Score: 8/10
The Guardians series is the most funny of the Marvel Universe and you go into volume 2 expecting that. And yes, you receive it in droves, as this movie tries to go even farther than its predecessor in the humor department. You are laughing all the way, and it is relaxing to see a movie of such magnitude not taking itself to serious. It makes the viewing experience more enjoyable and its success is what prompted Marvel to include more humor in Thor: Ragnarok and I guess in every single entrance of the multiverse which will follow. We like our superhero movies to be lighthearted and funny and this will not change.
The action is interesting, the special effects are amazing, and the characters are developed even further than in the first one. You learn a lot of backstory that helps define each character and you start to discover the red line of their past that makes them act the way they do. The cast is stellar, and when you have Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell all in one movie, nothing can go wrong. Every single actor delivers an amazing performance and you can see they had so much fun doing this film, which gives it an extra layer of likeability. Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer is simply amazing, and almost steals the movie with his rough humor and absurd lines. You find yourself laughing out loud in the theater and enjoying every second of it.
The story is good, a little bit convoluted in points, but streamlined quite well in the final act. The CGI is good, the grand action scenes offer enough awe to justify them, and all in all the conflict manages to keep you involved until the end. Also, speaking of action scenes, Yondu’s arrow massacre is one of the best action scenes I have ever seen in a movie, making you laugh and leaving you speechless at the same time. The action in the movie is superb and right up there with what Marvel has offered us across the years.
The movie is a little bit too long at 136 minutes and its 4 post credits scenes are starting to push the limit a little bit, especially since one of them is another useless cameo from Stan Lee. 2 post credits scenes are ok, but going past that for me is just fanboying for the sake of fanboying and nothing more. The music is good, a nice selection of songs, although I feel that they are not as fresh as the ones from the first movie.
And this brings me to my only criticism of the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, that it is far too similar in my mind with the first one. It simply does not have the same wow factor and you kind of feel like you have already been there and done that. This takes away a little bit from the overall enjoyment, although it did not have an effect on the box office results, with Vol. 2 earning more than the original. I just hope that for volume 3, which is slated for a 2020 release, Marvel will change the formula a little bit and shake things up.
In conclusion, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a very good movie, which I recommend to any comic book fan. A great installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and a worthy successor to the first Guardians movie. Oh, and the smaller dumber Groot is by far the best plant I ever saw in a movie. 😛
A MOVIE A DAY 