PETA praises Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as an "animal rights masterpiece"

Peta has nothing but kind words for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Warning! Minor spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 below!

The final installment in James Gunn's Guardians trilogy explores the origin of Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), depicting scenes of cruel torture at the hands of the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji).

"Through Rocket, James Gunn has put a face, a name, and a personality on the millions of vulnerable animals being cycled through laboratories as we speak," Peta Senior Vice President Lisa Lange said in a statement.

"Peta is celebrating this as the best animal rights film of the year for helping audiences see animals as individuals and suggesting that just because we can experiment on them doesn’t mean that we should."

The film, which has been largely praised by critics, has knocked The Super Mario Bros. Movie out of its no. 1 spot at the global box office, bringing in over $282 million in its opening weekend.

For even more on Guardians of the Galaxy 3, see our interviews with Chris Pratt on a potential Star-Lord return and his belief that you’ll be surprised by how dark Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is, as well as Chukwudi Iwuji on how the High Evolutionary is one of Marvel’s most irredeemable villains. You can also check out our writer's view on why Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is a celebration of fatherhood.

If you've seen the movie, head to our spoilery deep dives on: 

• The Guardians of the Galaxy 3 ending explained  
• Will there be a Guardians of the Galaxy 4? 
• Who are the new Guardians of the Galaxy? 
• Who dies in Guardians of the Galaxy 3?  
• When will Guardians of the Galaxy 3 be on Disney Plus? 
• What to watch before Guardians of the Galaxy 3  
• Who were the original Guardians of the Galaxy?  
• Where are the MCU Guardians of the Galaxy in comics?  
• Who is Cosmo the Space Dog?
• Who is Lylla?
• The complete Marvel timeline
• All the upcoming Marvel movies and shows
• How to watch the Marvel movies in order