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Guardians Vol. 2 Review! (SPOILER-FREE!)
8 years ago
“Come A Little Bit Closer” -- “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” Review
Ah, the sequel… In many instances, it is the scourge of cinema. Studios put out disappointing and/or ridiculous half-efforts for more easy cash all the time. When a sequel is done right, however, it’s a big win and an absolute delight. I consider myself a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to sequels. If I care about a character, one film just isn’t enough. I love watching heroes and protagonists “transform” in their subsequent outings, and it fascinates me to see where things go once the first big problem is behind them. What were once inexperienced heroes become almost sage-like figures that everyone else comes to for help. They reunite with their parents or siblings, or they may have kids. Plans and priorities change, and even the character focus of the sequel itself can change at times.
This sequel, however, is very special. Three long years ago, my life was changed when I became well acquainted with the Guardians of the Galaxy, in their Marvel Cinematic Universe forms at the very least. I was originally sold on the idea of Marvel’s cinematic universe when I saw “The Avengers” a couple of years before, but if ANY doubts had lingered, “Guardians of the Galaxy” made them disappear. The setting and focus were both so unique for superhero films of the time, and I already had quite an interest in the sci-fi band-of-thieves motif from watching similar things like “Firefly” and “Titan A.E.”. Rocket Raccoon and the whole gang instantly became my favorite team of MCU heroes, and I could hardly wait for their inevitable sequel to hit the theaters. I may be biased, but I think the so-called “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” had become my most anticipated film of all time. Now, three long years later, that time has finally come. But was this sequel worth the wait? That’s what I’m here to decide.
[I will be attempting a spoiler-free review here, but I will still describe some first-act plot elements. Most of it has already been shown in the movie’s trailers. If you wish to avoid this plot description, skim to the next bracketed paragraph below.]
Like its prequel, this film similarly opens with a scene back on 1980s Earth, only this time with Peter Quill’s parents. I won’t go into too much detail, but it’s important later in the film. Then, the Guardians return to the screen in the scene you probably expected: battling the monster for the Sovereign. This includes another similar callback scene, this time with Baby Groot dancing to “Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra while the rest of the team fights. Once the monster is slain, the Guardians head to the Sovereign…palace?...to claim their reward, which ends up being Gamora’s “sister” Nebula. SOME Guardians can’t stop themselves from disrespecting the Sovereign, and soon after, the Sovereign are pursuing the Milano. Before meeting their end in an asteroid field, the team is saved by an “unknown” ship but is still forced to crash-land on a nearby planet. It is here that Star-Lord’s father makes himself known. After a bit of time spent making acquaintances, the Guardians disband into two segments. Star-Lord, Gamora, and Drax go with Peter’s father while Groot and a shackled Nebula remain with Rocket as he tends to the Milano. And that’s basically only the first fifteen minutes. From here, the plot’s events diverge from each other before reuniting in a rather explosive, emotional, and admittedly-ridiculous climax.
[This is the end of the plot description. The actual review lies below.]
In starting this actual review…I’m a little conflicted with how to exactly rate this sequel. I had seen and heard a lot of things about it going in, and in the three years between installments, expectations have naturally been built up. It’s a little tough for me to look past what I wanted and just look at what was actually provided in the film, but there are some things that I feel could have been done entirely different…and for the better.
So first of all, with a title like “Guardians of the Galaxy”, we should all agree that the characters should be looked at in equal focus and without bias toward a single member, right? The original film only slightly skewed towards Peter Quill’s perspective, as he is the only character we see flashbacks for. However, in the original, this focus was a little more balanced with the mad titan Thanos in the picture, keeping us reminded of the origins of both Gamora and Nebula, as well as what the titan had done to Drax’s family. That semi-direct conflict warranted explanations of who those characters were and where they came from, and it also doubled as a connection to the rest of the MCU and its impending Infinity War. Drax, Rocket, and Groot, however, left us craving more in-depth looks into who they are and where they come from. We get this in conversations, but dialogue explanations only take us so far. I had heard that this sequel -- as it should -- was going to dive deeper into the origins of the characters. Upon hearing this, I -- and I imagine many others -- thought we’d be getting more FLASHBACKS! Going in, I expected EVERY Guardian (original, perhaps not Yondu or Mantis) to have one within this sequel. I wanted to SEE their origins, not HEAR them explained and merely touched upon again and again. The film is actually even longer than its original, so I imagine they’d have time to cover it.
What we get, however, is just the one flashback at the start, and it isn’t even for Star-Lord himself. Everything about their origins is STILL merely talked about. Gamora and Nebula TALK about their battles, Yondu’s history with the Ravagers is TALKED about, Rocket’s origin is TALKED about, Drax TALKS about his family… Do you see the problem here? It really isn’t much more information than the original film gave us, with the exception of Star-Lord’s parentage. With such a biased focus, they should call the next one “Star-Lord and the Guardians” since they love HIM so much. I’m tired of HEARING about this stuff; I want to SEE it! And what’s worse is that there is a completely plausible way around this right within the movie. Mantis is an empath, meaning she can feel the emotions of whoever she touches. We saw this in one of the trailers for the film. She uses this on a few characters in the film, mostly on Drax. Well hey, there’s a character we don’t really know that well! Whenever Mantis touched Drax to see his emotions, WE could’ve seen something too. We could’ve seen the memory of Drax’s family’s death in his own mind while Mantis explained the emotion. They could have been blurs or faded representations of the memory, but they would have helped far more than her explanations. And to think this could have happened with every character!
