Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

It’s difficult to catch lightning in a bottle more than once, and with the success of the first Guardians of the Galaxy, director James Gunn definitely knew that was exactly what he would have to do. Three years later, with the release of this film, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Gunn manages to catch that lightning again, and while I don’t think this is overall as good as a film as the first one, I certainly think it is an incredibly fun and well-made sequel and up there with Marvel’s best.

There’s a main reason for Guardians 2 being as good as it is: this is, first and foremost, a character story. Sometimes the plot is put on the backburner (sometimes it hardly exists) in order to build, redeem, and strengthen the characters we love from the first film to more than just space-heroes-cracking-one-liners. By the end of the film, nearly every character has grown and become a stronger person through the events that transpired. It’s really intriguing that Gunn decided to make Guardians 2 a character study in this way, and I couldn’t be happier. Everyone gets ample time to shine: Drax (Dave Bautista) and Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) especially, as they steal the show in pretty much every scene they’re in. The only character that takes a step back in this installment is Star Lord (Chris Pratt). While the film’s main plot may centre around him, more time is spent with the team rather than him, and it’s understandable. In the first film, Star Lord got a lot of the love, and, again, when considering how this is a character driven film, Gunn elects to have Star Lord sit back a bit until the end of the film to allow the other characters the chance to shine (not that Star Lord doesn’t have great moments throughout though, cause he does).

Gunn also does a great job with making Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 feel like it’s own movie. This is a sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy, and hardly sets up any future films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A very interesting feat considering how close we are to the fabled Avengers: Infinity War, which the Guardians are a part of. Instead of spending a whole movie setting up the Guardian’s return to earth or the fighting of Thanos, Gunn decided to make a sequel to his movie and his movie alone, which I thought was very smart and kept the film from being to convoluted.

The action was also a highlight. From the opening credits scene (which is amazing) to many of the various action scenes throughout, I found myself enjoying my time immensely and didn’t want many of the scenes to end. Everyone also gets their moment to shine in these scenes as well, from Drax’s deadpan delivery of some of the film’s funniest lines to Rocket (Bradley Cooper)’s use of gadgets and weaponry, everyone gets their moment in the spotlight and it makes for a well-rounded film. It's also got a lot of heart. Some scenes are very emotional and, for a Marvel movie, earns a lot of that emotional weight and depth and it certainly makes for a stronger, more heartfelt film.

Other than maybe the Russo brothers, James Gunn is definitely Marvel’s best director, and what he accomplishes in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 only proves that point. A fun, entertaining and hilarious ride throughout, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 promises a great time at the movies and a wonderful return to the characters we love.

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9 out of 10