What to watch: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ has never been better

One of the best, edgiest, Marvel Cinematic Universe movies arrives this week, along with two great series — “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” and Silo” — along with a provocative drama that addresses xenophobia.

Here’s our roundup.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”: James Gunn saved his best for last. The conclusion of the filmmaker’s absurdly entertaining trilogy featuring a ragtag team of superhero chums not only wrecked me; it scarred me more than “Bambi” did. It’s also one of the best MCU movies I’ve seen. Period. A word of advice, though, this finale is way too disturbing and nightmare-inducing for kids and might well be too much for devoted animal lovers.

Gunn gives us an origin story about Rocket Raccoon (voice of Bradley Cooper), the wisecracking mammal with a genius IQ, plenty of attitude and a traumatic background.

What prompts this look back are the out-of-control actions of golden boy messenger Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), who puts Rocket’s life in peril, prompting his band of memorable buddies — Peter Quill/Star Lord (Chris Pratt), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Nebula (Karen Gillian), Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Groot (Vin Diesel) — to try to bring him back from the brink of death. Star Lord’s previous love interest Gamora (Zoë Saldaña) returns as well.

Rocket’s plight sends all into the crosshairs of a deranged villain, the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) who has a crackpot notion about creating the “perfect” hybrid individual and the perfect alternate world for these hybrids to live  in — a plan that requires the input of Rocket.

The High Evolutionary is a tool to his own genetic tinkering. His cruelty knows no bounds as he experiments with animals and then discards them, a development that pushes the film into horror territory. That’s not a bad thing — but it’s also not suitable for very young viewers.

“Guardians” pumps needed life into the MCU, which has been in a creative slump mostly since 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” (“Spider-Man: No Way Home” is a notable exception). It’s not perfect by any means. It suffers at times from jarring tonal shifts and from falling back on its old tricks. But just when you’re ready to slap your forehead and shout “Please, not another oldie rock song!” Gunn hits you with an emotional gut punch. Where this “Guardians” excels, and other recent MCU releases have failed, is in delivering both action and the emotion — a tricky balancing act. Beyond the “Guardians” films, Gunn, who was fired from the production but eventually rehired, instills hope that Marvel and even the DC Universe at Warner Bros. will be moving into better directions. Details: 3½ stars; in theaters May 4.

“Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story”: In a big surprise, this six-episode Bridgerton tale — an origin story — is the best chapter in the popular romantic Netflix series.

How so? By being passionate and sexy and also wise in reflecting on what it means to truly love a complicated person in an era that demanded that everyone act and behave a certain way.

This is still the “Bridgerton” we’re most accustomed to, a sweeping royally-infused land populated with distinctive secondary characters such as the stern Queen Charlotte (played with sly stoicism by Golda Rosheuvel) and that fan favorite, the perceptive Lady Agatha (Adjoa Andoh, a delight). But “Charlotte” hitches its storyline to a time when both of them were in their critical late teens and early 20s. (Never fear, Lady Whistledown, voiced by Julie Andrews, is still around to wittily observe and opine.)

The young cast, though, really sells it. India Amarteifio is a fireball as young Charlotte, a speak-her-mind sort who’s none too pleased about being betrothed to a man she hasn’t even met, King George (Corey Mylchreest). Luckily, the two have chemistry. But mysterious George is a standoffish guy and runs hot and cold, sometimes in a matter of seconds. Worse yet, he refuses to sleep with Charlotte and she won’t stand for that. Eventually she figures out what’s at the root of his problem and it’s an emotionally wrenching reveal. It also demands greatness from both actors, and they more than deliver thanks, in part, to director Tom Verica — who helmed all episodes — allowing them the space to do so.

Meanwhile the scrappy Agatha (Arsema Thomas, a standout) is stuck in a robustly sexualized marriage with a besotted older gent who isn’t too giving to anyone other than himself in the bedroom. She, too, undergoes a dramatic change. As a bonus, we get a tender side story about the clandestine love between Reynolds (Freddie Dennis), a butler to King George, and Brimsley (Sam Clemmett), the Queen’s butler.

As with each entry, the costumes and the period details are topnotch and simply gorgeous to behold. But without giving too much away, this “Bridgerton” chapter mines richer, riskier material, a direction that series creator Shonda Rimes navigates with skill, particularly her writing on the final episode. Details: 3½ stars; drops May 4 on Netflix.

“Silo”: Dystopian series don’t get better than this one, a robust 10-parter based on the self-published phenom “Wool” by Hugh Howey. It deserves to rest on a top entertainment shelf next to the rebooted Syfy Channel’s “Battlestar Galactica” (now available on Peacock).

The premise is simple yet fraught with complexity. After a catastrophic “event” renders the outside world toxic, a vast community gets sealed into an underground silo. They do get to see a beautiful countryside, but anyone who is sentenced to go out there faces a certain death. When an unlikely sheriff Juliette (Rebecca Fergusson of “Dune”) takes command, her suspicions grow that the silo harbors a network of secrets and a questionable legacy. Series creator Graham Yost does an incredible job of worldbuilding but keeps us off-balance in every episode — meting out just enough about this strange new world to keep us intrigued.

The first episode alone is a grabber, defying our every expectation. Can’t say how. Throughout, the storytelling and world-building maintain the highest standards. And that final episode promises there’s even more yet to come. If you love “Dune,” this is a gimme. Details: 4 stars; first two episodes drop May 5 on Apple TV+, with one episode dropping every Friday through June 30.

“R.M.N.”: One of this generation’s best filmmakers — Romania’s Cristian Mungiu — focuses on a small town in Transylvania and tells a universal story about how immigrants get turned into punching bags. An ambivalent Matthias (Marin Grigore) ditches his job in Germany to return to his hometown, a place festering with outrage over the arrival of workers taking jobs most locals don’t want to do. Matthias is a married father who is carrying on an affair with Csilla (Judith Slate) who runs the plant where the newly hired Sri Lankan employees work. Tensions mount, culminating in an extended, uncomfortable sequence wherein villagers spew their ethnic hatred aimed at the “others.” Mungiu has put his hand on the pulse of a nation — and the globe. It’s one of the best, most passionate films of the year and leaves you with to think about. Details: 4 stars; in theaters May 5.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.