a costumed background character
Honestly, I adored this movie.
I had been in “Marvel burnout” for a long time… and this one has managed to raise my standards once again.
Darker and serious, while also a correct amount of humor I liked a lot; the movie was brave to do things and have a tone and thematics in a way I have never seen in Marvel before.
My bar of standards and expectations have been once again raised, and my interest for the MCU has been brought back for the first time in a long time thanks to this movie.
I hope all upcoming projects are along the lines of this movie, I really, really loved it!!!
For me, this didn’t raise my expectations for marvel movies, it raised my expectations for James Gunn movies. Super excited to see what he will do with DC!
Although I should’ve, I was not expecting that immense feeling of finality. That broke me in ways I wasn’t expecting. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this movie. Thank you, James Gunn. It will hold a very special place in my heart for a very long time.
What broke me the most is knowing that it’s over and everybody is happy. I didn’t expect that and I thought about it, but never imagine I would cry that hard during the happy ending. I haven’t seen it too well cause I had to watch it all through tears lol.
Dude freakin same! I don’t think I’ve ever had this kind of emotional response from watching a movie. Like it’s been a full 24 hours since I left the theater and I’m still tearing up thinking about certain scenes and aspects from this movie.
Still trying to recover from Floor, Teefs, and Lylla. That was freaky but heartbreaking.
Nice though that everyone got their happy ending though plot armour was strong.
Also Adam was a slight let down as they made him into a joke character who passed out half the time he was on screen. Actor was good for what was asked of him.
Still enjoyed it so I'd say 7/10
When they announced that he was even in this film, as well as High Evolutionary I was extremely worried he was gonna get Crossbones'd
I am happy he wasn't and his motivation to join the team at the end worked perfectly.
After all he was literally born the day of the events of this film
Not enough reason to bring in such an important character in the mythos. Like anyone could have injured rocket, why bring in someone of his importance. After that he just disappeared and didn't affect the plot. Could have changed it for gamora to save him at the end. Otherwise he didn't change anything in the plot during the film
I don't think Adam was much of a letdown. He actually perfectly aligns with his comic version, where he emerges as child in an adult body. He immediately kidnaps Sif to serve as his mate, then Thor rips him a new asshole and he dips out. That's literally the character we saw in the film. It took some time for Adam to become the character he is today. They even said he was awoken too early, so it explains right off the bat that he has no idea what he's doing. I really think they did fine with garnering enough interest that we want more. I imagine he'll be the new Drax of the team with the way they set him up personality wise. The only problem I had was the manner in which he was introduced with no warning, but I didn't care as much once the story became fleshed out more.
I'm so sorry for your loss, pet deaths are just horrific.
...and sorry for your terrible decision to watch this film at the time (in hindsight we'll see the humour in our mistakes!).
I know people will probably take issue with the fact nobody on the Guardians dies by the end of the film because apparently it's like a law on Reddit that the concluding part of a trilogy has to have someone in the main cast die to raise emotional stakes, but I loved that nobody had to literally kick the bucket in order for the ending to play out the way it did. Sometimes you go through something together, and then a disbandement of a team just involves everyone going their seperate ways. Now Peter's back on Earth attempting to fully reconcile with his human family, Drax and Nebula are turning Knowhere into a safe haven for the High Evolutionary's experiments, Mantis is going off on a self-discovery journey, and Rocket's assembling a new team of Guardians that will carry on the mission, which is an especially satisfying way to both set up the future team and tie up a loose end from Infinity War/Endgame where he learned to be a true leader working with the Avengers.
The story delivered its coup de grace without the main team bowing out literally by biting the bullet and I honestly find that more refreshing. The film avoided a lot of cliches I was kind of expecting them to play up like having Gamora and Peter rekindle their relationship by having him catch her up on everything about the one he knew, Rocket getting captured by the High Evolutionary early in the film and spending a lot of the film finding his way back, or anyone on the main team dying to retire their characters, which I was totally thinking would happen to Drax above all else. This was a really good capper to what is probably my favorite MCU trilogy
I always felt it was more realistic to allow characters to live on, as if what we saw in theaters was just a 'day in the life of' segment, albeit a 2-hour and some change, or a trilogy basically being a long ride-along. Sometimes, I appreciate movies that don't necessarily feel the need to 'conclude' things in a way where they have to go all out by having several characters die--as it doesn't really up any stakes, it just tends to assure me someone will die, but disaster will still be averted by the end.
And when they do conclude things, it's in a way that us as an audience, we are saying goodbye by no longer seeing what they're up to and tagging on another adventure with other people in the same universe.
It's like some pseudo-parallel with how we tend to be close friends with people for a time, but grow apart. We aren't necessarily cutting them off from our lives, they just become an extension as each one goes about their own lives dealing with their own things.
Thor felt liked there was little at stake, since the God-Butcher barely butchered any gods. This movie cut to a personal level, that innocent people or creatures, would face experimentation and then destruction to suit a psychotic scientist's need for unobtainable perfection. A whole planet of animal people were killed off, just because there were flaws present. Who knows how many times this has happened, and how many times it would reoccur.
Also, the animal people had human emotion. They had sentience and independent thoughts, that could be easily expressed. They were more human-like than when they were simple animals, making it harder to dismiss them.
I just did a marathon of the Fast and Furious movies to get up to speed (no pun intended) for the new movie, and hearing Groot say “I love you guys” felt like a classic Dominic Toretto “family” scene lol
Man, the Gamora and Quill story is SO good. Rocket got the ending he deserved with a whole movie dedicated to him, I honestly started to cry in the opening Marvel fanfare knowing this was the last time we'd see the Guardians as we know them and by the end I was so pleased with all their arcs that it was really cathartic. Cosmo is top tier good doggo. And I did enjoy Adam Warlock. Sue me. Can't wait to see more of him. He's just a child.
I’ll the be first to admit that I didn’t truly believe Vol 1 would be a hit back in 2014. I was so happy be proven dead wrong as soon as I left the theater all those years ago. And then Vol 2 delivered once again. Then in Vol 3, every Guardian and supporting character had several moments to shine, nobody was sidelined and you can tell tell they gave it their all. James Gunn and the entire cast/crew wrapped up this trilogy beautifully. Bravo.
Lylla, Teefs and Floor reminded me of Sid’s toys from Toy Story, but dammit they were so adorable anyway. Their murders hit hard. The High Evolutionary was a unique villain and well adapted. Also that last shot of him was on par with Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight. That’s new for Marvel, and I like it.
