So What’s Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2 About Anyway?

Three months after the events of the first movie, the Guardians of the Galaxy struggle to keep their new found family together as they try to solve the mystery of Peter Quill’s parentage in the outer reaches of the galaxy.

 

Do I Need To Watch Anything Else First?

The Guardians of the Galaxy movies are largely unconnected with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic
Universe, which is great for newcomers.  You do need to know who the Guardians are, so watching the first movie would be a good idea. If you don’t have time (but please try, because it’s awesome), here’s a cheat sheet.

 

What I Loved

I mean Baby Groot. How could I go past him? While I love how cute he is and all, what I loved most was just how much he resembles a real life human toddler. Begging for attention during battle scenes, switching laps until he finds the comfiest person to sleep on, not doing what he’s told and being too trusting – I could go on and on at how much Groot reminded me of my own son in just about every scene. It made the whole movie so much more real to me, to see this tiny toddler tree in the middle of these life or death scenarios. He was completely cute and totally believable. If you want an extra giggle, just think that Vin Diesel did the mo-cap work this time around, so imagine him snuggling up on Chris Pratt’s lap for a cuddle.

The chemistry between the main Guardians are still amazing, and while the movie is supposed to be focused on Star Lord, each Guardian gets their own sub plot around finding family. Normally fitting so much into a movie would make a plot feel overstuffed (a la Suicide Squad) but James Gunn pulls it off with aplomb.  Shout out to Bradley Cooper as the movie’s MVP. It’s hard to make someone feel sorry for an anthropomorphic trash panda with anger issues, and yet Rocket is again the center of  most of the film’s most poignant moments.

 

What I Didn’t

It’s a small criticism but Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 is very similar to the first film. James Gunn has clearly found a formula that works for him, so the fact that it’s more of the same really just goes to its credit.

 

Is It Worth Finding A Sitter For?

Definitely. Guardians Vol 1 set itself apart from other comic movies by featuring bright colours and huge set pieces, and Vol 2 keeps this up. The amazing rainbow spectacle of Ego’s World begs to be seen on the big screen. It’s definitely just for the grownups though, as this one is quite a bit more violent than the original.   I could sit here and bang on forever about everything I loved in this movie – the soundtrack is rocking, it passes the Bechdel test with flying colours and manages to be both hilarious and heartfelt, often at the same time.

M’s Rating: (4.5 / 5)

My Rating: (5 / 5)