Guardians Of The Galaxy: Vol 2 is a perfect sequel to the first movie
Marvel succeeds again with this colourful, funny and emotional follow-up
When it comes to the Marvel movies that don’t need to spend all their time filling in the gaps and details of the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 is probably the studio’s best film studio since the first Guardians movie. Between now and then, we’ve had the busy but rewarding Avengers sequel and similarly universe-focused Civil War, along with strong origin stories in Ant-Man and Doctor Strange. Even within this wider series, though, this little story is its own unique thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a lot of fans of these two Guardians movies who simply don’t bother with the rest of the MCU. Guardians 2 digs deeper into this specific set of characters and answers questions raised by the first film with great success, and almost no preoccupation at all with everything else. It doesn’t have to concern itself with setting up new stories or connecting to other characters or infinity stones. This is a straightforward adventure that is packed full of humour and emotion, shot with colour and energy, and compelling from start to finish.
It’s worth remembering just how risky this project originally was for Marvel when it went ahead with Guardians Of The Galaxy a few years ago — and just how much it has paid off. There was no guarantee the first film would be as much of a hit as it was. It made considerably more money than anybody ever expected it would, and this second movie looks set to do earn even more at the box office (I won’t be particularly surprised if we get through the entire summer and find that this and Spider-Man: Homecoming walk away with the most cash). We’re also now looking at what could be the studio’s most tonally consistent trilogy, with James Gunn returning to write and direct a third Guardians movie that will be going into development for after Phase 3 (in doing so, he’ll become the first Marvel director to helm an entire trilogy without passing the series on to someone else).
Set to another great soundtrack full of ’70s music, Vol 2 picks up with the Guardians and their adventures just three months after they saved the galaxy in the first instalment. They’re taking odd jobs for cash and living up to being the conflicted heroes the finale of the last film defined them as. After Rocket (Bradley Cooper) decides to take a little more than they were paid from their latest clients, though, the crew is hunted by a fleet of the Sovereign race, who consider themselves genetically superior to all others. Eventually shipwrecked, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is confronted by a man calling himself Ego (Kurt Russell) who says he’s a “celestial” being and, even more significantly, that he’s Peter’s long-lost father. Peter heads off with Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Drax (Dave Bautista) to discover more about his dad, while Rocket and Groot (Vin Diesel) stay to fix the ship, with Gamora’s recently captured — and very angry — sister, Nebula (Karen Gillan).
“I am Groot” — Baby Groot
As in the first film, the wonderfully well-drawn characters are a big part of what makes this movie tick. Pratt makes it look easy, but both he and the screenplay do a lot of establishing such an earnest and believable protagonist, and this really pays off when the puzzle pieces begin to come together for the film’s rousing climax. The almost ridiculously adorable Baby Groot steals the show throughout, and Dave Bautista’s Drax can now happily claim to be one of the funniest characters in the MCU, full stop. The actor has excellent comedic timing, and Drax pretty much gets all the best lines in the film. Guardians 2 also gets a lot of dark drama out of the sibling dynamic between Gamora and Nebula, and a surprisingly rewarding character pairing in the team-up between Yondu (Michael Rooker) and Rocket.
James Gunn’s movie is so packed full of humour that you might find yourself laughing over the dialogue more than a few times. It’s likely to be just as enjoyable on multiple repeat viewings, just like the first, and it’s a film that feels like it consistently makes smart choices that keep things compelling and expand this universe in fascinating ways. It’s a little long, but not in a particularly noticeable way, and it only adds more layers to what we’ve seen before, answering almost every possible question posed by the first film.
Guardians Of The Galaxy was all about establishing the group as a team and showing how these misfits and loners could become something powerful when they work together. Now, it’s about digging deeper and exploring their bond as a dysfunctional makeshift family. And nothing throws a spanner in the works more than the arrival of Ego, introducing himself as Peter’s dad and seemingly luring him away from the Guardians and towards some kind of larger purpose.
“Can we put the bickering on hold till AFTER we survive the massive space battle?” — Gamora
Without spoiling anything, the direction that Guardians Of The Galaxy: Vol 2 goes in allows it solve a significant problem of the first film and many other Marvel adventures: namely, the villain. Here, somewhere within the web connected by Ego, Nebula’s thirst for vengeance, and the dogged commitment of the genetically-engineered Sovereign race, we get to see more complex and layered antagonistic forces building against our heroes, and the movie really succeeds by gearing its narrative towards slightly darker and more emotional beats than the first was able to deliver. Any opposition to the Guardians just provides more ways for the film to re-examine and strengthen the team. This is heartfelt and sincere storytelling, and it packs a punch in a way that may catch you off guard.
Daddy issues are at the heart of this narrative, and it does a good job at exploring all of this stuff from multiple different angles. When it comes to Gamora and Nebula, they’re looking at finding ways to survive with the pain that their “father” Thanos inflicted upon them, while Peter is struggling with the emergence of his own father who he’d never known, and what it means for both his past and his future. This theme is a strong thematic foundation for the movie, and it uses the idea of family to examine how much more deeply connected the characters might be than they realise, and how much they might be willing to sacrifice to save each other.
The whole thing builds to a wonderfully designed all-aciton finale that skilfully balances the fighting with tragedy, internal conflict, and humour. Much of the film takes place on Ego’s own personal planet, which may well be one of the biggest visual effects ever to grace the big screen. The movie has gorgeous cinematography too, with a really unique flavour and a great use of colour that just makes the whole thing pop. It’s shot with a real sense of fun and it seems the objective at all times is to dazzle the audience visually. It even matches some of the more audacious sequences in Doctor Strange, but with a little more of a lighthearted touch.
It’s always really entertaining to see things come together in the big Marvel movies like Captain America: Civil War, but being able to pull of origin stories and sequels that are truly standalone and self-contained is the kind of thing that will keep the studio going on a long-term basis. That’s why some of the earlier movies, or Winter Soldier and the first Guardians, are still firm favourites for so many fans. These are the movies you can put on and watch without having to have seen every other bit of the MCU to understand them. Guardians Of The Galaxy: Vol 2 will join those films because it has a smart, focused screenplay, a great cast full of enjoyable characters, visual delights, and a ton of zingers. This is a big blockbuster with a lot of charm, and that can feel like a rare thing these days.
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