'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' Review

Image from Project Casting

By Darian Scalamoni

            The summer movie season has officially begun and we have witnessed the return of Marvel’s unlikeliest heroes, the Guardians of the Galaxy. The original film, released in 2014 happens to be one of my favorite comic book movies of all-time and the sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 had all the potential in the world to expand upon the first film and be bigger and better. Though the movie happens to be one of my favorites made by Marvel Studios, it falls under my expectations just a tad.

            Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 showcases your favorite team of intergalactic misfits on more missions starring the original lineup of Star-Lord (Peter Quill), Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Baby Groot but we dive a bit deeper into some of the character’s stories in this sequel including learning the truth about Peter Quill’s father. I promise not to spoil the movie other than major plot details that were given out in trailers but my spoiler heavy review will be released in the coming days so let’s dive into it.

            The movie is directed once again by James Gunn, who so gloriously took the reins of the first and ups the ante in Vol. 2. This movie definitely feels bigger than the last, has more humor and more characters to follow (and some older ones that become more fleshed out) but as I said before, it didn’t live up to my expectations. One of the reasons why is that most of the Guardians are left being relegated to important cogs for the team to operate but aren’t given more of a story arc. Drax and Rocket are two characters who are damaged obviously with the loss of their family and being a scientific experiment, unfortunately, neither plot points are touched upon more in part two as both become humor devices for most of the flick.

            Quill’s relationship with his father is the main plot device throughout the whole movie and it totally works to great lengths. Kurt Russell as Ego is perfect casting and it’s definitely believable that Chris Pratt could be his son. Russell does a great job of explaining to Quill his heritage that is unknown to the audience before Vol. 2 and makes it known that he’s been on the search for his son for years. There is clearly great chemistry between the two actors and it makes for a believable family reunion when that does eventually happen within the movie.

            For those who worry about the soundtrack, don’t worry, it’s pretty fantastic yet again. The use of songs like “Blue Sky”, “Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl)” and “The Chain” make for perfect plot devices throughout, maybe even more so than the first, though I happen to like the soundtrack of the first film a bit more.

            Though the humor is amped up to a riotous laugh factory, it unfortunately doesn’t add to the narrative and though it keeps the film moving, it seems to act more as fan-fare than benefitting the movie as a whole. Having said all of that, the movie is one of the better efforts from Marvel and brings together old foes to bring down a new common enemy set against the backdrop of Awesome Mixtape #2. If you liked the first movie, you’ll love this movie but you might have some issues coming out that might be similar to mine in which I’ll disclose further in the spoiler review. Go see the movie though because it’s still an excellent and welcome addition to furthering the Marvel Cinematic Universe in advance of Avengers: Infinity War and the further stories of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

8.6/10