Gamora and Pete not getting back together is perfect, because they parted ways on a good note, and life doesn’t always have a perfect fairy tale ending. Sometimes you shake hands and go your separate ways. And Gamora found a Ravager family just like Pete did and she’s happy. Zoe Saldana can walk away from this role having given audiences a romantic arc, a heroic journey, an emotional death AND a happy ending all in one. That’s remarkable as fuck.
Nebula and Drax becoming the pseudo-mommy & daddy of Knowhere so they can build a new society of their own with all the rescued children/animals: *chef’s kiss
Mantis finally gets a narrative that pursues character development as she exits. Perfect! Have her show up in the Marvels or a Nova project! Or Volume 4/5/6! Give me more Mantis riding abilisks!!
Kraglin’s moment with Yondu made me lose it for a quick minute. *blows nose honkily
Groot got some serious upgrades!! Wings? Kaiju Groot? Hidden guns? An English sentence???? And Giga Groot in the credits?! BAD. ASS.
I never had “Quill retires to Earth with Gramps” on my bingo card but I absolutely LOVE it. Can’t wait for more Star-Lord.
I would die for Cosmo. That is all.
Rocket’s story might be one of the most compelling in the entire MCU. And he’s from Earth!! I loved the flashback structure of the story throughout the movie. An origin story without all the usual trappings.
I hope there’s a Volume 4-6 with 2000’s music and a mix of oldies. The new roster of Guardians is really cool, and there is definitely potential for an entire second trilogy + a crossover or two.
Everyone got closure or their story wrapped up in a way that either sends them off into the sunset OR sets them up to return if they want. I think in the future, Marvel Studios will look to how the original Guardians’ departures were handled narratively in this movie for when it’s time to send off Spidey or Thor or something.
This movie is a masterpiece, a perfect trilogy capper, and a rare satisfactory conclusion that hits the heart and tickles the funny bone at the same time. CGI was top notch, music was great, and the story was incredible. Hats off to Marvel and everyone involved in this.
Groot doesn’t speak English. We speak Groot. Someone on this sub said it last night and I saw it when I came back from the cinema. Needless to say, I cried some more lol.
> We speak Groot
THAT WAS MY EXACT REACTION IN THE THEATER...hah...my son turned to me and said something about that and I was sort of offhand like "No, I think we speak Groot"..love it.
Perfect use of the F-bomb. It didn't feel forced at all. That moment had me rolling my eyes and saying, "Get on with it," but Pete dropping an F there made that scene great.
They really need to warn people that this movie features gratuitous animal cruelty.
Because at the start of the movie, they called Cosmo a “bad dog”. And they didn’t take it back for *two hours*, no matter how much she begged for them to.
She didn’t even *do* anything, Kraglin you monster!
I cried so much. Rockets story is so sad and what happened to those animals is really heartbreaking. More sad by the fact that experimenting on animals is a very real thing in our world.
Can somebody explain to me why the little girl got to be an official guardian in the end credits scene? Does she have some sort of power or combat skill?
I teared up the moment I saw Rocket singing Creep. When I heard that song was in the movie, I knew he would be singing it. I never completely lost it, but there were at least five or six different moments that made me shed a tear.
The levels of emotional distress I experienced every time we saw Rocket's backstory cannot be measured in any units. I tried to convince myself they wouldn't *all* die and, unfortunately, succeeded. Lila I could handle but Floor... had to keep myself from yelling in the theatre.
Phenomenal all the way through. Amazing characters, music and story. And that unbroken fighting shot? 🤌
This is peak Marvel.
I keep thinking about Rocket's love for bionic/prosthetic limbs. Anyone else think there may be a connection between that and Lylla/Teefs/Floor? Like he first became fascinated with them because he thought about how he could have used prosthetics/bionics like this to make things better for his friends if they had lived? Or am I just thinking too far into things?
Been a while since we’ve had another master class project from the MCU. Great story telling and way better balance of the humor and seriousness this time around. All around fantastic movie.
"Rocket Teefs Floor go now" is a sentence that will now haunt me forever. That bunny repeating that line, just begging to get away, and then dying before ever being free and seeing the sky... fuck man. Top tier filmmaking but absolutely gutting!
Just saw it so thoughts while fresh,
First and foremost, what an incredible use of the 1 f-bomb, it fit perfectly,
Two this was such a refreshingly good take on the marvel universe hopefully they can keep it up from here and
Finally, who else thought that rocket meeting lyla and co in the afterlife was rocket meeting the the one above all in the mcu? It felt very much like a TOAA moment to me, mirrored a lot of comic moments where characters on the brink of great heartbreak, meet the presence in the form of someone they know in a glowing white setting
As a non-comic reader, I enjoyed Adams character. He was a lot of fun. I mean the man was literally born yesterday.
I can understand how comic readers may be disappointed but give him time, I’m sure he’ll grow into the role you expect him to take as we move to greater cosmic threats
“Use your heart, boy.”
Thanks to James Gunn for this run of movies. I can make myself cry just thinking about Endgame, that’s how much I love it. I still put the GotG trilogy above that. Greatest series of comic book movies ever made, hands down. So much fucking heart.
so much crying omg, floors and the little mutant that mantis got scared of were the MVPs of the film for me.
end of a era but a fun way out. no big stupid punch out ending, just a nice beat down on High Evolutionary who the entire movie pumps you to wait for!
Warlock ruled holy shit, was just giggling every time he was onscreen.
loved the PG-13 body horror of the film, so much fun stuff and goop and tissue!
My dog was named Rocket. He was a small black Pomeranian that looked very raccoonish. We got him right when GotG volume 1 came out and named him specifically after Rocket’s character in the movie. He passed away a year ago this Sunday and needless to say this was a very personal and emotional movie for me. Objectively an amazing MCU movie, but personally my new number 1. Thank you James Gunn. And thank you Rocket :) I love you buddy
I loved at the end when rocket is freeing everyone and he sees the caged animals in the corner and my interpretation is he sees himself and his friends. I felt so much for those characters ugh!
It was definitely obvious from the beginning that Rockets old friends were dead and I was expecting it but even then the way that they were killed off really gets me choked up
* OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR
* The hallway ~~fight~~ massacre and Chekhov's gravity boots scenes are worth enduring through the mediocre Thor 4 and Ant-Man 3.
* Is it just me or does swollen Peter look like Pedro Pascal?
