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Guardians of the Galaxy, vol. 2
8 years ago
After three years of waiting, Rocket Raccoon and some other characters are back in theaters for the sequel to what was quite possibly my favorite movie ever! I of course was there to see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opening week, and while I admittedly didn't enjoy it as much as the first movie I've managed to see it two more times since.
Mixed feelings aside, I love thinking and talking about this movie and series, even if it's to complain about stuff I think could have been done better, and I figure at least SOME of you might feel the same. So without anything better to do on a Saturday night, I'm going to coredump a bunch of thoughts in a loosely structured "review" of sorts.
Extensive spoilers ahead!
Being extremely, intensely enamored with Rocket, his portrayal in the movie unavoidably dominates my perception of it. Since this isn't necessarily how everyone sees the movie (at least to the same extent) this means that in writing up my thoughts there are two different approaches: one in which I unabashedly look at everything through the lens of Rocket's portrayal, and another in which I try to pretend to be able evaluate the movie in a more general sense.
The first of these is obviously the more honest one and hence is the one I'll start with, since this offers the clearest way to demonstrate why I can't quite put the movie on the same tier as the first and ended up with quite a few qualms. The original movie almost went out of its way to put Rocket at the center of every major scene (so much that he frequently upstages the other characters) and leave zero doubt in our minds that this is a serious, tough character and not a joke. In contrast, while the second movie certainly doesn't ignore him or mistreat him, his influence is often destructive (stealing batteries, squabbling over control of the ship) and he's frequently put in the role of a minor character: he's literally left behind by the other characters to perform the grunt work of repair/guard duty, and he's openly made fun of on many occasions with few consequences. He's almost a bystander in the jailbreak (which ought to be right up his alley) and generally plays sidekick to Yondu throughout the final scenes.
We do get to see him run around on all fours and show off previously-unseen combat agility as he takes down an entire crew of Ravagers, and he even manages to hold his own in melee combat at the end of the same sequence. But the former makes him look like a bit of a sadist and the latter was an obvious unnecessary risk on his behalf that does in fact lead to his capture, so even these don't quite come close to any of his many standout scenes from volume 1.
What the movie does do more successfully is to try to develop his character and personality a little. The fact that he's totally insufferable in the beginning is surely part of this, although during the first viewing it seems that the movie is sacrificing his likeability mainly just to get the plot moving and create some amusing arguments between the characters. The later scenes at least make his situation a little clearer. The notion of being part of a team is evidently not sitting well with him at all: he's not fond of being dependent on and tied to others, and after a lifetime of being treated as an outcast the idea that people care about him is strange and uncomfortable, and he pushes his newfound "friends" away by insulting and belittling them. Yondu figures this out and calls him out on it, and he matures a little towards the end, admitting his behavior and expressing gratitude that they tolerated him despite of it. I'm not sure how I feel about this: while it develops him, it doesn't move him anywhere other than back to where he appeared to be at the end of the first movie anyway, and we learn nothing more about his complex/tormented background that would help us genuinely understand who he is or why.
Evaluating the movie in a more general sense is somewhat more challenging, partly due to my own "bias" and partly because the verdict is not so obvious. Some things I liked a lot: Peter's father being a Celestial bent on expanding himself across the universe is a bold decision that makes for a very interesting high-level villain. Drax's humor is used way way more effectively than last time (his dynamic with Mantis is not exactly high-grade humor but I found it funny nevertheless). Nebula becomes an actually sympathetic figure and not just a straight-up-evil-bitch.
There were other things I didn't like so much, or which didn't make very much sense to me. Deciding what to actually complain about in this regard is not so obvious: the first movie was filled with plot holes on its own (e.g., it made absolutely zero sense that the Milano would be kept in perfect operating order, ready as a getaway vehicle for the Guardians to escape the Kiln) but these were easily overlooked in light of so much else that the movie did right. A few I can think of are:
Baby Groot is overdone - Cute but kind of questionable; the comedy of having his and Rocket's relative sizes inverted is funny as a sight gag, but ultimately turning the most unusual character into a pet/mascot role does get old (I may have been slightly dismayed at Rocket's less serious treatment in this movie, but Groot is almost entirely there for gags this time around). It's also kind of perplexing as to why he's repeatedly placed by the others into dangerous battles despite being clearly not psychologically or physically being ready for it, given that he can't even understand simple instructions. On the other hand: the decision to reboot his character does magnify the meaningfulness of his initial sacrifice and Rocket's sadness over it in the first movie, since the old Groot is clearly gone.
