Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

The original Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the very rare Marvel films I can happily re-watch. While the vast majority are well-made action films, they often feel like pieces of a wider puzzle in its influential expanded universe and often struggle to stand up as individual films. There are of course exceptions (Captain America: The Winter Soldier being the prime example) and the king of this category is the first adventure with Star Lord and the gang. While the plot is fairly generic, quirky director James Gunn (who previously directed one of my favourite films, Super) brought a strange, almost indie edge to its bizarre cast of underdog characters that made them immediately likeable and funny, along with a kicking retro soundtrack. There's just this unique charm to the film that felt like a massive breath of fresh air back in 2014. The film's success itself surprised most pundits as it instantly became one of the most beloved in the Marvel canon, having adapted it from a relatively obscure comic book. Now Peter Quill (the always charming Chris Pratt), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper), Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and (now Baby) Groot (Vin Diesel) are back for another round the universe adventure in Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2. While the sequel doesn't quite hit the heights of the original, it's still a great time.

The adorable baby Groot, the star of the show

The Guardians are back along with some new recruits

Peter Quill and the gang are up to their usual antics, picking up soon after the events of the original,  now as the self-titled Guardians of the Galaxy. They are on a mission to retrieve a precious commodity for a race known as the Sovereign in exchange for a captured Nebula (Karen Gillan), who they intend to turn over to the authorities for her actions in the first film. Things go a bit south when Rocket steals the commodity back from the alien race after retrieving their reward and end up on the run. They are saved by a mysterious humanoid looking character known as Ego (Kurt Russell), who reveals himself to be something akin to a space god. He started out as a single entity before growing into a living planet and finally created a human form so he could venture out into the stars and interact with other species. He ended up on Earth, met a certain Miss Quill and fell in love with her. Because Ego is actually Peter's father. Peter has a million and one questions for him as Ego shows him what he is capable of, as the other Guardians begin to explore this bizarre new planet and also deal with a Ravager rebellion which sees a certain surrogate father figure, Yondu (Michael Rooker), ousted. 

All the things you love about the original film are back here - the great soundtrack, the loose and often bizarre tone, the witty writing, the great character work, the brilliant comedy and the zippy actions scenes. It is littered with little Easter Eggs for fans (keep an eye out for the return of Howard the Duck), strange cameos (yes, Sylvester Stallone is in the film) and background details that make its universe feel alive. There are just moments of sheer joy in this film, which makes Guardians so unique in blockbuster rankings. The opening credits are set to ELO's Mr Blue Sky as the camera, in one take, follows the adorable Baby Groot dancing around an epic battle between the Guardians and a tentacle monster in the background. One of the funniest scenes in the whole Marvel series sees Baby Groot attempt to retrieve an item to help captured Rocket and returning space pirate Yondu. The scene just keeps building and building to a hilarious climax that I won't dare spoil (and contains some of Gunn's Troma influences). The whole film is just littered with great moments like this that make it just a blast to watch. If I have one issue with Vol. 2, it's that the plot is a little thin and separates the Guardians a little bit too long for my liking. Some also might call foul at the slightly smaller scale story (that still involves an end of the universe plot device) but I actually think it works in the film's favour. Overall, it hits just the right balance even if it remains slightly in the original's shadow.

Dave Bautista is brilliant again as the literal Drax

Rocket is truly the galaxy's number one a-hole. And we love him for it

The returning cast are clearly having a ball, with more time now to explore and elaborate on their characters. Peter finally finds himself with the father figure he has always been searching for (though he doesn't look like the David Hasselhoff photo he carried around as a child, pretending that's what his dad looked like). Gamora must re-connect with her sister Nebula, as they both begin to come to terms with what it means to be daughters of one of the galaxy's biggest Big Bads, Thanos (fortunately, there are no links here to the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe, well none that are apparent - this is very much the Guardians' film). Rocket finds himself in a strange role reversal from the original, where he now finds himself the protector of Groot. Once a loner, Rocket now finds himself surrounded by people with varying different personalities and goals and must decide if this life really is for him. Drax continues to enjoy the madness of the universe, with his literal way of speaking being one of the prime sources for comedic relief. The surprise is the return of Nebula, in which the film reveals new and interesting layers to the character. The film is great in that it allows moments for its characters just to breath, talk, have a funny scene together or sometimes even a tender, heart-felt one. New character Mantis (Pom Klementieff) makes a great impact as well, an alien served with helping Ego with her empathic powers but suffers from some self-esteem issues. Kurt Russell is always fun to see and (spoilers) while villains have never been the best element of Marvel films, this one at least spends time to create a connection between him and Peter. 

The design of Vol. 2 is another one of the unique elements in the world of Marvel. Everything from the sets to the creature designs to the costumes are rendered in loving detail. From an effects stand-point, Baby Groot is the star of the show. The cute design, clever lighting and crafty camera work successfully sell the personality of this little guy. I've always respected Gunn's choice to use practical effects where possible in these films. Whether it's Drax's grey skin stamped with red veins or Yondu's completely blue face with a bizarre fin to top his head off to the cratered face of the hilarious heir apparent to the Ravager crew, Tazerface, the film is not afraid to go weird with its alien designs. The austere Sovereign, caked completely in gold are as up-tight as Vulcans and its leaders demand the respect of a Steven Universe Diamond but are ultimately very goofy in the best way possible. The film has a pretty funny meta commentary on how easily heroes in these kind of films dispatch hoards of bad guys. See to keep the heroes morally unambiguously good, Marvel like to have swarms of robots or demons or monsters for the characters to fight  and defeat - never humans. In Vol. 2, the Guardians come up against swarms of drone enemies, piloted by  members of the Sovereign. The control panel for the drones is designed to look exactly like an old arcade machine, replete with retro sound-effects. The surrounding aliens gather round to watch a pilot as if he is on the final stage of an incredibly difficult video game. It's pretty clever really!

The golden skinned Sovereign prove to be a goofy adversary for the Guardians

Kurt Russell - space god

The final act of the film is sheer brilliance and contains all the things you love about these films. While it has a slightly mixed up second act, the third act begins to bring all the themes and character threads together and it becomes clear what the film is working towards. I must applaud Vol. 2 as well for its final 15 minutes. I'll put a mild spoiler warning here as I won't go into detail but it reaches a surprisingly somber climax, backed by the beautiful chords of Cat Stevens' Father and Son. It goes to a place no other Marvel film has gone yet and concludes on a fairly bittersweet note. Suddenly, the whole theme of the film, which can at times feel a bit lost due to the crazy antics and constant jokes, becomes clear and wraps it up beautifully. As usual, stick around for the post-credit scenes. They are just as brilliant as you want them to be. 

While Vol. 2's plot is a little thin on the ground, it is a worthy follow up to the original that continues in the same loose and weird vein. The character work is great, the humour is 100% spot on and the action scenes have an inventiveness missing from modern blockbusters (and several other Marvel films). Plus, the films ends on a surpassingly melancholy and bitter-sweet note that very few summer event films would even dare touch. James Gunn continues to be the star of the Marvel universe and his Troma influence can be felt all over the film. It doesn't quite hit the mark of the original but Vol. 2 is still a great time out at the cinema and feels like hanging out with old friends again. Only with more space aliens, a retro soundtrack, dizzying action scenes and a talking baby tree. 

Rating: 8/10

Blogger tells me this is my fiftieth published post. I've loved coming back to write for this blog. I've been receiving some very kind words for the articles and the numbers keep going up each month. Hopefully, you're seeing an improvement in my writing style and have been appreciating me expanding into different mediums outside of film. I love popular media and I have a lot to say about. Stick around for my hundredth post!