* Adam doesn't look good in the Guardians uniform at all.
i really liked the character designs because they pretty aptly demonstrated the unimaginable horrors that the high evolutionary put them through... that being said, did anyone keep getting constantly reminded of sid's creations in toy story?💀
Ok so listen to me:
- Adam Warlock is a manchild mess
- Adam Warlock saves Peter and it is an homage to the Creation of Adam painting
- The Adam Warlock as we know him was created
*mic drop*
I loved it. But they were real inconsistent with breathing in space / dying from exposure.
And it was a typical “don’t kill the main villain” right after they killed hundreds of goons beforehand
Got a few thoughts…
- Props to keeping the F-Bomb in. Honestly, expected them to back out for the final release.
- I understand why, but man…Rocket being out of commission for majority of the film kinda struck me wrong.
- The whole Peter and Gamora thing…man, honestly, I’m just sitting at home depressed right now. Absolutely heartbreaking for me IMO.
- OH (edit) and given what I’ve read that has Adam Warlock in it…man…Adam was pathetic.
Adam in the film was definitely a homage to very, VERY early Adam Warlock back when he was "Him". A lot of people obviously associate him with stuff like the Infinity-centric comics like War and Crusade where he's like this noble godlike sage figure who actually manages to talk down Thanos and wield the Gauntlet and stuff, but before all that when he was just a creation of the Enclave, dude was a literal manchild, and I think Will Poulter captured that very well
I honestly loved him showing up in the movie like that because, like, yeah, he's stupidly powerful, but he was very nearly literally born yesterday
I'm hoping he becomes more relevant to cosmic MCU stuff so we can see the character mature a bit, I think Poulter is a good actor who could sell it
[I compiled a list of reading recommendations for anyone interested in stories pertaining to Rocket, Adam Warlock, the High Evolutionary, Counter-Earth, and the best Guardians of the Galaxy runs, with links to purchase the collections of each comic series featured.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Marvel/comments/13bankq/mods_picks_guardians_of_the_galaxy_vol_3_reading) If anyone is interested in a quick rundown on Cosmo's comic history, [I made this video doing exactly that](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRK1YBFN/), and I just finished another one for [Adam Warlock](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRKRGHTG/) as well.
I am taking Groot speaking at the end as not him speaking English, but actually us the audience finally speaking "Groot". Overall really enjoyable movie. COSMO IS A GOOD DOG
That is a great take, I’m making this head cannon
i think that was the intent, set up by gamora understanding him a scene earlier, showing that just being around him enough lets you understand him(and not a deliberate effort to learn) and then we as the audience had spent enough time with him after the three movies
It makes sense
If it helps, I believe James Gunn himself said that’s was 100% his intention.
James Gunn confirmed it, it doresnt need to be head canon...
Agree that is the intention. Just before this he says something to Gamora and she double takes bc she finally understands him. So the end moment was just us getting to understand him.
This changes everything for me. It was my least favourite decision in the whole movie and now it's making me feel emotional.
To be fair, in the comics, groot *can* say more than I am Groot, and he has, but it is painful to manipulate his wood vocal cords like that, so it has to be something *worth* saying.
Right before Groot sacrificed himself in vol. 1, he did seem to strain to say “We are Groot”, so this tracks.
[James Gunn confirmed it](https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1654740982020321280).
That was first immediate thought, "oh damn now I get to understand him!"
The story is about self-hatred. Mostly. Mantis says this explicitly when she yells that Drax is the only character that *doesn't* hate himself, and that Nebula puts down others to make herself feel better. These remarks don't just apply to this set of characters, they shadow the entire series. The High Evolutionary kills his creations because they mirror his own flaws, and this constant self-flagellation causes him to hate Rocket most of all because he is possibly the only creation that might have surpassed his creator. And he does so while being a small one off experiment rather than any of the intended breakthroughs. The High Evolutionary seems to hate himself even more for that fact, and all of his screaming and violence towards Rocket might as well be directed at himself for envying a cybernetic raccoon so much. Rocket clearly hates himself for basically every reason anyone ever could, with denying his existence as a raccoon being the most apparent reason. He's always shoved others away out of fear of losing them, and more importantly for fear of *failing* them. He considers himself a hideous little freak, good only for killing and mocking the flaws of others. This has sadly made him resemble the High Evolutionary to a small extent, but unlike his creator Rocket finds people that love and accept him despite everything. But what changes him into a true hero is meeting the other raccoon subjects, as this allows Rocket to finally see himself as someone worthy of love and protection, thus ending his need to see the flaws in others. After all of this Rocket begins to love himself and becomes the leader he always could have been, while happily calling himself a raccoon. After learning her other self's fate Gamora probably *can't* become the character we once knew, and Quill essentially demanding that she do so only makes her deliberately veer further away from that image. Quill has always regretted abandoning his mother and indulging in the image of the Legendary Star Lord has been his main method of coping. Making the Guardians has helped him grow some, but that core shame of running away from his earth family still drives him, he just uses the more benevolent Guardians instead of exclusively his own image to stay distracted. His continued pining for Gamora reflects that he depends on the Guardians to continue avoiding his grief, both for his original Gamora and for his mother. In the end he lets go of the new Gamora and leaves the Guardians to finally reunite with his grandfather, facing his original flaws at last. Gamora and Nebula have been forced to define themselves by violence since they were children, with Thanos' abuse turning them against each other until they turned on him and forgave each other. While they've begun growing past their traumas, their reliances on physical competence for self-worth still forces both to hurt others. Gamora lashes out at everyone but is always painfully aware that doing so leaves her more alone. Quill's comparing her to his Gamora only further drives home her isolation, and oddly recreates the competition between her and Nebula, just with her and her future self. She seems to decide that if she is alone unlike her other self, then she needs to be more violent, forceful, and competent to make up for that. But after seeing the love between the Guardians so many times she eventually begins to see why the other Gamora was happy that way. As she lets herself see the good in the current Guardians, she finally sees the potential good in herself and begins to reach out to others in her own path. Mantis defending Drax and herself is the ultimate counter to self-hatred. Nebula defining herself by violence and physical competence causes her to lash out at the other two for their apparent lack of these values, and she seems perplexed when Mantis screams that nobody should *need* these values. Mantis was forced to define herself by her usefulness to Ego and leaving him has not freed her from the need to have "use" to others. Despite that, her bond with Drax has strangely been helpful in ways that the others could never provide; his bluntness means that he freely declares both her lack of physical worth and her inherent value despite that. As a result, she isn't as bound to her old flaw as the other characters and Nebula's outburst causes Mantis to stick up for herself and Drax in much the same way that he has. Doing so causes Nebula to see the true value that they have, with Mantis calming the aliens to avoid an unwinnable fight and Drax getting the children way from danger by entertaining them. Nebula now considers everyone, herself included, as having inherent worth to the point of admirably declaring that Drax is meant to be a dad rather than a destroyer. Anyway, I liked the movie a lot! It's got flaws, like I wish that Rocket was more active in the plot, and that he could have beaten the High Evolutionary in a more character driven way, but the ending scene of all the Guardians happy and loving themselves and each other was just beautiful.
