‘Guardians 3’ lets its freak flag fly this time

Continued from page 5 comic book oddballs and cast them into a cosmic tapestry of weirdos and misfits, ranging wildly in size, shape, color and dancing ability.

In “Vol. 3,” Gunn really lets the freak flag fly, putting the Guardians in battle with not just the High Evolutionary but the notion of perfection. It’s not a coincidence that this “Guardians” film arrives, finally, in the suburbs – or at least some slightly warped version of it. Gunn, a B-movie director at heart, fills these films with more sinewy than sleek worlds, full of florid beauty and opulent grotesquerie. (‘’Vol. 3,’’ more than the last two films, reminded me of “The Fifth Element,’’ a good thing.) It’s often clear that his ambitions are sometimes just a bit too much; this, like his DC film “The Suicide Squad,” “Vol. 3” could have used a firmer editor to corral some of Gunn’s impulse for excess.

This installment, of course, nearly didn’t happen after Gunn’s firing years ago. And partially because of that forced hiatus, he’s now ruling an even larger, more mainstream superhero cosmos at DC.

That surely has something to do with the sense of parting that permeates the final act of “Guardians

3.’’ After so many speeches about friendship and togetherness, “Vol. 3” ends curiously elegiacally, and with one last dance.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” a Walt Disney Co. release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for intense sequences of violence and action, strong language, suggestive/ drug references and thematic elements.