Pun Salad

I missed this movie's theatrical release, and I suppose it's just as well. Don't get me wrong: I enjoyed it just fine. But I felt a little guilty about enjoying it. But this is why I pay for Disney+.

OK, so you shouldn't see this without being semi-acquainted with the previous Guardian appearances. Peter Quill has taken to drink, given the death of his girlfriend Gamora. (Ah, but a different Gamora is around, one whose life didn't involve Peter. It's complicated.) Rocket (the raccoon guy) is gravely injured when a super-powered idiot tries to abduct him for the "High Evolutionary", the main villain here. We learn Rocket's origin story here (it's very tragic and shamelessly emotionally manipulative), and it turns out his inner workings are resistant to standard medical care. The gang needs to acquire a cybernetic "passkey" in order to save his life. So it's off to confront the High Evolutionary!

Unfortunately, this means that Rocket's wisecracks are absent for much of the movie.

The special effects are (of course) amazing, and the plot pretty much exists only to justify them. Every major character, and some of the minor ones, gets a character arc, though.

I especially liked Cosmo, the telekinetic dog. He is a good dog!