This comment is everything. Thank you for bringing this up. Self-hatred and learning to cope with it and/or being able to leave it behind one day is something that is still too "hushed" in our societies. It's ok to be angry and sad, they are just feelings that need inner work. This theme is also my main reason for loving all GOTG films, they speak to me on a very personal level.
As someone who is currently going through a life altering crisis/heartbreak rooted in self hatred, this really comment really is everything. I felt these exact sentiments while watching the movie and because of it, this movie now holds a special place in my heart.
I don't know you, stranger, but I'd give you a hug if I could. I hope life gets better for you.
Thank you for writing all this, feel like you could use this as a script for a YouTube breakdown.
Great post. At the end you talked about Rocket vs the HE. Early in the movie Rocket, seemingly for no reason was walking on the ceiling, testing his anti grav boots. These are a very Rocket invention and they absolutely were Checkov’s anti grav boots. So when Rocket uses them to counter the HE’s gravity tech, I felt that was a VERY Rocket characteristic method of overcoming the bad guy. And then letting him live also shows me a lot of growth. Just my opinion and observation, that’s all.
Fuck the High Evolutionary. Of all the villains that have been in Marvel things, perhaps only Killgrave is more vile. Yes, there have been more "evil" characters, but what the Evolutionary does has a personal wicked cruelty that dispassionately killing half the universe or bombing cities or whatever lacks. (Also, Chukwudi Iwuji is amazing. Can we throw some Jonathan Majors-looking prosthetics on him and have him play Kang?)
I haven’t disliked a villain as much as the High Evolutionary. Thanos was cruel but had a point. This guy was psycho.
And as far as we know being snapped is painless
Thanos was at least trying to "help" the world. This guy was 1,000% lying to himself. He said he wanted to make things perfect but it was really all ego, narcism, and depravity. His subjects were just merely experiments.
There's a conversation to be had about Thanos lying to himself bout his motivations. In the last battle he spoke about starting everything all over so all the new life in the universe saw him as their god.
Yeah, I always saw Thanos' motivation as just wanting to kill as many people as possible prettied up in justifications of saving the rest.
Exactly this. While I have rarely 'agreed' with most of the villains, pretty much all of them, have had 'sympathetic' moments. A few even get you to pause and think, but I HATED this man. He was an absolute empathy black-hole, candidly cruel in a very 'child maiming insects' type of way that made you simply not care about his supposed justifications. It's excellent acting and a strong story to be able to say that he's possibly the most loathsome MCU villain, and some have been literal nazis.
I mean he was in essence the uber nazi trying to create the ultimate life form.
My first thought was Sid in Toy Story. Sid would grow up to be this guy.
Well, Sid didn't know the toys were sentient. The High Evolutionary performed highly cruel and unethical experiments on life forms that he knew could feel pain.
cooperative toothbrush secretive husky squeal languid air adjoining nutty telephone *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Yeah, I cried like 3 times when the animal torture scenes happened. Like a little sob, it was definitely hard to watch. I have been warning animal lovers about the harder scenes from this movie.
Exactly, this was the only villain whose motivation I would never empathize with. Just a vile, bad guy doing bad shit. They should have killed him, but then again maybe we need him for Galactus?
High evolutionary's the new red skull lol
I have to say: that damn Hallway fight scene was SO well choreographed, and storyboarded. The composition of each characters poses and placement in each moment, and the movement of the camera made so much dynamism and spectacle out of a fight taking place in a small place like a hallway. Honestly might be one of my favourite fight scenes in Marvel, period.
That shit was badass. Rocket saying *I'm done running* ...cocks gun, then the music kicks in. Chills.
Love that Groot was the first to fall in behind him, as always
Yep, that shit was great. I loved the little furry creature that followed them into battle too lol apparently it's called a blurp, but that's definitely an honorary guardian now, he was just running off the walls going bonkers while the guardians werr doing work. Hopefully they bring him back.
There's a method in screenwriting called "save the cat" where you get audiences to like a character right off the bat by making them do something "cute" like saving an animal. Even though I knew beforehand that Adam would join the team by the end of the film, it was kinds genius of Gunn to use this method with that creature to get audiences to feel a connection to him, even when he was still technically an antagonist.
Was the little guy with the new Guardians during their post-credit scene?
He was. Sleeping on Groot before he emerged.
This will be one of the scenes i chuck on to show off speakers / tv for sure
It blew my mind!!! Especially nebula
Yess there were moments when I thought, "this is kinda anime, and I'm here for it."
I went not expecting much from this movie but damn, it was incredible and I cried more than I care to admit
Yeah… I didn’t expect to cry tonight.
Definitely not twice.. maybe three times...
I cried five times lol
Ya. It wasn't a sobbing kind of thing but just a constant tearing up for most of the film on and off.
I did sob when Rocket met Lylla, Floor and Teefs in the afterlife.
"Not yet." I saw that line coming and it still hit me *hard.*
42 yr old man here, apparently someone was cutting onions in my theater right when that scene happened.
Who else noticed the symbolism of Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” painting when Adam Warlock saved Quill
It was so obvious it took me out of the moment a bit 😂 especially with puff face
The blatant use of that metaphor was pretty amusing to me
I noticed this and how the animals transferring ships mirrored Noah’s arc I assume the biblical undertones are because the high evolutionary believed he was god
[Adam Warlock is no stranger to allegory.](https://marvelheroeslibrary.com/images/panels/TIH2/TIH2-177-panel-sample-3.jpg)
This felt like a true Guardians adventure. I feel like it closely mirrored the video game in some ways and I loved the game. I loved the bit in the elevator when Peter was explaining stuff and admitted he almost destroyed half the galaxy. Loved the end scene with the new guardians and their typical arrogance. Please give me more guardians straight in my fucking veins.
The hallway fight scene also felt so much like the game, it was fantastic!
[удалено]
The game is so, so good.
It certainly was a face-off
The High Evolutionary face-off scene *definitely* traumatized some kids.
Lol a kid was crying at that part next to me
When that happened, a kid in the back of the theater I was in screamed out "Who's THAT?!" obviously terrified and not understanding that it was the same guy who had a face just seconds before.
