Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume II - Review (Non-Spoiler/Spoiler)
Directed By: James Gunn
Rating: PG-13
Rating: PG-13
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Michael Rooker, Sean Gunn, Pom Klementieff, Kurt Russell, Chris Sullivan
Blurb/Synopsis: Peter Quill and his fellow Guardians are hired by a powerful alien race, the Sovereign, to protect their precious batteries from invaders. When it is discovered that Rocket has stolen the items they were sent to guard, the Sovereign dispatch their armada to search for vengeance. As the Guardians try to escape, the mystery of Peter's parentage is revealed.
Expectations/Background: Hyped as one of Marvel's biggest, best, and most action-packed films of Phase 3, the hype behind Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume II seemed very palpable, and very real. Many were excited to see the retunes of Star-Lord, Gamora, as well as the additions of new Guardians like Yondu and Mantis. With a stellar marketing campaign that didn't reveal too much while still managing to hype the film and promise some great moments, Guardians looked to be the movie to beat over the summer. The story looked to be more personal, with connections to Peter's father, confirmed to be played by legendary actor Kurt Russell. And of course, who could forget Baby Groot?
The Movie: Very first question: Does it live up to the hype? I'm going to split that answer right down the middle and say both yes and no. Guardians 2 was promised as an action romp/comedy throughout the far reaches of space, and the film definitely delivered on all those fronts. However, there were certain aspects of the film that I felt could have been drastically improved.
Positives: Banking off of the success of the first film in the series, James Gunn took what everyone loved about Guardians 1 and brought out those elements even more. With another stellar soundtrack (discussed later in the review), Guardians 2 has a very upbeat, vibrant tone to it. As the movie goes along, Gunn takes us on a journey with each character, giving nearly every one a satisfying arc and a storyline. Almost every single character gets their moment to shine in the film. And with this being pitched to the filmgoers as a comedy as well, the humor had to land - and I am happy to say that about 90-95 percent of the jokes landed. Surprisingly, there were also some very poignant emotional beats that worked very well in the context of the film. When going into a film like this, you normally don't expect more emotions than laughs, but I found myself truly invested in all the characters when they had their own emotional beats. The action scenes were also spectacular to look at. Marvel went all in on the color gamut, and does it ever pay off. The beautiful scenery in both space and planets showcase the wide varieties and ranges of space while still giving the Guardians franchise the colorful pop that we love so much.
Negatives: While Gunn delivered on many aspects that fans had been asking for, there were a few glaring holes in the movie that I noticed. For one, the storyline seems rather relaxed; by this, I mean that at certain times you feel like you're watching characters go about their daily lives, rather than a driven storyline. While I can appreciate quieter moments, sometimes the story feels almost like this: "We go from this to this to this to this. Why? Because that's how things are supposed to go." versus: "This causes this, which motivates the characters to do this, which in turn is a motivation for this person, etc." As mentioned before, there were a couple jokes that I thought didn't land, but that's essentially a nit-pick. I did notice, however, that the movie did become exposition heavy at certain points. There were a number of scenes where characters would monologue about their past and backstory, which took me out of the movie a couple times.
Positives: Banking off of the success of the first film in the series, James Gunn took what everyone loved about Guardians 1 and brought out those elements even more. With another stellar soundtrack (discussed later in the review), Guardians 2 has a very upbeat, vibrant tone to it. As the movie goes along, Gunn takes us on a journey with each character, giving nearly every one a satisfying arc and a storyline. Almost every single character gets their moment to shine in the film. And with this being pitched to the filmgoers as a comedy as well, the humor had to land - and I am happy to say that about 90-95 percent of the jokes landed. Surprisingly, there were also some very poignant emotional beats that worked very well in the context of the film. When going into a film like this, you normally don't expect more emotions than laughs, but I found myself truly invested in all the characters when they had their own emotional beats. The action scenes were also spectacular to look at. Marvel went all in on the color gamut, and does it ever pay off. The beautiful scenery in both space and planets showcase the wide varieties and ranges of space while still giving the Guardians franchise the colorful pop that we love so much.
