Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel (voice), Bradley Cooper (voice), Dave Bautista, Kurt Russell, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Sylvester Stallone, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Tommy Flanagan, Seth Green (voice), Michael Rosembaum, David Hasselhoff, Ving Rhames, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum (uncredited)
Directed by: James Gunn
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
2017

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: The Guardians fight to keep their group together as Peter (Chris Pratt) meets his mysterious father (Kurt Russell).

Review:

Tim: I loved the first Guardians of the Galaxy. It was refreshingly different, crazy, and fun. So, I was pretty pumped to see the sequel, the 15th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. James Gunn once again directs a zany, unique film, but it somehow felt less effective the second time around. I still enjoyed the movie and consider it really good, but it's a step below the original film. I was entertained by it, but you can't help feeling just a tinge of disappointment that it didn't reach the heights of the original.

I like the idea to do a more self-contained story. It made perfect sense to explore Peter's parentage and the idea of centering the film around Ego the Living Planet was a good one. The problem is that it just didn't feel as interesting. Ronan wasn't a great villain, but the stakes were so high. The stakes felt lower here, although the galaxy was once again at stake. It just didn't come across as exciting, as intense this time around. The film does throw a lot at us- in addition to Ego, we have the Ravagers, the Sovereign, we still have Nebula- it felt like there were a few too many elements all thrown in. It gives the movie slightly less focus. Now, Gunn does pull all these different elements together in a fairly satisfying way, but it felt like the movie was too unfocused. For example, the movie works hard to introduce other Ravagers, but the result is that you get Sylvester Stallone, Ving Rhames, and Michelle Yeoh- but they really don't have anything to do. They're just background players. I wanted more time with them, we feel a bit cheated they have so little to do. Hopefully this was just a set up for the third film, but it gave this movie an odd feeling.

The main cast is good, but huge. I loved seeing Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and Dave Bautista again. They are each so perfect for their roles and it's fun seeing them together. Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel again do strong voice work bringing Rocket and Groot to life. The Guardians are still the best part of the film and I loved seeing their dysfunctional family united once again. Michael Rooker is so good as Yondu and I loved that he got more to do this time around. Karen Gillan was also strong as Nebula, and I hope she continues to get good amounts of screen time here. I really liked Pom Klementieff as Mantis- she brought great humor to the film and again, I hope we see more of her. Kurt Russell made for a fascinating character- he was absolutely the right actor to play Ego. Really, this film does a terrific job in the casting department. While I wanted more time with each cast member, you can't claim that the cast isn't excellent.

The special effects are again tremendous and I loved the humor. While this film was less funny than the first one (and occasionally tried too hard), there were still quite a few humorous moments. This movie is fun, which is easily the most essential attribute of this franchise. I had fun with this film. I will say that the music was appreciated, but it felt like the song selection was a bit weaker this time around. There wasn't really that definitive moment of melding great 80s music to the action on screen. It's fine, but the soundtrack truly elevated the first film. It doesn't quite happen to the same extent here.

In the end, I very much enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. I fully admit though, that the film isn't as good as the first one. Looking at the larger MCU, this is the first time that there's been two non-great films back-to-back (at least in my opinion). This might be slightly worrisome, although 15 films in, to get a movie as good as this one is- that's not too shabby, either.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5


If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Guardians of the Galaxy, The Avengers, Thor, Thor: The Dark World, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Doctor Strange