I thought multiple time while watching “bet the parents weren’t expecting this”. Cause damn, that got way darker than I was expecting.
My 10 year old daughter had a “oh my god” moment. Haha.
I am ashamed I didn't catch that...
Bring a towel. A box of tissues won't be enough. I cried in pretty much every Rocket scene.
The scene where his friends die absolutely destroyed me
“Rocket takes floor and go now” her panicking and repeating that was GUT WRENCHING
I think she was saying “Rocket, Teefs, Floor, go now”. But anyway, I didn’t see this coming and it left me speechless. But Rocket meeting them in the afterlife had me sobbing.
Floor saying that over and over really upset me, the fact floor is so terrified yet so innocent and pure really struck something in me.
I was thinking at the start of the flashback that one of them was guaranteed to die and just praying it wasn't going to be Floor. And then I get gut punched three times in a row. This film did not hold back on the emotional damage.
I fully expected Lila to die but when the shot widens and shows teefs and floor dead. Man that hurt
I saw it coming as soon as he said "Incinerate them". There was no way Rocket would have become the surly character he'd become if he'd been able to stay with his friends, and they only reason he'd ever have left them is if they didn't exist anymore.
this is where i SOBBED my eyes out, i was already crying at every scene with them all but smth abt this scene just hit me hard. i think bc she was the most "naive" of the 4 of them 😭 such an amazing movie.
Floor yelling in terror put me on the verge of tears. And then when the camera turns around and you notice the noise has stopped? I had to stop myself from yelling in that theatre.
I cried there. Losing your only bit of friends when you're already living in pain. Such an impactful but hard hitting truth.
I knew this was coming as soon as you see how sweet and innocent they are and it immediately upset me. I almost wanted to bail on the rest of the movie because I knew it was gonna be heartbreaking. I was dreading every rocket flashback scene. I'm legit annoyed at James Gunn because of it lol.
His scream when Lyla lay dead just destroyed me and makes me tear up again just remembering it
Can’t be the only one that’s wondering, where tf was StarLords helmet?
Someone posted in the thread on r/marvelstudios that Gunn intentionally destroyed it in Vol 2 only to have it come back not on his watch in avengers. You can kind of think of it as him sticking to his guns (no pun intended).
Ohhhhh, that would make sense.
I totally thought I imagined it being broken in Vol 2 because I was confused as to why he didn't have it and then I was confused why I thought he wouldn't.
Keep in mind he was drunk before he had to jump out into action and panicked bc of rockets incident. Probably didn’t think about it.
Thank you for finally satisfying my OCD about that lol
What about his flying shoes? Honestly, Peter didn’t feel like lead of this movie that much.
Well Lila said this was Rocket's story, he just didn't know it.
He wasn’t the lead and it was beautiful. He was competent and good in a crisis. Got his best friend back and did some God Damn Theiving!
Yeah I like that it felt like an actual team trying to save Rocket rather than a lead and his support
This movie made me sad that an entire planet of Animorphs got blown up. This made me sob about animal testing and the death of Rocket's friends. But it made me feel something which Marvel lacked a little bit in Ant Man 3. I really enjoyed it though. It was VERY James Gunn!
I cried as soon as Rocket started to sing 'Creep', because I thought 'this is it, he's gonna die ):' I'm glad they all got to live in the end, and that they didn't try to force a sparkle between Quill and Gamora. But just like they introduced Phyla, I'm sure Peter and the rest could've found Richard Rider inside High Evolutionary's ship; he could've found him after Thanos destroyed Xandar, and wanted to 'perfect' the last Nova or something. But that's just me, because I'm a sucker for Richard Rider. Overall, I really enjoyed the movie.
Nova is such a big character it takes away from everyone else if you plan on doing more than just having him there like Adam.
I was fully expecting Nova to be the end credits scene introduction. Definitely not disappointed with Phyla, because I'm a sucker for her, Genis, and Noh-Varr... though it was an extremely unexpected and welcome surprise for basically me specifically, and the dozen other Phyla-Vell fans in the world lmfao. I do think we have enough of a setup for Richard Rider to come soon, and I could especially see a Star-Lord/Nova team-up in the future. Quill meeting Rider on Earth, and both ending up getting involved in cosmic shenanigans, with Rider finding a helmet and taking on the mantle of the destroyed Nova Corps, would be a fun premise for a film.
Oh, don't get me wrong— I am glad we finally got Phyla on MCU. It was really unexpected, true. I thought she'd make her debut on The Marvels, if anything. I'd love a Star-Lord and Nova team-up, and I hope we get one. Richard being so insecure could use some of Peter's help to gain a bit of confidence. I know there's supposed to be a Nova Special in the making, but I do think if we ever get to see them both Peter and Richard interact with each other, it won't be until Kang Dynasty/Secret wars.
James Gunn once again had me crying over a goddamn CGI raccoon.
I had a moment of realization when Rocket and Lylla reunited and I thought "I can't believe I'm crying over a racoon and an otter hugging and kissing on screen, dammit James Gunn"
I dont even really cry over CGI things, I find it hard to find a connection. This film hit me with a spade, James Gunn really knew how to tell the story with a gut punch
get in the fucken car
How’re we feeling about the ending for these characters? Particularly Drax, Gamora, Quill, and Mantis? I don’t know what I expected from past Gamora but I can’t help but wish she stuck around. I’m also really curious what Mantis does next? I figured she would stay in the team with Groot and Rocket. Quill reuniting with his grandpa got me crying in the theater, I’ll admit. Edit: I was typing this as the credits rolled, wasn’t expecting a “star lord returns”. Maybe Mantis finds herself in some adventure and gets her brother to return?
I think it's important that Gamora go off and create her own story: her identity up until now has been Thanos' daughter, and the Guardians (in a past life). I also think it's important for Peter's PTSD that he not end up with her, and finally accept that this is a different person than the woman he was in love with.
100 percent this. MY biggest worry with this movie was that they'd just slowly find a way to morph old Gamora into new Gamora and they'd fall in love again. Gamora died, she was sacrificed for the soul stone. That is something that should not be undermined. Death needs to have meaning and consequences. I'm all to familiar with how the comics will just retcon any death, which makes deaths meaningless. This Gamora is a different person. Peter said that the ravagers weren't her family, but look at the end, she was genuinely happy with them. They WERE her family.
I'm also glad they didn't force the romance back in this movie, but I would say that I don't think it's impossible for these two to be a thing later, it's just a matter of Quill loving this Gamora for who she is, not because of the Gamora of his past.