Unnecessary violence/cruelty - The movie really glorifies pain and death too much for my liking. Yondu's arrow sequence is way over the top (especially so because it kind of reeks of god-modding: more super-power than weapon, fitting awkwardly alongside the more limited capabilities of every other non-villain character in the series.)
Some lazy/recycled storytelling - I can think of a few of these instances. Both vol.1 and vol.2 both involve Rocket stealing a battery. Just about every character already has a parental trauma/orphan story already, and we find out Yondu does too. And the emotional moment in the end when Yondu sacrifices himself to save Quill also is just a little too familiar for comfort, since Quill did almost the same for Gamora in vol.1. And speaking of that scene:
Did Yondu really need to die? - This is wrapped up in one of the somewhat unflattering Rocket scenes, where he abandons his buddies in the core and then electrocutes Gamora to prevent her from going in to save Quill. His decision is meant to be justified later when the planet collapses moments afterward and Yondu rescues Quill on his own, clearly having understood in advance and getting Rocket to understand he didn't expect to make it out on his own. Still: I can't help but feel that his death was easily preventable; Ego's reach never seemed to extend beyond the surface of the planet and Yondu and Quill could have been rescued up together long before Yondu died ingloriously of exposure to space. One can come up with excuses for this, but all in all the possibility that he could/should have lived weakens the notion of his sacrifice.
So altogether it's not entirely obvious whether the movie comes across as better or worse in this respect, compared to the original film. The plot and character interactions are generally more interesting and original, especially compared to the very cliched "keep the artifact away from the fanatic evil dude" plot of the first movie. But, the plot flaws seem more impactful, and the space battles (against the not-really-evil Sovereign drones) are less epic. The pacing is peculiar; little happens at Ego's planet for the longest time yet his emergence as villain seems sudden and rushed. And of course the "originality factor" of the wonderful surprise we got the first time around can't return in the sequel.
In any case - it is what it is, and it was still a lot of fun. I don't expect I'll see it eight times in theaters this time around, but maybe once or twice more. And! Looking further ahead, we are now guaranteed a third movie in a few years plus (I gather) Guardian appearances in other Marvel films before (and likely after).
Putting the Rocket-fan glasses on again, one particularly interesting aspect of that is that the other character's driving narratives have been primarily wrapped up. Quill's search for his dad: finished. Gamora's conflict with Nebula: resolved. Yondu: gone. Drax was a simple character to begin with and his sole motive (despite what he says at the end of the first film) was revenge against Ronan - vol.2 makes obvious that his motive now is to support his new friends and taste the occasional thrill of combat. Groot was reborn from scratch.
So what character with still-unresolved tensions and a backstory that remains mysterious is left? Rocket, obviously. While it's possible that the series now will become entirely forward-looking and focus on some intergalactic conflict involving the Infinity Stones rather than the characters' own life stories, both movies so far have heavily referenced their pasts - if it's going to do that again, it seems inevitable that we're going to learn a lot more about Rocket. There is some danger here (currently we have the benefit of imagining whatever we want about his past and the next movie might do something weird; or maybe it will just try to hard to make him sympathetic and make him less appealing) but it seems that one way or another he'll be playing a large role again in the next movie.
I'm happy to hear your thoughts as well :D
Mixed feelings aside, I love thinking and talking about this movie and series, even if it's to complain about stuff I think could have been done better, and I figure at least SOME of you might feel the same. So without anything better to do on a Saturday night, I'm going to coredump a bunch of thoughts in a loosely structured "review" of sorts.
Extensive spoilers ahead!
