Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Review

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Directed by: James Gunn
Written by: James Gunn/Character created by: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, etc.
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, David Bautista, Bradley Cooper (voice of Rocket Raccoon), Vin Diesel (voice of Baby Groot), etc.

As far as sequels go, Guardians 2 or so lovely named "Vol.2" after Quill's mom's gift to him, Guardians has probably the sharpest and most bountiful of humor in an MCU film....which can sometimes be a hindrance to the more emotional and dramatic moments of the film.  This is around the time that the MCU was catching flake by massive comic book fandom for being a bit too humorous, with character delivering one liners and wit punch lines in nearly every scene.  And honestly I can see that with the highly anticipated sequel to the breakout hit of 2014!  I think Guardians 1 definitely had more balance of the wondrous scope and visuals of cosmic side of the MCU while also being appropriately cynical and humorous at the same time.  The serious aspects were definitely taken more seriously as the group came together for their first outing at the Galaxy's greatest defenders against large threats. Vol. 2 tho???  The comedy for sure is the main priority here and some moments that should be taken seriously are just set ups for more, unforeseen punchlines.  I think it's really hard for the MCU to find that balance of pathos and comedy A LOT of times by making their films bit too lighthearted, whimsical so it is accessible to a wider movie going audience.  That's all fine and well; not to mention apart of the formula that makes these groundbreaking series of films so popular worldwide.  But looking at such darker films like the Winter Soldier that manage to have some added grit and suspense to it that made the movie feel like a thriller was soooo much more refreshing!  Yes, there was humor, but not at expense of the intensity and urgency of the story, not to mention characters having moments of clarity at the legitimacy of the threat.

For the most part, the Guardians come off more like comic relief characters here than the refreshing, fully fleshed out ones we saw in the original, especially when it comes to Rocket and Drax.  They both definitely come off way more obnoxious here than the threatening juggernaut that people fear with "Destroyer" at the end of his title. O_o  All Drax does for the most part is observe and make jokes the whole film with very few moments that build on his personal arc and journey of redeeming himself from the loss of his family because of Thanos.  He just laughs at Quill's expense for the majority of his screen time while also potentially getting a new love interest in new character Mantis....but only to continuously making fun or telling her how hideous she is.  Which is a shame because Mantis definitely comes off as an awesome character personality wise as well as visually.  I love how the character is written as so innocent and naïve but having this great sense of curiosity of the Guardians as she gets to know them and shows them her ability to feel emotions.  Pom Klementieff really does a fine job as the character, capturing that strange charm she would have with someone like Drax in particular....even tho Drax comes off far too childish at times for his own good. Then there's Rocket.....I mean Bradley Cooper's performance continues to be entertaining and spot on with the character but it's a shame the reason the main plot of the film started in the first place is due to his transparent selfishness by stealing from the Guardians' latest job when on the planet Sovereign. 

All throughout, Rocket keeps making up excuses for his utter irresponsibility, not to mention jeopardizing the safety of the team no less as he is just seeking opportunity as he can't let go of his thievery and money making schemes.  Of course, the film is all about Rocket coming to terms with his ability to not care by actually realizing how worse things are getting throughout cause of him and it takes one of the most unlikely of characters.  As usual, the only time he shows his softer side is with Groot, who is in his most adorable form as Baby Groot.  I can say any moment with Baby Groot is either too cute or too funny! They are the jokes that work the best and the most; which just makes some of the other humor more obvious in how unneeded it was.  Who would have thought Vin Diseal doing his "I Am Groot" impression in a baby voice would be so wholesome yet so funny is beyond my comprehension! Not to mention, getting paid millions for it too!??? *Groan*  But seeing Groot in action was just so priceless, especially the moment he goes insane on one of the Ravangers and takes out his revenge for them abusing/bullying him earlier in the film.  As for our two leading Guardians in Gamora and Starlord himself, Peter Quill there are some advances made in their romance that by movie's end it seem a relationship between them has begun.  I really do enjoy Zoe and Chris Pratt's chemistry with Peter's smug, overly confident posturing in front of her while Gamora is the most serious member of the team by cutting right through everyone's idiocy, especially Quill's.  While Baby Groot is undoubtedly the heart of the team, Gamora is the unlikely, clearly irritated mother who needs to keep her fellow Guardians in line.  As for Peter, outside of his duties as the leader of the Guardians and his growing romantic attraction to Gamora, he is for sure the centerpiece of the main storyline as the revelations of his unique origins comes to head in the arrival of his birth father, played by none other than Kurt Russell himself.

