Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Review
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the first big installment in the 2017 summer movie season. Star-Lord, Rocket, Baby Groot, Drax, and Gamora are back with a bang for another wild space adventure from the mind of director James Gunn. I’m not a huge fan of the Marvel superhero movies but Guardians of the Galaxy always stood out from the pack. I still wasn’t as much of a fan as most people were, but I still enjoyed it and was excited for the sequel. I was ready to see an epic sci-fi adventure.
From the opening scene of Vol. 2, it seems that my hopes were going to be met. Instead of a huge, over the top action scene, you get an awesome dance montage from Baby Groot and a great soundtrack playing in the background.
Unfortunately, although Vol. 2 hits the ground running, the rest of the movie didn't live up to my expectations. Like I said, this movie opens up with a bang. However, as more and more time passes you start wondering what the movie is building up towards. It doesn’t have a solid through line. You get some amazingly fun scenes but they don’t add up to a cohesive whole. I started to wonder what the point of Vol. 2 was. It started to feel more like an add-on episode to the first movie rather than its own stand alone story. The characters get divided up into their own individual subplots and the movie starts trying to juggle a lot of different ideas. It causes it to feel very fragmented.
Luckily, there’s enough positives in the movie to keep you invested. Even though it lacks a clear through-line, all the scenes and action pieces are incredibly fun to watch. The sets and effects include some of the coolest and unique visuals I’ve seen in a while. When you combine that with yet another awesome soundtrack, you can’t help but enjoy what you’re watching. Plus, the humor hits more often than not. There are definitely a few jokes that fall flat but for the most part, Vol. 2 has a lot of light-hearted and witty dialogue. There’s also a lot of cool references to 80’s pop culture woven throughout the movie. There's one reference to old arcade games like Space Invaders that’s particularly well done and really original. The thing that Guardians of the Galaxy will always have no matter what, is its lovable characters. Chris Pratt is always really charming and him and Zoe Saldana have great chemistry. Some of the characters are even better in this one than the first. The two that stood out were Drax and Rocket. Drax cements himself as the upfront guy that’s going to tell you exactly how it is and Rocket is a crazy, off the wall schemer. The most refreshing thing from the first two-thirds of Vol. 2 was that it feels like a gigantic space opera as opposed to a superhero movie that needs to tie itself in with a bigger universe.
I had very mixed feelings about the ending of Vol. 2. By that point, the pacing of the movie started to get to me. It definitely started to drag. Then, it took a turn from feeling fresh and unique to feeling like every other superhero movie we’ve gotten in the past 5 years. You get a major climactic action scene with huge explosions and no real stakes. It also goes on for way too long. Then, in the closing minutes, it takes another shift. The movie starts to have a real through line and starts to transform into a really meaningful story. It gets pretty emotional and I began to forgive a lot of the earlier parts that feel a little fragmented. Its last moments make Vol. 2 feel like its own story that has something to say and add that’s different from the first. For me, it saved the last act of the film.
I don’t think Vol. 2 will live up to the hopes that a lot of fans have for it. However, you’re still going to have a great time and leave the theatre feeling satisfied. I give Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 6.5/10