Being extremely, intensely enamored with Rocket, his portrayal in the movie unavoidably dominates my perception of it. Since this isn't necessarily how everyone sees the movie (at least to the same extent) this means that in writing up my thoughts there are two different approaches: one in which I unabashedly look at everything through the lens of Rocket's portrayal, and another in which I try to pretend to be able evaluate the movie in a more general sense.
The first of these is obviously the more honest one and hence is the one I'll start with, since this offers the clearest way to demonstrate why I can't quite put the movie on the same tier as the first and ended up with quite a few qualms. The original movie almost went out of its way to put Rocket at the center of every major scene (so much that he frequently upstages the other characters) and leave zero doubt in our minds that this is a serious, tough character and not a joke. In contrast, while the second movie certainly doesn't ignore him or mistreat him, his influence is often destructive (stealing batteries, squabbling over control of the ship) and he's frequently put in the role of a minor character: he's literally left behind by the other characters to perform the grunt work of repair/guard duty, and he's openly made fun of on many occasions with few consequences. He's almost a bystander in the jailbreak (which ought to be right up his alley) and generally plays sidekick to Yondu throughout the final scenes.
We do get to see him run around on all fours and show off previously-unseen combat agility as he takes down an entire crew of Ravagers, and he even manages to hold his own in melee combat at the end of the same sequence. But the former makes him look like a bit of a sadist and the latter was an obvious unnecessary risk on his behalf that does in fact lead to his capture, so even these don't quite come close to any of his many standout scenes from volume 1.
What the movie does do more successfully is to try to develop his character and personality a little. The fact that he's totally insufferable in the beginning is surely part of this, although during the first viewing it seems that the movie is sacrificing his likeability mainly just to get the plot moving and create some amusing arguments between the characters. The later scenes at least make his situation a little clearer. The notion of being part of a team is evidently not sitting well with him at all: he's not fond of being dependent on and tied to others, and after a lifetime of being treated as an outcast the idea that people care about him is strange and uncomfortable, and he pushes his newfound "friends" away by insulting and belittling them. Yondu figures this out and calls him out on it, and he matures a little towards the end, admitting his behavior and expressing gratitude that they tolerated him despite of it. I'm not sure how I feel about this: while it develops him, it doesn't move him anywhere other than back to where he appeared to be at the end of the first movie anyway, and we learn nothing more about his complex/tormented background that would help us genuinely understand who he is or why.
Evaluating the movie in a more general sense is somewhat more challenging, partly due to my own "bias" and partly because the verdict is not so obvious. Some things I liked a lot: Peter's father being a Celestial bent on expanding himself across the universe is a bold decision that makes for a very interesting high-level villain. Drax's humor is used way way more effectively than last time (his dynamic with Mantis is not exactly high-grade humor but I found it funny nevertheless). Nebula becomes an actually sympathetic figure and not just a straight-up-evil-bitch.
There were other things I didn't like so much, or which didn't make very much sense to me. Deciding what to actually complain about in this regard is not so obvious: the first movie was filled with plot holes on its own (e.g., it made absolutely zero sense that the Milano would be kept in perfect operating order, ready as a getaway vehicle for the Guardians to escape the Kiln) but these were easily overlooked in light of so much else that the movie did right. A few I can think of are:
Baby Groot is overdone - Cute but kind of questionable; the comedy of having his and Rocket's relative sizes inverted is funny as a sight gag, but ultimately turning the most unusual character into a pet/mascot role does get old (I may have been slightly dismayed at Rocket's less serious treatment in this movie, but Groot is almost entirely there for gags this time around). It's also kind of perplexing as to why he's repeatedly placed by the others into dangerous battles despite being clearly not psychologically or physically being ready for it, given that he can't even understand simple instructions. On the other hand: the decision to reboot his character does magnify the meaningfulness of his initial sacrifice and Rocket's sadness over it in the first movie, since the old Groot is clearly gone.
Unnecessary violence/cruelty - The movie really glorifies pain and death too much for my liking. Yondu's arrow sequence is way over the top (especially so because it kind of reeks of god-modding: more super-power than weapon, fitting awkwardly alongside the more limited capabilities of every other non-villain character in the series.)
