Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) – Review

Where to watch Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

4 Stars

The Guardians are back to save the galaxy from another threat in the follow-up to Marvel’s surprise smash of 2014. The same irreverent, fun, and campy choices that worked the first time still manage to score here. The astonishing visual splendor of the picture is almost expected, Marvel has done an amazing job pushing the GCI wizardry while not losing focus on crafting cohesive and interesting stories.This sequel was written solo by James Gunn, who also serves as director. Gunn is the closest voice to Joss Whedon working for the studio today.

Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and pals Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) are now hailed as trustworthy heroes due to their exploits in the first Guardians film. That’s until Rocket steals an energy source from a race of golden skinned beings. Turning the momentarily respectable crew back into outlaw thieves. After surviving an attack on their cruiser by a drone fleet the Guardians are forced to make an emergency descent onto an uncharted world.

On this planet, Peter is finally reunited with his long-lost father Ego (Kurt Russell), a space cowboy with a wide grin and a con-man’s behavior. Meanwhile, Yondu (Michael Rooker) has been shunned from his den of thieves for his actions involving Quill, and his own crew is mutinous at every turn. So Yondu sets out with a renewed vigor to bring back the Star Lord and restore his own good name.

I’ve always been a sucker for a good “father & son” movie, (The Great Santini, A Bronx Tale) and in its simplest terms Vol. 2 falls nicely into this category. Guardians will dominate the box-office over the Mother’s Day weekend period which is oddly appropriate. Reflecting on the picture I was surprised that I didn’t zero in on the set-pieces, but rather the moments between Peter and his parents. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is another shinning gem in the Marvel studios machine.

Director: James Gunn
Stars: Chris Pratt, Michael Rooker, Kurt Russell

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