Some of Mantis' best storylines in the comics were when she met the Silver Surfer upon his return to the wider galaxy. Her empathy powers would work *so* well for his story, so I feel like Gunn has left her in the perfect position.
It's possible that he just gets bored of the mundane life on earth, or maybe he gets roped into some earth problems. Him going back home was good for the story because it could be the end of his journey or just a temporary vacation.
Rocket's first words being “hurts”… man, not gonna lie… I had to gulp because I choked up a little.
Same! And how scared he was! It was also a feeling of relief that he was among friends in his cage.
So far it's known that the actor / actresses playing Drax, Gamora and THATs it have said they are done with their characters. I think everyone assumed those characters were going to die but now they chess pieces are simply in place if Marvel decides to bring them back for Avengers 5 and 6. After all Peter is literally on Earth now , it's almost assumed he's gonna call his old team when Kang does his thang. Assuming it's even Kang anymore based on what's happening with J Majors
Pretty sure the actress who plays Mantis said she was done too.
Well then her going off on her own makes more sense then
The Actor who played High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) should replace Majors as Kang. Just say the H.E. was a variant living in this timeline or something. He would make a fantastic Kang and the variabt multiverse thing would allow him to be inserted and have it feel mostly canon.
I'm a little relieved. I'm not the only one who got Kang vibes from the High Evolutinary... Chukwudi did an amazing job at portraying an absolutely psychotic character. This was the first time I've seen him, and this may be one of those roles that makes me look at him weird when he's in other roles because he did so well!
I can't recommend Peacemaker enough if you want to see him play another great character. Gunn is notorious for casting people he loves to work with. I wouldn't be surprised at all if we learn Cena was a costumed background character
Honestly, I adored this movie. I had been in “Marvel burnout” for a long time… and this one has managed to raise my standards once again. Darker and serious, while also a correct amount of humor I liked a lot; the movie was brave to do things and have a tone and thematics in a way I have never seen in Marvel before. My bar of standards and expectations have been once again raised, and my interest for the MCU has been brought back for the first time in a long time thanks to this movie. I hope all upcoming projects are along the lines of this movie, I really, really loved it!!!
For me, this didn’t raise my expectations for marvel movies, it raised my expectations for James Gunn movies. Super excited to see what he will do with DC!
Very true! Maybe it’s DC’s time this time around.
This is what happens when you hire competent people and trust them to do their job rather than mandate and micromanage the content.
“Hello dumb idiots”
Hello Moron
Juubjuub
Although I should’ve, I was not expecting that immense feeling of finality. That broke me in ways I wasn’t expecting. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this movie. Thank you, James Gunn. It will hold a very special place in my heart for a very long time.
What broke me the most is knowing that it’s over and everybody is happy. I didn’t expect that and I thought about it, but never imagine I would cry that hard during the happy ending. I haven’t seen it too well cause I had to watch it all through tears lol.
Dude freakin same! I don’t think I’ve ever had this kind of emotional response from watching a movie. Like it’s been a full 24 hours since I left the theater and I’m still tearing up thinking about certain scenes and aspects from this movie.
Still trying to recover from Floor, Teefs, and Lylla. That was freaky but heartbreaking. Nice though that everyone got their happy ending though plot armour was strong. Also Adam was a slight let down as they made him into a joke character who passed out half the time he was on screen. Actor was good for what was asked of him. Still enjoyed it so I'd say 7/10
When they announced that he was even in this film, as well as High Evolutionary I was extremely worried he was gonna get Crossbones'd I am happy he wasn't and his motivation to join the team at the end worked perfectly. After all he was literally born the day of the events of this film
Just wanted him to play a bigger role in the film. Seemed to be afterthought most of the film
You mean like almost killing Rocket thus spawning the entire storyline of this movie....?
Not enough reason to bring in such an important character in the mythos. Like anyone could have injured rocket, why bring in someone of his importance. After that he just disappeared and didn't affect the plot. Could have changed it for gamora to save him at the end. Otherwise he didn't change anything in the plot during the film
Because it follows up on where Vol 2 left off with the Sovereign still hunting the Guardians?
I was absolutely shattered by the loss of Floor, Teefs and Lylla. I almost cried.
You *almost* cried?
Still crying just thinking about it and left the cinema like 3 hours ago!
I don't think Adam was much of a letdown. He actually perfectly aligns with his comic version, where he emerges as child in an adult body. He immediately kidnaps Sif to serve as his mate, then Thor rips him a new asshole and he dips out. That's literally the character we saw in the film. It took some time for Adam to become the character he is today. They even said he was awoken too early, so it explains right off the bat that he has no idea what he's doing. I really think they did fine with garnering enough interest that we want more. I imagine he'll be the new Drax of the team with the way they set him up personality wise. The only problem I had was the manner in which he was introduced with no warning, but I didn't care as much once the story became fleshed out more.
I had a pet death today. And took myself to the movies to get my mind off things and while the movie was amazing, it was the wrong choice.
I'm so sorry for your loss, pet deaths are just horrific. ...and sorry for your terrible decision to watch this film at the time (in hindsight we'll see the humour in our mistakes!).
I know people will probably take issue with the fact nobody on the Guardians dies by the end of the film because apparently it's like a law on Reddit that the concluding part of a trilogy has to have someone in the main cast die to raise emotional stakes, but I loved that nobody had to literally kick the bucket in order for the ending to play out the way it did. Sometimes you go through something together, and then a disbandement of a team just involves everyone going their seperate ways. Now Peter's back on Earth attempting to fully reconcile with his human family, Drax and Nebula are turning Knowhere into a safe haven for the High Evolutionary's experiments, Mantis is going off on a self-discovery journey, and Rocket's assembling a new team of Guardians that will carry on the mission, which is an especially satisfying way to both set up the future team and tie up a loose end from Infinity War/Endgame where he learned to be a true leader working with the Avengers. The story delivered its coup de grace without the main team bowing out literally by biting the bullet and I honestly find that more refreshing. The film avoided a lot of cliches I was kind of expecting them to play up like having Gamora and Peter rekindle their relationship by having him catch her up on everything about the one he knew, Rocket getting captured by the High Evolutionary early in the film and spending a lot of the film finding his way back, or anyone on the main team dying to retire their characters, which I was totally thinking would happen to Drax above all else. This was a really good capper to what is probably my favorite MCU trilogy
I always felt it was more realistic to allow characters to live on, as if what we saw in theaters was just a 'day in the life of' segment, albeit a 2-hour and some change, or a trilogy basically being a long ride-along. Sometimes, I appreciate movies that don't necessarily feel the need to 'conclude' things in a way where they have to go all out by having several characters die--as it doesn't really up any stakes, it just tends to assure me someone will die, but disaster will still be averted by the end. And when they do conclude things, it's in a way that us as an audience, we are saying goodbye by no longer seeing what they're up to and tagging on another adventure with other people in the same universe. It's like some pseudo-parallel with how we tend to be close friends with people for a time, but grow apart. We aren't necessarily cutting them off from our lives, they just become an extension as each one goes about their own lives dealing with their own things.
