I loved, loved, loved the first Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) movie and have been excited to see Vol. 2 since I heard it was coming out. I have really enjoyed the trailers and have been hoping that this second installment will be as awesome and fantastic as the first. And it was, it was great and enjoyable, and as I have been thinking about it, I am having difficulty finding many things that I didn't like about it. If you liked the first one, this is a must see and it is definitely the type of movie that is worth watching on the big screen. I have watched it twice this weekend but both times were in 2D so I cannot comment on any of the 3D effects, but I am glad that there were not many moments that were obviously made for 3D viewing (which I think is overrated and usually very distracting).
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has all the things I enjoyed about the first one. Big budget action sequences, quipy dialogue, good chemistry and interactions between the majority of the characters, lots of fun, incorporation of the music into the experience, CGI that isn't distracting, and a movie that accepts that it is ridiculous and doesn't take itself too seriously.
Vol. 2 brings back the main guardian's crew from the first movie as well as a few of the main supporting characters. You have Star Lord aka Peter Quill, played by Chris Pratt; Gamora, played by Zoe Saldana; Drax, played by Dave Bautista; Rocket, voiced by Bradley Cooper; Baby Groot, voiced by Vin Diesel; Yondu, played by Michael Rooker; Nebula, played by Karen Gillan, and Kraglin, played by Sean Gunn. Also introduced are Kurt Russell as Ego; Pom Klementieff as Mantis; Elizabeth Debicki as Ayesha; Chris Sullivan as Taserface; and Slyvester Stalone as Staker Ogord.
This movie continues to be absolutely ridiculous just like the first one but is fun all the way through. Although the creation of the Guardians was explored in the first movie, this one focuses more on the backstory of Peter and specifically about his father. There isn't anything super complicated about the plot and what happens, but it is fun. With as many characters that are involved it could have been really disjoined but as it continued to focus mainly on Peter and the interactions between the gang, I didn't find this distracting. I am sure there were a huge amount of Easter eggs and references that I didn't get but there were not in your face where it is obviously there is something you didn't get, so the movie flowed. The pacing was very good and it even kept my interest on the second viewing. While knowing what was going to happen I was able to pay attention to things happening in the background.
I think character wise the main things I didn't like, is the chemistry felt forced between Peter and Gamora and also between Peter and Ego. Chris Pratt did a good job but I think Zoe Zaldana was a bit one note and wooden. She was also flat during her interactions with Nebula where the emotion and connection was felt from Nebula and not so much Gamora. I usually really like Kurt Russell but I didn't like Ego in this movie, it seems like a hard character to pull off and I wish I had felt more towards him one way or another.
Rocket and Groot continue to be absolutely fantastic characters and having Baby Groot was a great dynamic. Don't have much more to say but I love these two! The music was also on point again.
The special effects and CGI was amazingly done. There wasn't a moment in the film where I was distracted by the effects or where I didn't buy it. This was surprising because there were two completely CGI characters (Rocket and Baby Groot) and basically every scene had a computer generated background. Whoever was responsible for this did great and deserve a lot of credit. It doesn't hurt that Rocket and Groot continue to be great characters.
The plot is stupid and is just enough to keep the story going. I would have liked a more obviously evil villain but the first Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) I wasn't impressed with the villain either. I liked what the movie did with Yondu but think that a bit more could have been done to evoke emotion. It was a great storyline that I would have liked more. It is hard to say too much about the plot as talking about it gives a lot away but it was very simple and at times brushed quickly over things that would have been cool to know more about. However the pacing was good, so if it gave time to some of these things is may not have flowed so well.
This movie is worth watching in the theatres and I am looking forward to the next installment. It is difficulty for me with a lot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies with lots of characters because I like movies to spend time with the characters not just try and cram as much in as they can. This was almost as good as the first one but still very enjoyable and lots of fun.
My Rating: 3
Make sure to stay through all the credits as there are 5 post movie scenes. My favorite is the fourth one!
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