I am not known for having hot takes. Often my takes are barely even warm.

I have unique thoughts all the time, but I usually hide them in a corner until the commotion has died down, the crowd has started to disperse, and I have a general sense that a few people already agree with me. So here’s one of my warmest of warm takes about a movie that came out 2 years ago: I think Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is better than the original.

According to every aggregate measure of movie goodness that I am aware of, the original Guardians of the Galaxy is considered superior. Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, and IMDb all give lower marks to Vol. 2, though both are generally rated favorably. “Vol 2’s action-packed plot, dazzling visuals, and irreverent humor add up to a sequel that’s almost as fun - if not quite as thrillingly fresh - as its predecessor,” reads the almighty Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes. A similar thread runs through various reviews, that Vol. 2 doesn’t quite live up its predecessor and that the humor feels more forced. I don’t intend to defend the sequel by just dunking on the first one. As I wrote last week, I still really enjoy it. My preference for the second film isn’t because it corrects missteps from the first one. What it does instead is build off of that solid foundation to achieve greater heights. (There will be spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ahead. If you haven’t seen it yet, go watch it on Netflix first.)

Because so much work has already been done establishing the team, Vol. 2 is able to spend much more time mapping out an antagonist. I don’t think Ronan the Accuser is anyone’s favorite part of Guardians of the Galaxy, but he also didn’t need to be. He provides an overly self-serious sci-fi tone that is easily subverted by goofier than expected protagonists. Ronan is at his best when a raccoon is crashing a spaceship into him or Star-Lord is challenging him to a dance-off. It’s a shame he spends so much time growling Evil Villain catch-phrases on his spaceship before the finale. Any scene with Ronan in it where he isn’t utterly confounded that a bunch of idiots are beating him is a bit boring in hindsight. Vol. 2 has secondary villains that are cut from similar cloth, but they’re treated with less seriousness and are mostly around to cause problems for our heroes as the real threat is slowly unveiled: Ego.

Ego the Living Planet is a difficult character to get a handle on, but James Gunn makes two important choices as writer and director of the film to make him compelling. First by casting a very bearded Kurt Russell, disarming and personable but with a chilling disregard for others; and secondly, by diverging from the comics to make him Peter Quill’s (Star-Lord’s) father. The Guardians are all orphans, widowers, or outcasts, so introducing a father-figure provides fertile territory to explore. What draws them together, as much as their personalities may clash, is a shared longing for community that has been taken from them. Despite some initial suspicions, the offer of a real family proves too enticing for Peter to pass up.

Peter’s mixtapes play an important role in defining the tone of the films, and Ego’s introduction adds an interesting dimension. After spending so much time alone with his Walkman, it’s touching to see Peter connect with another being over something that matters deeply to him. He’s spent plenty of time indoctrinating the other Guardians, but Ego is the first person he’s met in the films who is already familiar with the music. So it’s all the more insidious that Ego tries to use one of Meredith’s mixtape songs to justify himself as his more sinister ambitions become apparent. He quotes lyrics to Peter from “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass, “Brandy, you're a fine girl / What a good wife you would be / But my life, my lover, my lady is the sea,” and it becomes increasingly clear as the movie progresses that by “the sea” Ego really means...himself. As a father, he does seem to derive joy from his interactions with Peter, but in the same way that Darth Vader does around Episode V. He’s really looking for someone to rule the galaxy with, not a relationship that will distract from his singular goal. He is interested in people until they stop being useful.

As Peter reunites (and falls out again) with the father he never knew, the film also spends time getting to know the man who actually raised him. Yondu is a memorable minor character in the first movie, but becomes a pivotal figure and a Guardian in his own right in the sequel. As he’s the one who originally kidnapped Peter from Earth, Yondu is initially cast in a fairly negative light. He doesn’t possess a particularly affectionate personality, but it gradually becomes obvious through what Yondu is willing to sacrifice for him just how much he cares about Peter. Though he is also living with the consequences of past mistakes, his crew’s mutiny and the loss of his ship is a direct result of him repeatedly covering for and protecting Peter. When Rocket is stuck with Yondu for much of the film’s second act, he is surprised to find how similar he is to the rest of the Guardians. Their brash confidence is covering over a whole lot of brokenness and abandonment, and the fear of being hurt again. But while the fledgling group is often shown to still be squabbling because of insecurity and distrust of one another, Yondu has moved beyond reactionary self-interest. When called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice, he doesn’t hesitate. That’s what Dads are supposed to do.

NEBULA: All any of you do is yell at each other. You're not friends. DRAX: You're right. We're family.

There’s plenty more that can be said about the film as a whole. Gamora and Nebula finally work through their shared hellscape of a childhood and start learning how to be sisters, a relationship that does far more to set up Infinity War than any Thanos cameo. Every minute that Baby Groot is onscreen is a gift, a tree version of what I get to experience every day with young kids. Mantis’ naivety and Drax’s complete lack of filter pair beautifully. The visuals throughout are stunning. I like the pop song soundtrack treatment even better the second time around. Does every joke in Vol. 2 land? No, not all of them. But the emotional moments really do. Those powerful final scenes are as good as anything that has come before, as Peter realizes, “that thing you're searching for your whole life, sometimes it's right there by your side all along and you don't even know it.” The perfect Cat Stevens song plays in the background. Fireworks fill the void of space. The man who thought himself beyond redemption is mourned as the hero that he has finally became. I wipe a tear from my eyes as the credits roll.

More of the same? Not as fresh as the original? That’s up to you, don’t take my word for it, and certainly don’t take Rotten Tomatoes’. But when I watch this movie, I see nothing but growth and tremendous potential. I hope Volume 3 is even better.

Random Aside: While trying to research the difference in screen time for each character in Volumes 1 and 2, I accidentally discovered IMDb’s MCU Movies Screen Time Breakdown for every Marvel film so far, and it is FASCINATING.

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