Guardians Of The Galaxy VOL 2 Review
Rating - 7/10
The Frickin Guardians Of The Galaxy!
Plot Summary
I am Groot! After three years of waiting, the hotly anticipated sequel to Guardians Of The Galaxy has finally blasted its way onto our big screens, and boy did it come back with a bang!
Set months after its predecessor, this film delves deeper into the team dynamic, revealing more about each Guardian's backstory and their relationship as team. If Vol. 1 was the coming together of a family,then Vol.2 answers the question of what it means to be a family, as the true parentage of Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is revealed.
POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOLLOW
Stand Out Performances
He's back! with a brand new headpiece!
Michael Rooker returns as our our favourite Ravager - Yondu in VOL.2 and he is back with an even bigger role - and a much cooler headpiece to match his role. Yondu's arc during this film begins with him
being stripped of his status as captain of the Ravagers, leading to some comedic and epic exchanges with the fellow Guardians.
While we are once again treated to Yondu's signature - "whistle arrow of death" routine an other badassary, we are also introduced to Yondu's empathetic side, which we have yet to see on the big screen, which portrays some of Michael Rooker's best performances as Yondu and moments in the movie overall. To me, Yondu steals the film.
Supporting villain no more, welcome Nebula!
Karen Gillian returns as the mad titan - Thano's daughter - Nebula and in this film, she brings her Nebula into her own. During the first film, Nebula was introduced as a foil to Gamora and a secondary villain to the film's big bad - Ronan the Accuser; this film changes that dynamic, as we learn more about Nebula as a person and some interesting details about how she became the person she is.This film continues to build upon the sibling rivalry between Nebula and her adoptive sister - Gamora, allowing for some exemplary performances from Karen Gillian as Nebula and Zoe Saldana as Gamora.
"He said welcome to the frikin Guardians of The Galaxy.... but he didn't say frikin!"
Bradley Cooper's vocals bring the masked space bandit to life once again, as Rocket continues to steal the show with his hilarious one liners and bad attitude. Rocket is a character I enjoy watching each and everytime he on screen, from his fatherlike/big brother relationship with Baby Groot, to more personal scenes where we learn more about his character, and how he fits in with his fellow band of misfits - the Guardians.
The Story
The Plot
The plot is clearly focused on the theme of family and its importance, which the film overall, succeeds at - Peter Quill and his father Ego, Gamora and Nebula, Yondu and Rocket, Yondu and Quill.
The plot to this film is a little disjointed if not distracting, in regards to the number of sub plots and characters the film tries to do justice. The film is heavily focused on character, if not a masterclass on character development, however while doing so, it places a number of characters on the side line, adding more mini adventures than an overarching adventure for our main heroes.
The main issue I had with the plot really was the separation of the team for their "mini adventures", however it made the film ever more thrilling when they return from those "mini adventures" to fight once again as The Guardians Of The Galaxy we know and love.
However, despite the plot been a little disjointed, this film is a really fun watch, with each scene having something particularly interesting about it to engage me with the characters, from the humorous moments to the serious moments. Chris Pratt's performance during his interactions with Kurt Russell who plays Ego are a much watch. I believe that the choices made for the characters in this film, out ways some of the plot troubles in this film, in addition to the humour at times - making the film funnier that its predecessor.
The Characters
Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 2 brings back our much beloved "A holes", with entertaining performances once again from the original cast - including Chris Pratt as Star Lord, Dave Bautista as Drax, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Bradley Cooper as Rocket and Vin Diesel as Baby Groot.
However, alongside our original cast, we are introduced to thrilling new characters, including Ego (Kurt Russel) - who puts on a great performance as Peter Quill's father, and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) - who brings a layer of mystery and intrigue to the character.
The Awesome Mix Soundtrack
The soundtrack to this film does not feel as prominent or necessary as the original, becoming distracting at times.
However there are moments during the film where the song choices did flourish, Yusaf/Cat Stevens - Father and Sun track was particularly touching, along with ELO's Mr Blue Sky fitting the space opera perfectly. I would have liked the trailer's Fox On The Run track by Sweet, as it really created the hype for the film, during its marketing phase.
Final Thoughts
I believe that Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 2 was a great addition to Marvel phase 3, providing the ingredients which made the original film great, likes its humour and characters. I also would like to make a shout out for the visual effects - they were absolutely STUNNING, providing us with one of the most colourful Marvel films to date.
Yes the film does have its flaws, which places it just below the original, but its so hard today for directors to strike lightning twice, and where the original succeeded more in plot, i appreciated this iteration of a Guardians adventure, as we took a deep dive into the backstories of our much beloved characters, and learned more about them, which ultimately was the aim for this sequel. To put it simply... I am GROOT!