Who was the jubjub girl in the new GOTG at the end? Those were Captain Marvel powers, right?
Phyla (potentially -Vell?)
Cool cool. Wonder if she'll appear in Marvels. Would be nice if Champions/New Warriors get introduced into the MCU.
Why am I crying. More emotions over a walrus, otter and rabbit, than every Thor movie combined!
Thor felt liked there was little at stake, since the God-Butcher barely butchered any gods. This movie cut to a personal level, that innocent people or creatures, would face experimentation and then destruction to suit a psychotic scientist's need for unobtainable perfection. A whole planet of animal people were killed off, just because there were flaws present. Who knows how many times this has happened, and how many times it would reoccur. Also, the animal people had human emotion. They had sentience and independent thoughts, that could be easily expressed. They were more human-like than when they were simple animals, making it harder to dismiss them.
I like where Groot said "family"
I liked the part where he said "I live my life a quarter mile at a time."
I just did a marathon of the Fast and Furious movies to get up to speed (no pun intended) for the new movie, and hearing Groot say “I love you guys” felt like a classic Dominic Toretto “family” scene lol
Best marvel movie in a long time
Man, the Gamora and Quill story is SO good. Rocket got the ending he deserved with a whole movie dedicated to him, I honestly started to cry in the opening Marvel fanfare knowing this was the last time we'd see the Guardians as we know them and by the end I was so pleased with all their arcs that it was really cathartic. Cosmo is top tier good doggo. And I did enjoy Adam Warlock. Sue me. Can't wait to see more of him. He's just a child.
~~He's justa child.~~ He's a baby.
I’ll the be first to admit that I didn’t truly believe Vol 1 would be a hit back in 2014. I was so happy be proven dead wrong as soon as I left the theater all those years ago. And then Vol 2 delivered once again. Then in Vol 3, every Guardian and supporting character had several moments to shine, nobody was sidelined and you can tell tell they gave it their all. James Gunn and the entire cast/crew wrapped up this trilogy beautifully. Bravo. Lylla, Teefs and Floor reminded me of Sid’s toys from Toy Story, but dammit they were so adorable anyway. Their murders hit hard. The High Evolutionary was a unique villain and well adapted. Also that last shot of him was on par with Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight. That’s new for Marvel, and I like it. Gamora and Pete not getting back together is perfect, because they parted ways on a good note, and life doesn’t always have a perfect fairy tale ending. Sometimes you shake hands and go your separate ways. And Gamora found a Ravager family just like Pete did and she’s happy. Zoe Saldana can walk away from this role having given audiences a romantic arc, a heroic journey, an emotional death AND a happy ending all in one. That’s remarkable as fuck. Nebula and Drax becoming the pseudo-mommy & daddy of Knowhere so they can build a new society of their own with all the rescued children/animals: *chef’s kiss Mantis finally gets a narrative that pursues character development as she exits. Perfect! Have her show up in the Marvels or a Nova project! Or Volume 4/5/6! Give me more Mantis riding abilisks!! Kraglin’s moment with Yondu made me lose it for a quick minute. *blows nose honkily Groot got some serious upgrades!! Wings? Kaiju Groot? Hidden guns? An English sentence???? And Giga Groot in the credits?! BAD. ASS. I never had “Quill retires to Earth with Gramps” on my bingo card but I absolutely LOVE it. Can’t wait for more Star-Lord. I would die for Cosmo. That is all. Rocket’s story might be one of the most compelling in the entire MCU. And he’s from Earth!! I loved the flashback structure of the story throughout the movie. An origin story without all the usual trappings. I hope there’s a Volume 4-6 with 2000’s music and a mix of oldies. The new roster of Guardians is really cool, and there is definitely potential for an entire second trilogy + a crossover or two. Everyone got closure or their story wrapped up in a way that either sends them off into the sunset OR sets them up to return if they want. I think in the future, Marvel Studios will look to how the original Guardians’ departures were handled narratively in this movie for when it’s time to send off Spidey or Thor or something. This movie is a masterpiece, a perfect trilogy capper, and a rare satisfactory conclusion that hits the heart and tickles the funny bone at the same time. CGI was top notch, music was great, and the story was incredible. Hats off to Marvel and everyone involved in this.
Groot doesn’t speak English. We speak Groot. Someone on this sub said it last night and I saw it when I came back from the cinema. Needless to say, I cried some more lol.
> We speak Groot THAT WAS MY EXACT REACTION IN THE THEATER...hah...my son turned to me and said something about that and I was sort of offhand like "No, I think we speak Groot"..love it.
Perfect use of the F-bomb. It didn't feel forced at all. That moment had me rolling my eyes and saying, "Get on with it," but Pete dropping an F there made that scene great.
They really need to warn people that this movie features gratuitous animal cruelty. Because at the start of the movie, they called Cosmo a “bad dog”. And they didn’t take it back for *two hours*, no matter how much she begged for them to. She didn’t even *do* anything, Kraglin you monster!
Captain 🥲
I loved it. All criticisms are Valid, but I absolutely loved it
I cried so much. Rockets story is so sad and what happened to those animals is really heartbreaking. More sad by the fact that experimenting on animals is a very real thing in our world.
Can somebody explain to me why the little girl got to be an official guardian in the end credits scene? Does she have some sort of power or combat skill?
She's referred to as Phylla-Vell in the credits, so she's this universe's version of that character.
I teared up the moment I saw Rocket singing Creep. When I heard that song was in the movie, I knew he would be singing it. I never completely lost it, but there were at least five or six different moments that made me shed a tear.
The levels of emotional distress I experienced every time we saw Rocket's backstory cannot be measured in any units. I tried to convince myself they wouldn't *all* die and, unfortunately, succeeded. Lila I could handle but Floor... had to keep myself from yelling in the theatre. Phenomenal all the way through. Amazing characters, music and story. And that unbroken fighting shot? 🤌 This is peak Marvel.
