“I don’t have friends, I have family” - Dom Toretto
When we revisit the Guardians, they’re a pretty established team that does jobs for cash. After Rocket steals from their latest client, Sovereign, a genetically superior alien race, who in immediate response, attack the Guardians. To their surprise, a single ship fended off the attack to help save the team. When a man emerges from the ship, claiming to be Peter’s father, the team is tasked with figuring out if it is really true.
Family plays a big role for everyone in the movie, not just Peter. We finally get a better grasp on how Peter did some super-human feats in the first movie. His lineage may be more than just having an alien father. We also get to learn more about the individual Guardians and how they interact and consider each other family.
Learning more about each Guardian is a double edged sword in this movie. Although we get to peek into relationships between multiple characters, there is a lot to follow and digest. It’s almost as if the team split off in pairs to tell their own unique stories.
With the first entry in the series being a smash hit, they definitely try to capitalize on one of their strongest traits, humor. The problem here is that it didn’t work most of the time. Some of the jokes were too on the nose at times, where it felt like the punchlines were trying too hard to land. The alien characters that don’t understand sarcasm is a prime example here.
With the ramped up humor, they elevated the drama as well. As the team members get closer together, we develop a closeness with them as well. When a particular shocking event happened, it was probably one of the most emotional scenes I have seen in a Marvel film. I really liked this contrast to the funny tone that ran throughout the film.
Aside from the story elements, this was a great action movie. Gunfights, hand-to-hand combat, and ship battles, they cover all of the bases. The guardians are definitely this generation’s Star Wars Saga. Telling fun stories in space.
It’s not a Guardian’s movie if there isn’t a great soundtrack. Volume 2 is filled with songs, similar to the ones we fell in love with in the first one. The opening sequence to Mr. Blue Sky was great and that helped set the tone for the rest of the movie. We were all set for a fun ride.
Volume 2 had big shoes to fill and it was definitely a tough task to do. In the end, the pacing suffered from buckets of storyline. These are still the same Guardians. The jokes were hit or miss, but when they did, they were great. If you were a fan of the first one, you’d love this one. Make sure you stay until the very end!
Recap
+ The same great Guardians are back.
+ Awesome action and music.
+ Intriguing story elements.
- A lot of character stories to follow.
[4/5]
Edited by Jonathan Geneza