Some lazy/recycled storytelling - I can think of a few of these instances. Both vol.1 and vol.2 both involve Rocket stealing a battery. Just about every character already has a parental trauma/orphan story already, and we find out Yondu does too. And the emotional moment in the end when Yondu sacrifices himself to save Quill also is just a little too familiar for comfort, since Quill did almost the same for Gamora in vol.1. And speaking of that scene:
Did Yondu really need to die? - This is wrapped up in one of the somewhat unflattering Rocket scenes, where he abandons his buddies in the core and then electrocutes Gamora to prevent her from going in to save Quill. His decision is meant to be justified later when the planet collapses moments afterward and Yondu rescues Quill on his own, clearly having understood in advance and getting Rocket to understand he didn't expect to make it out on his own. Still: I can't help but feel that his death was easily preventable; Ego's reach never seemed to extend beyond the surface of the planet and Yondu and Quill could have been rescued up together long before Yondu died ingloriously of exposure to space. One can come up with excuses for this, but all in all the possibility that he could/should have lived weakens the notion of his sacrifice.
So altogether it's not entirely obvious whether the movie comes across as better or worse in this respect, compared to the original film. The plot and character interactions are generally more interesting and original, especially compared to the very cliched "keep the artifact away from the fanatic evil dude" plot of the first movie. But, the plot flaws seem more impactful, and the space battles (against the not-really-evil Sovereign drones) are less epic. The pacing is peculiar; little happens at Ego's planet for the longest time yet his emergence as villain seems sudden and rushed. And of course the "originality factor" of the wonderful surprise we got the first time around can't return in the sequel.
In any case - it is what it is, and it was still a lot of fun. I don't expect I'll see it eight times in theaters this time around, but maybe once or twice more. And! Looking further ahead, we are now guaranteed a third movie in a few years plus (I gather) Guardian appearances in other Marvel films before (and likely after).
Putting the Rocket-fan glasses on again, one particularly interesting aspect of that is that the other character's driving narratives have been primarily wrapped up. Quill's search for his dad: finished. Gamora's conflict with Nebula: resolved. Yondu: gone. Drax was a simple character to begin with and his sole motive (despite what he says at the end of the first film) was revenge against Ronan - vol.2 makes obvious that his motive now is to support his new friends and taste the occasional thrill of combat. Groot was reborn from scratch.
So what character with still-unresolved tensions and a backstory that remains mysterious is left? Rocket, obviously. While it's possible that the series now will become entirely forward-looking and focus on some intergalactic conflict involving the Infinity Stones rather than the characters' own life stories, both movies so far have heavily referenced their pasts - if it's going to do that again, it seems inevitable that we're going to learn a lot more about Rocket. There is some danger here (currently we have the benefit of imagining whatever we want about his past and the next movie might do something weird; or maybe it will just try to hard to make him sympathetic and make him less appealing) but it seems that one way or another he'll be playing a large role again in the next movie.
I'm happy to hear your thoughts as well :D
I think baby Groot was forced too much, like they tried to make him a "Minion" like character. Obviously he's not that bad but still. I especially think the intro fell really flat, like it wasn't that funny to begin with, but after it dragged on for like 3 or 4 minutes, it starts to get a bit painful.
Once again, I don't feel like they developed Rocket's story enough, but that might just be because he's my favourite. Hopefully if they make #3 they give him more of a plot instead of him just getting dragged along without any subplot (like Gamora and her sister). If they made some subplot about finding Lydia or facing off with Blackjack, it would be fucking awesome.
Other than that and a few jokes falling flat or feeling out of place in serious scenes, I thought the movie was still fantastic, and almost as good as the first one, I was definitely not disappointed.
I think the less that the series takes from the 1980's comic, the better, really. Still I would like to know: who exactly made him, and why? How does he really feel about that: does he still have an axe to grind? Is he actually a raccoon or not? What other trouble did his attitude and line of work get him into before the first movie?