When someone from Rocket’s past comes to try and terminate him, the Guardians have to find a way to save him, while still coming to grips with who they are. Going into this film, it was make it or break it, for me, at least. These characters were the ones that got me into the franchise, and if their ending wasn’t satisfying, I would’ve been out. The MCU has had a long running string of mediocrity for a while now, and if this one lacked, then that’s it. Little did I know, it would be the exact opposite of “lacking”. This was the most fulfilling ending for these characters that I could have ever asked for. It has a proper amount of tragedy, and does take itself slightly more serious than the last installments, but it’s all earned. 9 years of meticulously laid out story beats and character growth have built to this in a better way than ever seen in these movies before. Yes, I believe it’s a better conclusion than Endgame was, as much as I may like that one. Each character gets their proper and deserved ending. The stakes are higher than ever, and have a natural progression through the story. And the writing, much like the other films, is just pure, raw humanity. It’s still amazing how you can take someone as outlandish as a talking Racoon and give him more nuance than countless other realistic characters I’ve seen across fiction. The villain himself, as well, is also very fascinating. He has a huge god complex about him, and it’s captivating to watch him do his villainous deeds. You may have noticed that I talk a lot about the characters here, but that has always been the main strength of these movies; the characters. If they weren’t as solid as they were, no one would care about the story, but they’re so damn lovable and relatable that you buy into the madness. You buy into the aliens and the crazy action and the space powers because of them. And seeing them get their deserved conclusion left me with a huge smile on my face. I already have plans to see this movie again. The best that Marvel has offered us in a long time. Not only a great comic book movie, but a great movie in general. I’ll miss the ride that this has been, but I’ll always be willing to go back and revisit Marvel’s best trilogy.