‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ Review

The first Guardians of the Galaxy was a complete surprise. It showed that Marvel could take one of their weirdest properties and turn it into a fun summer blockbuster. The second movie in the series had a lot to live up to and it delivered an experience that almost equals the first one

Plot

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is once again written and directed by James Gunn. This time, the Guardians are continuing to help the galaxy when one day, they meet Star Lord’s dad, played by Kurt Russell. The gang follows Russell back to the planet that he resides on. When they discover a new threat to the galaxy, the gang joins together to ultimately save the world.

Characters

The best part of the first movie was the chemistry between all the Guardians and in the second movie, the chemistry is equally entertaining. They all flow off one another so well and the dialogue between them is great.

Chris Pratt is fantastic as Peter Quill, a.k.a Star-Lord. He is so funny in this movie and he is extremely charismatic and charming in this role. The movie mainly centers around him and the relationship with his dad and he does a really good job with the arc that his character goes through.

Rocket Raccoon and Groot are also both great in this movie. Bradley Cooper does a great job at voicing the wise-cracking raccoon and a lot of his lines are hysterical. Baby Groot is very adorable and, besides the opening credit sequence, he isn’t overused in the movie like I thought he would be. He is a good comic relief character.

Zoe Saldana is really good as Gamora, but out of the five members, I feel like she had the least to do. There is a pretty interesting side story between her and her sister, Nebula (Karen Gillan), but I feel like it wasn’t entirely necessary for the movie.

However, Dave Bautista steals the show as Drax. Every line he said had me laughing. His delivery is perfect. He says the weirdest things with the most deadpan delivery. It’s hard to keep a straight face, even when his character is trying to be intimidating.

I also really enjoyed Michael Rooker as Yondu. He definitely had a lot more to do in this movie and his character is developed really well in this movie. I understood why Yondu does what he does in this movie.

The two newcomers are both really good too. Pom Klementieff plays Mantis and I thought she was good. She does overact sometimes a little, but she is pretty good. Kurt Russell is great in this movie. He and Chris Pratt have great chemistry and he just has a ton of charisma.

Direction

The visual effects in this movie are absolutely stunning. The new planet they spend most of their time on is so beautiful. I found myself just staring at many of the different set pieces that they used. The color scheme used is very appealing to the eye.

James Gunn does another great job at directing. The action scenes he creates are so entertaining and pretty intense. He also has a great eye for humor and timing. Most of the jokes hit in this movie. He also utilizes another fantastic soundtrack. Every song matches the scene that they are used for perfectly.

Narrative

The story structure is the only area where the movie struggles a little. The first half of the film has multiple storylines that, while enjoyable, don’t have a purpose initially, making it feel a bit disjointed. However, once the storylines intersect, this is when the film kicks into high gear.

There is also a planet of gold people introduced at the beginning of the film who aren’t necessary to the film but keep showing up. There are many funny moments involving this group, but they feel more like an annoyance to our heroes than an actual threat and kill the momentum slightly when they appear. 

Final Thoughts

Overall, I still had a fantastic time with this movie. Other than a few issues with the story and its structure, it came very close to matching the first movie. I can’t wait to see the next adventure with the Guardians and hopefully, it’s just as fun as the first two.

Rating: 9/10