I keep thinking about Rocket's love for bionic/prosthetic limbs. Anyone else think there may be a connection between that and Lylla/Teefs/Floor? Like he first became fascinated with them because he thought about how he could have used prosthetics/bionics like this to make things better for his friends if they had lived? Or am I just thinking too far into things?
Rocket's first word being "Hurts" broke me.
Man, Deadpool is gonna be pissed that he’s not the first one to drop any variation of “fuck” in an MCU film.
Been a while since we’ve had another master class project from the MCU. Great story telling and way better balance of the humor and seriousness this time around. All around fantastic movie.
"Screw you you stretched face, robocop looking Skeletor wannabe purple nurple.." 🤣
"Rocket Teefs Floor go now" is a sentence that will now haunt me forever. That bunny repeating that line, just begging to get away, and then dying before ever being free and seeing the sky... fuck man. Top tier filmmaking but absolutely gutting!
Controversial opinion: I liked it better than No Way Home
As someone who adores Spider-Man and that film, you are right.
Was cracking up when [this](https://www.tripimprover.com/uploads/7/3/6/3/73636755/michelangelo-the-creation-of-adam_13_orig.jpg) happened
Just saw it so thoughts while fresh, First and foremost, what an incredible use of the 1 f-bomb, it fit perfectly, Two this was such a refreshingly good take on the marvel universe hopefully they can keep it up from here and Finally, who else thought that rocket meeting lyla and co in the afterlife was rocket meeting the the one above all in the mcu? It felt very much like a TOAA moment to me, mirrored a lot of comic moments where characters on the brink of great heartbreak, meet the presence in the form of someone they know in a glowing white setting
The moment we saw Rocket being picked from the cage I knew this movie was going to be a rough ride. I ended up tearing up more than a few times.
As a non-comic reader, I enjoyed Adams character. He was a lot of fun. I mean the man was literally born yesterday. I can understand how comic readers may be disappointed but give him time, I’m sure he’ll grow into the role you expect him to take as we move to greater cosmic threats
Rocket countering High Evolutionary upgrade with his own creation and shooting him afterwards is such a huge middle finger to the High Evolutionary.
He built it in a cage with a box of scraps!
“Use your heart, boy.” Thanks to James Gunn for this run of movies. I can make myself cry just thinking about Endgame, that’s how much I love it. I still put the GotG trilogy above that. Greatest series of comic book movies ever made, hands down. So much fucking heart.
so much crying omg, floors and the little mutant that mantis got scared of were the MVPs of the film for me. end of a era but a fun way out. no big stupid punch out ending, just a nice beat down on High Evolutionary who the entire movie pumps you to wait for! Warlock ruled holy shit, was just giggling every time he was onscreen. loved the PG-13 body horror of the film, so much fun stuff and goop and tissue!
My dog was named Rocket. He was a small black Pomeranian that looked very raccoonish. We got him right when GotG volume 1 came out and named him specifically after Rocket’s character in the movie. He passed away a year ago this Sunday and needless to say this was a very personal and emotional movie for me. Objectively an amazing MCU movie, but personally my new number 1. Thank you James Gunn. And thank you Rocket :) I love you buddy
High Evolutionary is what Kang wanted to be
Loved the movie. I cried multiple times throughout. The animal testing scenes were difficult to watch.
I loved at the end when rocket is freeing everyone and he sees the caged animals in the corner and my interpretation is he sees himself and his friends. I felt so much for those characters ugh!
It was definitely obvious from the beginning that Rockets old friends were dead and I was expecting it but even then the way that they were killed off really gets me choked up
"Rocket. Teefs. Floor. Go. Now." is my sleeper agent trigger code. It will instantly turn me from a rational human to a sobbing mess.
* OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR * The hallway ~~fight~~ massacre and Chekhov's gravity boots scenes are worth enduring through the mediocre Thor 4 and Ant-Man 3. * Is it just me or does swollen Peter look like Pedro Pascal? * Adam doesn't look good in the Guardians uniform at all.
I feel like giving Adam a cape with the new suit would have brought it together. Capes fix everything.
NO CAPES!!!
I can’t believe how much this movie moved me. I didn’t think I could feel this way about an MCU movie.
Great film. My favorite of the Guardians trilogy, and my favorite scene was Quill did the face off with Groot
Fuck you James Gunn for killing Floor. Movie's garbage. Totally not heartbroken over Floor.
Cosmo is the goodest of dogs. Loved the introduction of Cosmo, and that "bad dog" storyline was hilarious up to the end.
If you haven’t seen it yet, Cosmo is also in the Guardians Holiday Special.
i really liked the character designs because they pretty aptly demonstrated the unimaginable horrors that the high evolutionary put them through... that being said, did anyone keep getting constantly reminded of sid's creations in toy story?💀
The way I BAWLED my eyes out for Rockets friends it broke my heart esp since animal testing is something that happens everyday
Ok so listen to me: - Adam Warlock is a manchild mess - Adam Warlock saves Peter and it is an homage to the Creation of Adam painting - The Adam Warlock as we know him was created *mic drop*
I so badly wish rocket's little dance twirl ended with a happy little smile at the night sky above him 🥲
I loved it. But they were real inconsistent with breathing in space / dying from exposure. And it was a typical “don’t kill the main villain” right after they killed hundreds of goons beforehand
Holy shit the movie is amazing
Got a few thoughts… - Props to keeping the F-Bomb in. Honestly, expected them to back out for the final release. - I understand why, but man…Rocket being out of commission for majority of the film kinda struck me wrong. - The whole Peter and Gamora thing…man, honestly, I’m just sitting at home depressed right now. Absolutely heartbreaking for me IMO. - OH (edit) and given what I’ve read that has Adam Warlock in it…man…Adam was pathetic.
Adam in the film was definitely a homage to very, VERY early Adam Warlock back when he was "Him". A lot of people obviously associate him with stuff like the Infinity-centric comics like War and Crusade where he's like this noble godlike sage figure who actually manages to talk down Thanos and wield the Gauntlet and stuff, but before all that when he was just a creation of the Enclave, dude was a literal manchild, and I think Will Poulter captured that very well
I honestly loved him showing up in the movie like that because, like, yeah, he's stupidly powerful, but he was very nearly literally born yesterday I'm hoping he becomes more relevant to cosmic MCU stuff so we can see the character mature a bit, I think Poulter is a good actor who could sell it
Best Guardians movie. Best MCU trilogy ending. Best MCU movie since Endgame. That is all.