Of course at the heart of the film is family but most important, Peter's true family and how the ones who raised him, not to mention loyally stand by him are his true home unlike his celestial father Ego.  Yes, the Ego, the Living Planet from the comics is the main villain here, adapted as an ancient space God who has been giving birth to hybrids around the galaxy in hopes of finding the perfect offspring to be the literal source of power behind his incredibly insane plan of turning every planet across the universe into apart of him.  Like serious, thousands if not millions of years just to plant yourself across the universe and spawn yourself throughout it to infect every planet, becoming apart of you???  As villain plans go, Ego tries to justify his existence dominating scheme to Quill as apart of what being a God means and reshaping the universe but clearly, it's just a revelation of Quill realizing his birth father was just using him all along.  And I can understand Peter's desire to want to be apart of his father's vision initially by being connected to the only living family he has left.  I suppose Russell and Pratt don't have the best of chemistry but both are pretty solid in their scenes together.  I guess the real family pathos he has or shares with is in Yondu, once again played by Michael Rooker with the same old rough and unpredictably chaotic personality as leader of the Ravangers.  I definitely enjoyed him more in Vol 2 than the first film as we get to see more layers of the character as well as his odd relationship with Quill as he sort of adopted son.  It's no wonder he has such a soft spot for that Earth boy he kidnapped and made into infamous thief among the stars.  The moment between them is definitely during the climax of the film where he sacrifices his life to save the son he never knew he had.

Honestly, it's the saddest and most powerful moment of the film where emotions hit hard as they should with no time to undercut the moment with comedy.  I mean seriously, the Guardians are given a very Avengers-eqse team assembling in a circle moment amongst the chaos of Ego's planet only to be completely ruined by utter slapstick of Mantis get knocked out of nowhere by a falling boulder. -_-  It just pushes the film into feeling more like a parody of itself than an actual film trying to tell a legit story with comedic beats.  But another aspect that didn't disappoint in the film unlike the almost relentless humor is the return of Nebula, played by Karen Gillan who once again comes off as such a stoic badass and I thoroughly enjoyed the breakthrough in her sisterhood with Gamora.  After spending much of the film as a captive of the Guardians, we get a hilarious yet action packed moment of Nebula trying to kill Gamora on Ego's planet but finally having a moment where their relationship evolves in to something more empathetic and compassionate.  It was great to finally see this two mend the harsh yet thought-provoking relationship they have as Thanos' adoptive daughters.  You feel especially sympathetic for Nebula and the trauma she's endured thanks to Thanos that she blames Gamora for; thanks to her wanting so desperately to survive the wrath of Thanos herself.  Definitely some nice chemistry between Karen Gillan and Zoe Saldana under all that make-up! lol

But despite my reservations for certain aspects of the film, Guardians Vol. 2 may in fact be one of James Gunn's most visually spectacular looking films to date.  From the inventive, cheeky opening with Baby Groot dancing to yet another vintage classic via Quill's music while the Guardians face off against a fearsome monster to the space battles/chases that are given more exuberant flare in design and scope of the MCU's space, the film certainly holds your attention even if the main story with Ego isn't the most compelling in the end. Yes, even with the clearly MUCH bigger budget, Ego isn't exactly the greatest of villains even if visually, he makes for some of the film's most impressive display of onscreen digital magic.  Also, we once again get some of Hollywood's best in rather small but memorable roles like Sly Stone himself as Stakar Ogord, leader/overseer of one of the factions of Ravangers or don't miss that blink or you'll miss it cameo by David Hasselhoff. Lol  All and All, Guardians of the Galaxy is a lesser version of its more adventurous and thrilling first outing but there is enough hear to keep you invested for sure.  I mean Baby Groot alone is worth the price of admission alone!  There is some character development as well as relationship progress for some of the team as even Peter finally makes peace with his mother's death by finally avenging her when finding out the source of her cancer. :(  The action sequences are top notch and creative as all hell, especially Yondu's very accurate and deadly flying pen that gets a whole moment to shine in the film in and of itself.  WOW! :)

"While not as pleasantly surprising and joyously awesome as Vol. 1 ;), "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" continues the treacherous, entertaining missions and family bonding of the galaxy's most unusual team of peace keepers that tries to do its best by concluding Peter's personal arc of dealing with his tragic parentage but getting to cared away with it punchlines than the emotion punch of very few scenes.  Nevertheless, it's tremendous storytelling at times by exploring even more fascinating aspects of the space side of the MCU with stunning set designs and exquisitely detailed costumes/make-up.  It may not live up to the heights of the original but it is an overall solid piece of cinema that anyone can enjoy as much as Baby Groot eating popcorn during a harrowing space chase sequence. lol :)"

Final Film Score: B