Now you're just making it sad.

Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 — 4/5

Rewatches of Vol. 2 have slow-burned these characters into being some of my favorite in this universe. And friend, once I love something, I am loyal to it; I see past all flaws. And this is the most flawed of the three. GotG in general has been a miracle in group dynamics, but its expansions and losses have stressed those edges. Though Rocket is the core of the movie, he's missing entirely from the group dynamics, and his absence is notable. Kraglin, Cosmo, Warlock, they are lesser additions that distract from a more focused movie. The franchise can no longer just pair one action figure with any another and it magically works. But, friends, when it works, fireworks. Star-Lord has clear purpose. Mantis' anger, and her surprisingly becoming a linchpin for the team. A new, more interesting version of Gamora, and a nice send-off to it as well. An emotional Rocket backstory. That sense of flying-by-the-seat-of-our-pants fun and chaos that has been present throughout the trilogy. And then they break up! The movie doesn't really lead you towards that, it just kinda happens. The ending acts like it's tying up loose ends when it's just "more stuff that happens." It's less driven by plot mechanics and more driven by those stressed edges of the group dynamics starting to tear, on-camera and off. Real life has imposed its will on a fictional universe. I'd happily keep watching these people, and I hope I do in whatever form it comes next. Maybe in that, GotG has been the thing that mostly captured why people keep reading the same fucking Spider-Man stories once a month across 60 years? If we like something, we just want them to do that thing we like doing. The same story; infinite variations.