Review of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) by Kristofer H — 10 May 2017

Proper Perspective: It is impossible to not qualify a movies quality based on the original or its predecessors, but for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, try to do that. The first one was lightning in a bottle and the follow-up was a ton of fun as its own movie, building on the lore and characters we were all introduced to in Vol. 1. After seeing it twice, let's talk about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2...

Official Synopsis: Set to the backdrop of Awesome Mixtape #2, 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' continues the team's adventures as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill's true parentage.

Plot: Once it is revealed who Peter Quill's father is, the Guardians are split up and have to work together, through new and testing challenges that will try their will as a "family.".

Take: Vol. 2 may not have the same overall sound and nostalgic pull as Vol. 1, but it is equally terrific for some of the same reasons and a few of its own new reasons. There is a lot to unpack in this movie, so how about a quick paragraph overview? Ya, okay good:

The Guardians are good guys for hire and go to protect some batteries for the Sovereign People... Then they meet Star-Lord's (Chris Pratt) father, Ego the Living Planet (Kurt Russell) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) while unraveling the story of Star-Lord's past... The Ravagers are not happy with Yondu (Michael Rooker) so he, Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) have to deal with that fun... Gamora (Zoe Saldona) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) continue their sister-ly relationship... Oh, and a dude named Taserface (Chris Sullivan) factors into all of this.

Got it?

While there are a lot of stories unfolding at once answering questions from the last movie, setting up future movies, and closing loops in this story the pacing and story unfolded great.

James Gunn has a signature style of writing with humor, character, and depth that allows you to connect with all of the characters no matter their overall screen time. For example, in Vol. 2 Sean Gunn is in a handful of scenes, but you are invested in his arc as a Ravager that is frustrated with Yondu, but not in support of Taserface. He just wants to do the right thing.

This movie nails character. Even Taserface.

The jokes really landed in this movie as much as in Vol. 1, where the movies differ is that while the first act doubles down on the jokes, the second act is focused on building story, and there is a level of drama and heaviness that will stay with you. As much as these movies are alike they are very different.

Great direction, awesome pacing, fantastic writing, fun characters and performances, and overall a fun time in the theaters.

Recommendation: Sure, this may not be as memorable as the first movie, but it has merit to stand on that it is an equally fun and entertaining movie. I've seen it twice, once with adults and beverages and once with my kids and both audiences loved the movie from beginning to end...

Is Rocket a Trash Panda? A Raboon? A Racoon? A Triangle-Faced Monkey? WHAT IS HE???