Review of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) by Evan M — 12 Jul 2017

It's Phase Three in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the game plan is expanding while further exploring different areas of the shared universe. A year before "Infinity War" comes out, James Gunn returned for Round 2 in a Marvel sequel of his fun inventive creativity from 2014 that formally introduced the cosmic universe, deepening through all aspects. "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" continues the fun from before with a little more depth added to what's already been known.

In their next heroic deed three months since their help on Xander and defeating Ronan, the renowned Guardians of the Galaxy find themselves put into supporting Star-Lord's question of his true heritage, as well the bonds. But they're not free from being hunted down by the hired, conflicted Ravagers from the royally-angered Sovereign race after their previous encounter with the Guardians that led into a mishap. Not only that whereas old foes becomes allies while being hunted down, and knowing the meaning of family relationships, the Guardians would soon discover another menacing threat that threatens to take over the universe.

The fifth follow-up sequel to an original functions similarly to the previous Marvel first sequels, with "Iron Man 2" as the least and both "The Winter Soldier" and "Age of Ultron" tied to the top. From the scale, it sets the bar for what a sequel needed to reach for within the franchise; making this to top slightly over the aforementioned tops. How that came to be is the continuation that was typically enlarged at a somewhat slight rate. It resulted to be more fun by bringing in more humor, more music from the elegant tasteful selection, and more emotions into the mix. Director James Gunn continues to show grace in his creativity for the Marvel team-turned-family through those elements, along with the cast, both old and new, adding more into their characters.

Adding into the cast from the previous film - Pratt, Saldana, Bautista, Diesel, Cooper, Rooker, Gillan and [Sean] Gunn, who all performed with familiarity from experienced bonds towards the added depth of their characters' respective arcs - are Sylvestor Stallone, Pom Klementieff and Kurt Russell to name a couple within the close connections. As much as both the former and the latter actor are very well-known with their recognized charisma that followed the deepened method, even though one of them got twisted, Klementieff's presence as Mantis is probably the most likable addition while also her breakout into the larger mainstream cinema.

Thinking back to some overcrowded storylines in previous Marvel films (i.e. Spider-Man 2007 and 2014, X-Men 2006, and "Age of Ultron" (admittedly)), the storyline for this film may seemed overcrowded from its format, but the scale of the narrative execution turned out smooth. The film featured multiple villains/antagonistic obstacles with equal focus or scale by thirds, and they were dealt with nicely without going off balance. That's usually a narrative obstacle as seen in the aforementioned films as examples next to storylines being presented. What I'm trying to say is that "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" can be set as an example on how those other films - and future films if they're going to tackle a similar format - should follow without breaking the balancing scale. Also, with "Age of Ultron" being mentioned, it shows that this Marvel first sequel is better in its own way that makes it the best yet among the first sequels.

The most notable quality that comes from the "Guardians of the Galaxy" galactic franchise is the elegant taste in music that continues the nostalgic vibe for those who listened to those tracks in the respective decade. It's also a nice trap for those who haven't been introduced to such music yet prior to the film, and they would be attracted to the tunes in the accompanied scenes that resonated the sequence. Finally while still on the topic of music, score composer Tyler Bates heightened (the film's keyword) the effects of the score throughout the film from the predecessor like any other sequel with this time being somewhat around perfection.

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" continues the entertainment value of its predecessor, and the finest quality run for the MCU franchise, with the sequel routine of adding a little more to the experienced. With "Civil War" being the peak of seriousness for the MCU, this usually exciting and entertaining ride exceeded expectations by tackling few emotions, mostly hilarity(!), at great value to be the MCU's peak for fun. (A+).