Having been protecting the galaxy since 2014, this is a swansong for not only the guardians, but also for the writer and director of the franchise itself James Gunn, who has decided to take off to another universe, as the new head of the DCU.

But it’s fair to say both he and the guardians go out with a bang.

Feeling a little sorry for himself in Knowhere is Rocket (Bradley Cooper); he’s listening to ‘Creep’ by Radiohead (acoustic version), which is just the type of song you would listen to if you were feeling maudlin.

Then, out of nowhere, appears the entity known as Warlock (Will Poulter), who has been created with one sole purpose – to destroy the Guardians. He has a good crack at it too, managing to severely injure Rocket, who is now close to death.

Although others are prepared to declare him R.I.P after discovering that he actually has a kill switch that will kick in if they try to save him, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) has other ideas, and will do whatever it takes to keep his furry friend alive.

So he decides to venture to Orgocorp, the place where Rocket was created, to find the override code to save Rocket’s life. But of course, this won’t be an easy task, nothing ever is for the Guardians, as they will have to confront the being who created Rocket, the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), who appears to have his own agenda, which may well cause a fair bit of death and destruction along the way if he succeeds.

At two and a half hours long, this is some finale for the Guardians. It wasn’t an easy ride either, which even saw Gunn be fired from the project, after a series of embarrassing old tweets resurfaced. Thankfully it all got resolved, before any film being shot, so at least there was no disruption during production.

It is a classic story of a group of friends setting out on quest to save their friend’s life. But at the same time, Gunn also manages to squeeze in an origin story, that of Rocket’s, which also manages to give context to the main quest itself. And overall it works, although it does feel somewhat self-indulgent in places, with the kind of running time you do feel could have done with some trimming. But with everything that Gunn had gone through at this point, it would have been a brave exec who pulled him up on it.

Ultimately it is a film about relationships, new and old, and the how important having friends is. At the centre of it all is Quill, Star-Lord, as well as his rock soundtrack, as he navigates his sea of human emotions. This has a ripple effect around him, as other relationships are strengthened along the way.

The story itself is on the weak side, and is just a poor excuse for the characters to essentially say their goodbyes. Although the film hints of a return for the Star-Lord, it’s unlikely that all the cast will return in this current configuration, and even less likely that Gunn will be involved, especially as he’s now gone over to the DC side, and currently residing over the re-boot of a certain Man of Steel.

Certainly Will Poulter is a welcome addition, who must now be the last of all the English actors to be enrolled into the MCU, playing Adam Warlock, a character you can see reappearing elsewhere at some point in the all the Marvel goings-on.

But much like the franchise itself, it was fun whilst it lasted, and this soiree in space, albeit overlong, is a fitting farewell for the current Guardians and a good, natural place to hit the stop button.