The long-awaited “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” hit theaters on May 5,  topping the global box office in its opening weekend.

The film earned $118.4 million domestically and $170.9 million internationally for a combined total of $289.3 million. Director James Gunn delivers once again and carves out an epic edge-of-the-seat, action-packed  emotional rollercoaster that exceeds the expectations of every Guardian fan. This movie does a great job of continuing the theme of loss and keeping viewers invested in the characters’ journeys. The characters, played by famous actors Bradley Cooper  (Rocket), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Pom Klementieff (Mantis) , Chris Pratt (Starlord), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Vin diesel (Groot), and Dave Bautista (Drax the Destroyer) evolve in such an extraordinary way, and the Guardians show how much growth they’ve all had throughout the series. 

Everything is perfectly balanced in this movie, from the characters’  interactions to the heartwarming dialogue. Centering Rocket as the emotional heart of the film, Marvel Studios delves deep into the start of Rocket’s story. Previous GOTG films show the terrible scars and metal parts from his extensive mechanical advancements, while Volume 3 finally reveals the specifics of how Rocket obtained them. The main antagonist, The High Evolutionary, began experimenting on different animals from earth and Rocket was one of the subjects in the Evolutionary lab, a member of Batch 89. The movie’s storyline soon starts to revolve around Rocket after he’s critically injured in a fight with Adam Warlock and the Guardians try to find a way to bypass the kill switch inside Rocket because it prevents them from healing him. Rocket’s backstory brings the trilogy full circle and supplies it with emotional closure as the Guardians set out on their own and head out to discover their own paths. Every member of the Guardians overcomes their personal losses or traumatic experiences in the three films.