Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (’17 review)

4 outta 5

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is an energetic and enjoyably wild return to the outer space heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  It doesn’t quite have the lazerbeam plot focus on the original; Vol. 2, like many sequels, it tends to amble with sub-plots, but it comes together for a cohesive, emotional and action packed finale.  The series still owes a lot to Star Wars, everyone on the crew is sort of a Han Solo and the hero even explores his own dark father issues.  The flick is so much fun anyway that it’s easy to forgive the minor flaws.

Having saved the universe, the Guardians of the Galaxy are flying around space, taking care of business.  Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), who goes by the outlaw name “Star-Lord”, Drax (Dave Bautista), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), the talking racoon named Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and tiny tree person Baby Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) do a job for Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) and her Sovereign people.  This nets them a prize, Gamora’s murderous, traitorous half-sister Nebula (Karen Gillan).   Unfortunately, Rocket impulsively steals from the Sovereign, incurring their wrath and wrecking Quill’s ship.   More bizarrely, they are saved by a man named Ego (Kurt Russell) who reveals that he is Peter’s long lost father.  Now Drax, Gamora and Peter go and meet Ego on his planet while Baby Groot, Rocket and Nebula have to deal with the arrival of the dangerous Ravagers, led by the rather ticked off Yondu (Michael Rooker). 

The Guardians crew may have some of the best chemistry in all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is impressive because cast chemistry is pretty high in the Marvel series and two of the Guardians are CGI creations. Cooper’s vocal performance as Rocket is fantastic, dripping with rage and snark but showing an inner turmoil at unexpected moments.   Turning Groot into Baby Groot is an awesome reversal of how big and dominant Groot was in the first film.  In Vol 2.’s opening sequence, there’s an amazing, extended single shot set to Electric Light Orchestra’s “Mr. Blue Sky” as Groot dances around as chaos explodes around him.  Baby Groot’s random chipmunk sized squeaks of “I am Groot!” are oddly hilarious.

There’s a long stretch in the middle when the film splits up into two groups, and while the stuff with Peter and Ego is interesting from a character perspective, it isn’t all that flashy.   There is a whole lot of exposition from Ego about himself, his powers, and the fact that he is a God-like Celestial being who is also a living planet.   Admittedly, since it is Kurt Russell it’s compelling and some neat visual FX scenes as Ego lays out his history. There is some interplay between Drax and Ego’s assistant, Mantis (Pom Klementieff), that is thankfully amusing as Ego and Peter’s story is a tad on the heavy side.   Russell isn’t allowed to go full on crazy Kurt Russell until near the end.

But this is really slow compared to how awesome the story with Rocket, Baby Groot, Nebula and the Ravagers is.   In one of the movie’s best extended sequences, Rocket and Yondu try to tell Baby Groot to retrieve an item and Baby Groot returns several times with increasingly inaccurate prizes.   The climax of the scenes on the Ravagers ship lets Yondu cut loose and it’s amazingly messy.  

A show-stopping action scene is when Nebula tries to kill her half-sister by flying a giant space ship guns blazing and the confrontation is actually kind of equal.  Gillan is buried under layers of makeup but she still manages to emote rather effectively, especially when she states her goals for revenge against Gamora and the universe.  Rooker generally plays heavies but he has always shown a hint of emotional depth underneath and in Vol 2. he gets a chance to shine as Yondu is regretting his past decisions and tries to make amends.  Surprisingly, he becomes the emotional core the film’s ending hinges on. 

Like the original, the villainy in Vol 2. isn’t quite up to snuff. A lot is focused around Ayesha and her golden people.  There’s some interesting shading as their battle ships are remotely controlled and laid out like a video arcade but they’re never really that menacing.  Although, there is a nice thematic parallel between Ayesha’s Sovereign who talk like they’re living Gods and Ego who is actually a God with the power of creation.

The Ravagers are mostly a bunch of hollering misfits they do have some nasty moments and there is an amazing riff where one guy, Taserface (Chris Sullivan) tries to proclaim how badass he is and Rocket mercilessly mocks him. An overall baddie in Vol 2. is saved until the third act and works as a climax but it would have been nice if there had been a genuinely overhanging sense of menace throughout as opposed to just being whipped together at the end. 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a cool sequel that may cram a lot of things into it but never feels overstuffed. Even the five (!) post-credits scenes are an example of the film giving more.  It’s great to see these characters again as they continue their bickering, quipping battle across the galaxy.  Long may they reign.