Thefanboyseo.com offers an insightful review of Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 from Walt Disney Studios and Marvel Studios. It stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel and a lot more. The movie is directed by James Gunn and is now showing.

Peter Quill and the rest of his “family” is back for another fun ride in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s cosmos and they sure didn’t come alone. I had high hopes for this movie and GOTG didn’t just hit those expectations, it blew past it.

I’ll tell you something about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, it’ll make you laugh, then make you fear for the characters and then by the end, it’ll reduce you to a weeping little boy or girl. James Gunn definitely knows how to work his magic in a film and its good that he’s officially doing the third GOTG movie.

Anyway, while the first movie had themes of friendship (and the power thereof), the sequel’s central theme is family. If you notice not only did they introduce a character like Kurt Russel’s EGO THE LIVING PLANET, they also put former enemies and rivalries into the team. So now fighting side by side with Star-Lord and Gamora are Michael Rooker’s Yondu and Karen Gillian’s Nebula.

That is not a spoiler.

I like how by the start of the movie, we’ve seen the team grew exponentially. Drax no longer hates Gamora and Quill and Rocket are sort of being dicks to each other but still in good terms. It’s definitely a family complete with a Baby Groot. I believe the proper term is dysfunctional. Gunn together with his team knows this and we get more familial drama and hijinks. Sure its a bit contrived how Yondu ends up being with the Guardians but it’s all good. This not only gives him a way to show more backstory but it also allows the character to go for redemption.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 sucked when it came to the musical choices. Music still played a role in the film but the choices for the songs used were a bit dry and unappealing for me. A few years ago, I went gaga for the OST, this year, I’d rather pass. But no, music still drove a bit part of the movie’s feel especially towards the end that I promise I will not spoil.

Easter eggs were HUGE for the first GOTG movie and this one went for the kill. *edit* I removed this bit because I found it too spoilery

Oh and we haven’t even spoken about the insane amounts of props this film does to make the MCU cosmos a more appealing terrain for people looking forward to see Avengers: Infinity War. You have to love the color, the vibrance of scenes even if it were set in deep space or in an alien planet that also happens to be the dad of the leader of the team.

For a comic book movie, GOTG vol. 2 had a lot of Laugh-out-loud moments often times directed at each other and some times character quirks. So expect tons of laughs from Drax the Destroyer (as usual) and Baby Groot and Peter and even some for Gamora and Rocket. And a few chuckles for new members Yondu, Nebula and Mantis.

I’d say that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 got a lot of soul in it. The first movie was bones and flesh but this one is the soul. Thank you James Gunn.

VERDICT: 10/10

#GOTGVol2 now out on 2D, 3D, 4D and IMAX.