'Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3' review: Definitely entertaining

There’s always lots to do when successful franchises come to an end — if they ever really end, that is. They need to round up stray subplots, give each character a final bow, perhaps break a few long-standing rules (this is a special occasion, after all) and either give their audience emotional closure, as the James Bond and Harry Potter series both did, or leave the door ajar for future profitable installments.

You can probably guess what Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3” does. The only question is how skillfully it does it. Thanks largely to James Gunn, the director and sole writer (a rarity in the Marvel universe), this threequel performs admirably, maintaining the franchise’s high quality, quirky humor and appealing pop-culture vibe. (Marvel is going to miss Gunn, who was fired from this film over some tasteless old tweets, got rehired to finish it, then toddled off to help run DC Studios.)

In “Vol. 3,” Gunn centers the story on the surly raccoon Rocket (the voice of Bradley Cooper), who is gravely wounded by a new, godlike figure named Adam Warlock (a bronze-skinned Will Poulter). This puts Rocket out of action, but he dominates the movie in flashbacks: It turns out he was the pet project of a mad scientist named The High Evolutionary (a terrific and terrifying Chukwudi Iwuji). The scenes of Rocket bonding with his animal cagemates — all disfigured, tortured and love-starved — are both nightmarish and tender, like something from Guillermo del Toro.

There’s another development that trailers have already revealed: Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), the hot-tempered beauty who died several movies ago, has been reincarnated — but with no memory of falling for the Guardians’ boyish leader, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), and no intention of doing so now. Gamora’s resurrection is a parlor trick that will probably please fans, but it comes at a price. When death isn’t final, nothing has value; you can’t cherish what you can’t lose. That might be why superheroes are always joking and smirking? It also might be why superhero movies are often entertaining but rarely meaningful.

And “Vol. 3” is definitely entertaining. Dave Bautista’s humorless Drax, Pom Klementieff’s empathetic Mantis, Karen Gillan’s angry Nebula, Vin Diesel’s literally wooden Groot — they all get to bicker and banter and hug it out while the signature ’'70s soundtrack jumps forward to the '80s and '90s (listen for Faith No More, Radiohead and the Flaming Lips). Overall, “Vol. 3” does everything a final film should — if it really is a final film, that is.

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com