Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Directed By: James Gunn
When the first Guardians of the Galaxy first hit theaters three years ago it hit harder than anyone could have imagined. So much so that on the eve of the release of its sequel all this time later it doesn't fell like this franchise has lost an ounce of its audiences excitement. With James Gunn back in the director's chair, all our favorite sort-of-good-guys back in the Milano, and a few new major additions to the cast there was nothing to expect but good things, and good things it delivered. Suffering only slightly from sequelitis in the plot, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 more than makes up for it by moving a mile a minute, spitting jokes just as fast, and even pulling a bit on our heart strings in the end.
The follow up to the 2014 smash hits opens up on the gang a short time after they last saved the galaxy. They are now working as a crew for hire, helping out those in need if the price is right. Their work is put on pause when a key figure from Peter Quills (Chris Pratt) past reappears to answer many of the questions he's been holding onto about his parentage. His eagerness to discover these answers leads him to make quick decisions that cause rifts within the Guardians that in turn set each of them on their own paths of self-discovery.
Vol. 2 is clearly the middle of a three-part story, It's more about the team finding themselves and where they fit into this group than ti is about any super villain or larger MCU plot. Instead of just rejoining the team after the first movie and having them mesh perfectly going up against some big bad guy they dive into who this band of misfits is and why they should be together. They haven't been getting along too well and the movie explores that on a deeper and more emotional level than any other MCU film so far.
This is especially key in the Yondu (Michael Rooker) and Rocket (Bradley Cooper) storylines as they are at the emotional center of this movie. Much like in the first film, Rocket is the most closed off of the group and it leads to some big issues between them whereas Yondu is dealing with the rejection of his ravager brothers. Their story arcs and performances were the highlights for me, both eliciting a much larger emotional response than I had expected from this movie.
What I did expect from a Guardians sequel was tons of jokes, great action, and a kick-ass soundtrack and on those three accounts, this movie is damn near perfect. The humor, for the most part, comes from Chris Pratt as Peter Quill and Dave Bautista as Drax, who stole the show last time around. Pratt has his natural charm and charisma that are as good as ever here, but it's Bautista as Drax that is the real stand-out here. He is spitting jokes rapid-fire with most of them landing and his relationship to newcomer Mantis (Pom Klementieff) is wonderful. He gets an expanded role and more screen time here and it is totally deserved.
The story moves quickly, never lingering a single plot point or set piece for too long and jumping from planet to planet. There are a handful of big action set-pieces throughout that are all wonderfully choreographed and stylized, with Yondu's arrow once again stealing the show. What is surprising though is the number of scenes with heavy dialogue that are still able to just breeze by and not bog down the story. I guess it helps when you always have an adorable little baby tree person around, baby Groot is as wonderful as you are hoping he will be.
Leaving the first movie all that anyone could think about was Awesome Mix Vol. 1, Peter's great mix of classic oldies that serve as a soundtrack to the movie as a whole. The ending of that story came with the promise of an Awesome Mix Vol. 2 and not only does this film deliver another fantastic compilation of songs, it is once again a key part of the story as a whole. I have a feeling this one is hitting the top of the charts again.
Gunn couldn't totally escape sequelitis, however, as the actual story of this movie is thin. Focusing more in on character development leaves the plot without much to get into. They decided to build the dynamic of the team more instead, Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) get subplots as do Rocket and Yondu all of which greatly build our relationship with the team. This is the middle of a three part story and sacrificing plot was a necessary evil and the rapid-fire jokes and emotional character moments make it hardly noticeable.
Its Quill's story, we are learning with him who is father is and what it means for him going forward. It's clearly going to be key to wherever this is going in the next movie and I think Gunn and company for the most part nail it. Pratt owns this role and is obviously having a blast playing him, pair that with the perfect casting for his father and this movie is just full of good looks and charm.
Vol. 2 brings us a ton more of what we loved the first time around while adding more emotion to the story as we get to know the Guardians on a deeper level. The film moves rapidly, never slowly down for anything and spitting jokes any chance it gets. What it lacks in plot it makes up for in memorable character moments and great action set-pieces. Now that I know this band of outlaws on a more personal level I cannot wait to see where Gunn takes us in the third movie.
P.S. You should obviously stay through all of the credits, there are more stingers than I can remember.
As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!
