Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 review

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2

starring Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana

directed by James Gunn

A review by Helen J. Reynolds

I am groot, I am groot, I am groot - or, to put it another way, the Guardians of the Galaxy returns in a sequel that stays true to its reckless fun humour with some new characters, new planets and, of course, crazy shenanigans. 

This time around the gang are lauded heroes, hired to protect the galaxy from weird many-tentacled beasts (with varying levels of success). Enemies come thick and fast and in all colours. Giving blue a bad name, Michael Rooker returns as the deadly whistler Yondu, only some in-fighting see him turn rogue. Karen Gillan also paints up again as Nebula - the blue bald assassin with some serious daddy/sister issues. Nor are they the only ones hunting the guardians...

Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) has never quite known what's the deal with his parentage, even being as confused to think David Hasselhoff could be his father back when he was a lonely kid. In this volume, we at last discover why Quill is special and meet the man behind the sperm. 

Ego (Kurt Russel) has been searching the galaxy for his lost boy and finally he finds him - in the nick of time as the guardians are once again being fired at across the stars, all thanks to Rocket (Bradley Cooper) acting more magpie than genetically engineered racoon. Having stolen from members of a gold class race, the gang must split up. Ego takes the human-like half to his own planet while a disgraced Rocket and sleepy Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) are left to fix the ship. 

The visuals are impressive and add to the movie's charm. Rainbow fire, fish floating in impossible streams, a planet that's a person... the CGI has a life of its own and is so fun that the special effects feel like a character who's probably saying, 'Well, why the hell not?' while it bedazzles us. 

Story-wise, there unfortunately isn't the drive that the first installment had. Events play out quickly and obviously with just the jokes to draw you in, rather than the possible outcomes. The big baddie of the show is no surprise and it's hard to feel emotionally interested in the backstory when it hits you around the head with its evilness; instead I was more engaged by the smaller side stories. 

It definitely lives up to the humour of volume one, all the gang are equally hiliarious with Drax (Dave Bautista) even more so as he buddies up with new "pretty on the inside" character Mantis (Pom Klementieff). Baby Groot is not overplayed as the trailer and opening sequences suggests, but continues to be adorable and part of the franchise's heart. Likewise, possible romance between Quill and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) doesn't take up too much screen time but when it does, it's sweet and there's nice chemistry between the leads.

I could go on about the soundtrack but if you've seen the first movie, you probably already own both volume 1 and 2 and await eagerly for Awesome Mix Volume 3, as do I. 

 A combination of:
Doctor Strange (2016)
Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 1 (2014)
Galaxy Quest (1999)

    

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