Review of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) by Smithy S — 13 Jul 2018

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 is another entry that keeps the Marvel Cinematic Universe footing up to the top while improving on the first movie in many ways. In Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 takes place after the events of the first film where the titular team are now working together as both heroes and a family, but they end up going on the run from a powerful dictator after Rocket steals a highly important and valuable object from them which forced the heroes to go into hiding until they meet Ego who is revealed as Peter Quill's long lost biological father along with his assistant Mantis.

They agree to join Peter's dad but soon learn the true purpose on why he needs their stubborn and part douchebag leader in the first place as they uncover the dark secrets surrounding Peter's true parentage as they must fight back and save Peter from his evil father.

Vol.2 is everything how a sequel works in terms of characterization, execution and storytelling because this movie does a good job in exceeding the expectations of the first film while also expanding on it.

What made Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 great is that this movie retains the best elements that made the original a big hit for the Marvel Cinematic Universe while also being able to stand on its own in an impressive way, everything about this sequel is packed to the brim with new ideas that fits the overall tone of the film at the heart and soul of its story and characters.

The things that satisfied me in the movie is the titular heroes themselves, if in the original Guardians Of The Galaxy they were these delinquents who are troubled but understanding from inside, despite how annoying they were when introduced first time around.

The sequel changes their personality that marks as a major improvement in the first film's faults of its titular heroes especially Peter Quill, the man who became the dumbest hero in Avengers Infinity War and is responsible for making Thanos gain the upper hand against the Avengers when he beats the hell out of him after learning of his girlfriend's murder at the hands of her cruel adopted daddy and enemy Thanos.

Here he was quite different from the first Guardians Of The Galaxy and in the aforementioned Avengers Infinity War despite still having some of his negative aspects that made all the fans hate him in the first place, this is the Peter Quill we love and could have been handled properly before the two part Avengers films.

The other highlights of Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 is the funky soundtrack and this time it is filled with songs that my parents love when they were my age, which adds up the fun. The colors are crazy fun and beautiful, there are so many action scenes that are full of jolts and suspense but watchable (The opening fight against a big octopus like alien, Rocket's ambush against the Ravagers, Yondu's whistling arrow massacre while escaping with Rocket and Baby Groot, Nebula vs Gamora and the fight between Peter and his evil biological father).

Plus the CGI effects are wackier and just as gorgeous as the colors. There are a couple of scenes and gags that will both make you laugh and cry respectively (The hilarious space jumps with Yondu, Rocket, Baby Groot and Yondu's associate making Snapchat like faces, mocking Taserface for fun and the super sad death of Peter Quill's adopted but true father Yondu).

But what made this movie different to the first Guardians film is the big twists and turns which are so dark yet unexpected (Ego revealing to Peter what he truly did to his mother) and last but not least, as of what I said in my previous Phase Three Marvel films reviews is the main antagonist.

Ego is another one of Marvel's greatest villains and their most threatening one since Thanos and Hela from Avengers Infinity War and Thor Ragnarok respectively. The new enemy of the Guardians in this film is darker and also a big surprise to our heroes which is done in a proper way thanks to how Ego's motivations were so written well that ties up altogether Peter's family life, its great to see how Marvel is following the pattern on how to make their villains work whereas last time they were unfocused in the early films before they got it in the right direction through the response of fans and critics.

Now the acting is superb as always, its good to see our returning heroes reprise their roles from the previous film (Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel as Star Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Baby Groot respectively) especially the returning supporting casts like Karen Gillan as Gamora's vengeful sister Nebula.

While I love seeing fresh new faces in this film like Pom Klementiff as Mantis and Sylvester Stallone as Yondu's boss including a brief cameo of Michelle Yeoh as a former friend of Yondu. But the one who steals the show the most is Michael Rooker and Kurt Russell as Dad number 1 and 2.

I love how actor Michael Rooker made some improvisations with not only his acting but his character too that fits the arc of for the team especially when his chemistry with Rocket is fun and also heartbreaking.

While Kurt Russell has wore big shoes for his performance as Ego The Living Planet and I love how he portrays the main villain in a surprising way from beginning to end. Director and Writer James Gunn did a fantastic job with his work on this film, he really improved nearly everything from the first film by incorporating new ideas while stuffing it with some of the same old beats of its predecessor which created a fresh and respectable but better follow-up and I love how he managed it well while maintaining its magic touch at the same time, I look forward to see how he will end the story in Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 3 in a satisfying way.

Overall Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 is a jam packed, fun and worthy sequel that improves on its predecessor in a satisfying but believable way. This movie gets a 10.7/10.