Negatives: While Gunn delivered on many aspects that fans had been asking for, there were a few glaring holes in the movie that I noticed. For one, the storyline seems rather relaxed; by this, I mean that at certain times you feel like you're watching characters go about their daily lives, rather than a driven storyline. While I can appreciate quieter moments, sometimes the story feels almost like this: "We go from this to this to this to this. Why? Because that's how things are supposed to go." versus: "This causes this, which motivates the characters to do this, which in turn is a motivation for this person, etc." As mentioned before, there were a couple jokes that I thought didn't land, but that's essentially a nit-pick. I did notice, however, that the movie did become exposition heavy at certain points. There were a number of scenes where characters would monologue about their past and backstory, which took me out of the movie a couple times.
Character Ranking
1. Baby Groot
2. Yondu
3. Star-Lord
4. Gamora
5. Drax
6. Rocket
7. Ego
8. Mantis
9. The Sovereign
10. Nebula
The Villain(s): The villains, mainly the Sovereign, were used in a very interesting manner. The film almost uses them as plot devices, setting them up as almost intergalactic police chasing down the Guardians. And while most of their scenes worked, some did not work quite as well as I had hoped. However, in the full context of the film, I enjoyed what Gunn did with the villains for the most part.
The Music/Score: It wouldn't be another Guardians film without another Awesome Mix; and Awesome Mix Vol. II, while not quite as good as Volume I, is still great. The music comes in at perfect intervals and scenes, setting the mood of the scene as well as what the characters are thinking. There is a scene between Ego and Peter where a song comes into play, and I really enjoyed that scene in particular.
Spoilers: Regarding the twist that Ego was the actual villain, I thought that it worked rather well. Once I realized that the Sovereign were not the actual villains, I bought into Ego being the main antagonist. There were several "shock" moments, like when Ego reveals that he put the brain tumor in Peter's mother, which I thought worked well. However, I thought certain subplots didn't work well and were rather disjointed. The whole "team splitting up" worked for awhile, but then it almost became two separate movies which conveniently converged to the ending. However, once the movie reached the third act, it picked up speed and Yondu's death made a huge impact.
1. Baby Groot
2. Yondu
3. Star-Lord
4. Gamora
5. Drax
6. Rocket
7. Ego
8. Mantis
9. The Sovereign
10. Nebula
The Villain(s): The villains, mainly the Sovereign, were used in a very interesting manner. The film almost uses them as plot devices, setting them up as almost intergalactic police chasing down the Guardians. And while most of their scenes worked, some did not work quite as well as I had hoped. However, in the full context of the film, I enjoyed what Gunn did with the villains for the most part.
The Music/Score: It wouldn't be another Guardians film without another Awesome Mix; and Awesome Mix Vol. II, while not quite as good as Volume I, is still great. The music comes in at perfect intervals and scenes, setting the mood of the scene as well as what the characters are thinking. There is a scene between Ego and Peter where a song comes into play, and I really enjoyed that scene in particular.
**READER DISCRETION ADVISED - SPOILER ALERT - IF YOU WANT TO AVOID SPOILERS SKIP TO "VERDICT"**
Spoilers: Regarding the twist that Ego was the actual villain, I thought that it worked rather well. Once I realized that the Sovereign were not the actual villains, I bought into Ego being the main antagonist. There were several "shock" moments, like when Ego reveals that he put the brain tumor in Peter's mother, which I thought worked well. However, I thought certain subplots didn't work well and were rather disjointed. The whole "team splitting up" worked for awhile, but then it almost became two separate movies which conveniently converged to the ending. However, once the movie reached the third act, it picked up speed and Yondu's death made a huge impact.
SPOILER ALERT OVER
The Verdict: Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume II is a summer movie: lots of action, humor, and some emotion, there is some humor that younger viewers may not want to hear, but other than that, this is a film for people of all ages. While on its own not being the best film, I feel that watching this right after the first movie would enhance the experience very much because it is such a perfect sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy. Strong performances, good action, excellent humor are what raise this movie up, despite some obvious flaws. Letter Grade: B+. Number Score: 8.9
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