Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Review

With the unprecedented hit that was the first Guardians of the Galaxy, can James Gunn top himself with Vol. 2?

All the major cast members that were in the first film return along with new members such as Kurt Russell, Pom Klmentieff, and Elizabeth Debicki.

Don't worry about any spoilers from this film, because I will not include any spoilers in this review. Seriously though, go see this movie.

Before I begin, I want to mention that there are some crude references in this film. I suggest that you check out the Kids-In-Mind Review for how crude the film is.

Original Guardians

All five members return and all five are equally brilliant. Before, I could rank the five members and have one over the other, but now, they're all good. I can't choose my favorite anymore. One of the great things about this film is that now that they've been introduced, we get to see these characters grow and become more fleshed out than they were in the original. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper continue to run this unconventional family with ease.

Chris Pratt gets the most development with this film as its central storyline is him learning more about his heritage. It's very interesting to learn more about his persona and character with him finally meeting his father. Zoe Saldana got more of a personality this time as Gamora. I would say that most of her progression came from her relationship with her sister, Nebula. I thought she was funnier than she was in the first one. Her romance with Peter continued to evolve and I'm betting that pretty soon, Gamora will admit that there's romance between them. Other than Peter, I was really surprised with how much on how much Drax was built upon. More than being the center of humor, Dave Bautista gave Drax some real emotional depth. Especially some of the romantic kind. Judging by his interactions with the character, it seems like Drax may develop a romance between him and Mantis. Rocket was really improved upon and got me to care about him more. Baby Groot continued to do what he does best. There wasn't any development, but that's far from a bad thing. I was surprised how fast and furious Groot was. He was able to keep up with the rest of the group and for a twig with a baby-like attitude, he was full of furiosity at times.

New Guardians/Cast Members

I really loved the new members added to the cast. Even though they were in the first film, I'd include Yondu and Nebula in this since they didn't have much of a presence in the first film. Kurt Russell brings an added level of expertise to the character. He's also an example of perfect casting. Kurt Russell actually looks like Chris Pratt, especially with the facial features. He also has a similar personality to Chris Pratt. As Ego, his scenes with Peter are really interesting as they try to get to know each other after being separated for quite a while. In my opinion, Kurt Russell's performance was very moving and heartfelt, but also very fierce, which are some of the characteristics that Chris Pratt does playing Star Lord. The unorthodox relationship formed between the two is a credit to the quality of their impressive acting.

Kurt Russell was a great addition, but I think Pom Klmentieff was my favorite addition. Mantis was hysterical. In a good way. Her scenes were mostly shared with Drax, which makes me believe that a romance may form between the two. Mantis brought a level of innocense in the film, which is welcome considering the Guardians consider themselves to be aholes. I found her ability to sense people's emotions was used really well and it allowed her to connect with most of the characters. Not to mention, it allowed for some hilarious jokes.

Nebula got a huge boost when it comes to her character. She was finally given a backstory that actually got me to care about the character, which amazed me because I didn't exactly like the character in the first place. I can't really go too much into detail about her, because that would spoil some things. In short, I didn't like the character at first, but now, I like the character a lot better.

Yondu's role was significantly increased. Like all the rest of the returning characters, he had a much more potent role in the film, a significant part to play. We got to know him and his crew more. James Gunn's brother, Sean, who does the motion capture for Rocket, plays one of the more featured members of Yondu's crew, Kraglin. As displayed in the film, Yondu aquires an improved fin for his head, which I actually prefer to the previous model. Although I wonder how he installs them into his head. That'd be a strange thing to see.

Awesome Mix Vol. 2/Tyler Bates Score

I think we can all agree that one of the best things about the first film was Awesome Mix Vol. 1 so part of my excitement for Vol. 2, the movie, was to hear what 80s songs that James Gunn's would select for an Awesome Mix Vol. 2. While I enjoyed the songs used, they didn't quite have much of an impact like the previous album. Maybe because I'm already used to it, but that still doesn't mean I didn't like the songs. I think my two favorites were Electric Light Orchestra's Mr Blue Sky and Fleetwood Mac's The Chain. I selected Mr Blue Sky because of the way the song was used and it was an important part of the scene which it's featured in. Though it was in the trailers, The Chain was far more enjoyable when it was used it the actual movie. A great thing with all the songs was that they actually tied into the scene that they're in. Some of them were a little on-the-nose, but that's the style about the Guardians of the Galaxy. They provide on-the-nose humor that really suits them.

Beyond the lyrical songs, Tyler Bates's score for the film was super good. It kept the parts of the original score while building on it with a score that's music for my ears. James Gunn actually gave a super early sneak peek on what the score would be like in the film. It made me curious because the tone of it felt somber and sad. When it was used in the actual film, it worked even better in the movie. Overall, the score is very powerful and moving. It's full of joyful ness, but also sadness. Without a doubt, Tyler Bates nailed the score for this second outing.

An IMAX 3D Necessity

I was originally gonna save this for a short mention in my conclusion, but I felt that I needed to give this its own section. I have seen films in 3D where it wasn't nesisarily needed and ended up being poor. This film does not do that. The visuals in this film are heavily amplified because of the 3D. This film as spaceship battles, curious and creative planets, and impressive-looking aliens. I believe that this film is one that needs the 3D in order to be fully experienced. Not just 3D, but the IMAX is a nesesity to. It helps the viewer see more of that 3D goodness. On a side note, the cinema my Dad and I went to showed ten minutes of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. It actually looks pretty good so I'm even more excited for when the movie comes out on May 26th. Anyways, if you have a theater near you that plays this film in IMAX 3D, I highly recommend that you spend the few extra dollars to see this film in that format. I feel that it's a definite necessity.

Action and Effects

While some would argue that the film overly relies on CGI, I must say that that is not true. While it's very apparent, it's rather a tool more than a main feature. The space scenes are stunning and wacky at the same time. I mean "wacky" in the best way, because wacky is at the center of what makes the Guardians of the Galaxy tick. The spaceship are expertly designed with each ship having a different feel from the other. Each planet shown has its own unique quality to it. I feel the same way as the characters when they set foot on these planets. There's some out-of-the-box action sequences to go along with it. As I previously mentioned, there's spaceship batttles and one-on-one fights that all take place on mysterious settings.

Feelings Then: A

Conclusion

Is this a perfect movie? No. That's why I didn't give it a plus, but I didn't think it was a minus either. It's an in-between, but it's definitely a A. It's a common thing that sequels aren't as good as the original. This film doesn't succumb to that rule. Without a doubt, James Gunn topped himself with his second volume to the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. I appreciate that it isn't full of tie-ins to future MCU films and instead, focuses on the story at hand. Though I eargerly anticipate the moment when the Guardians of the Galaxy meet the Avengers. Maybe that could've been an end credits scene, but I think they wanted to save that for the actual film, Infinity War. Speaking of end credits scenes, there are not one, not two, but five of them. So make sure you stay for them when you see the film. Just to clarify, go see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but make sure you've seen the first in case you haven't already.

So that's my review of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. What did you think of it? Do you concur with my grade? If not, would you give it a higher or lower grade? Share this post with your friends and comment below what you thought of the film. Thanks for reading, I'm the Film Fanatic, bye-bye.