Director James Gunn himself once said that this film is about FATHERS. Keep in mind that is the PLURAL sense of the word. Hearing this, my mind went to my expectations about the origins, and I thought EVERY possible father would be looked at in greater detail. What we got, however, was a film about just PETER’S fathers (biological and surrogate) really, with only one or two brief conversations about Thanos, just one or maybe two about Rocket’s origin, and…that’s about it. The biased character focus strikes again, and it’s even stronger in this film. Thanos is completely absent in this film, and while I don’t think he should have been THE villain in this one, it would have been nice to just stay a LITTLE connected to the MCU. Just like the first film, they could have just shown what Thanos was up to without having him directly involved in the main plot. Just his presence is enough of a connection to Gamora and Nebula that it would have been worth it. Hell, we could have seen the sisters’ past quarrels through HIS eyes! Instead, the Gamora and Nebula portion of this film is a little more about sisterhood than their “parentage”. Among their side arc, Rocket and Yondu share a special bond that’s probably the highlight of the whole film. During it, though, they merely TOUCH on how they are “exactly the same”, but that’s about all we get. And now that I know the events of the film, it’s a shame knowing that can’t be touched upon again in future installments. What a damn waste.
Diverting momentarily into some pros for the film, let me talk some more about Rocket and Yondu. Both of these characters really shine in this movie, and as I said already, their interactions are the high points. We get to see a LOT more of what Rocket is capable of, not only in terms of gadgets and tech, but we even catch him in some hand-to-paw combat. We see a lot of instances of just how much the Guardians as a whole seem to RELY on Rocket’s technological inventions as well, and on the other hand, we see that he may have grown to like Peter’s soundtrack. Also, there’s a running joke in this film where the concept of a raccoon isn’t universal, similar to the first film. Yondu calls him a rat consistently, and Nebula calls him a fox more than once. He’s also called a “trash panda”, but that was intentional. We see what Yondu is really capable of as well, and his lines likely stole the show. The revelations behind Peter’s father later on in the film also reveal some things about Yondu’s past, and we see a change of heart in him as the film transpires. Put simply, he blossoms both physically and emotionally in this film.
The REAL strength of the movie, as it also was in the original, is the varied character interactions. In this case, it’s the characters interacting with newcomers, or in some cases with existing characters they didn’t have contact with before. I’m not sure Rocket and Yondu even had eye contact in the original film, so the idea of pairing them together here was pure genius and an absolute delight. On the other side of the story, Drax’s interactions with the “new team member” Mantis (she was never OFFICIALLY welcomed) were a delight as well. At times he plays tricks on her, and at others he tries to let her down easy to worse effect. His purely-literal sensibilities make for hilarious and unintentionally sweet conversation between them. Aside from Peter’s interactions with his father, everything else is basically what’s been done before.
While Rocket, Yondu, and Star-Lord really shine in this film, Drax, Baby Groot, Gamora, Nebula, and Mantis are unfortunately given very little to do. They still have quite a few lines of dialogue in the film, but they don’t take action very often. Baby Groot specifically is barely utilized in actual conflict, but he is utilized a little too much as comic relief and is just…inserted…into scenes where he just doesn’t seem to belong. Again with my expectations, I anticipated he’d be treated more like a child as the Guardians feel like his caretakers, and we got a LITTLE of that. For the most part, though, he seemed like a chore or an inconvenience to them, especially when Rocket brought him up as part of a plan to Peter’s dismay. I hate to say it, but the absence of Groot’s adult form may have negatively affected the film for me. I also wasn’t expecting Yondu’s sidekick Kraglin (played by Sean Gunn) to become such a pivotal character, but that’s more of a positive note.
On the flipside, however, humor is another collective strength for the movie. It really is HILARIOUS, with just as many if not more quotable jabs and memorable moments throughout. To risk some slight comedic spoilers here, the Kevin Bacon joke from the first is replaced with the likes of David Hasselhoff and Mary Poppins, more misnomers for “raccoon” come up, Groot and Rocket are still behind quite a few laughs, and Drax’s bluntness is as laughably effective as ever. While it is well written in that aspect, the movie also sports some FANTASTIC visuals as usual. The Sovereign architecture and what we see on Peter’s other “home planet” are visually unique and utterly astounding to behold. The Sovereign as a whole are an interesting race from what we see in the film, and I’m happy to hear they may be touched on a little more in the future.
Unfortunately, that’s just about all the praise I have for this movie. I’ve given plenty of comments on the Rocket and Yondu side of the movie, but as for the other half…it’s a little more dicey and bland until the final conflict. Director James Gunn decided to change the identity of Star-Lord’s father to avoid some sci-fi clichés. However, upon discovering who it was changed to and seeing how it played out, it ended up following some different cinematic stereotypes. I’ll talk about this some more in a spoiler-filled version of this same review later on, but without giving too much of the film away, I’ll just say that I wish it had gone differently, and it leaves some questions behind.
One last thing that isn’t really a con or disappointment -- but is simply less memorable or effective compared to the first -- is the soundtrack. I ended up loving practically EVERY song used in the original film (except for “Cherry Bomb” by The Runaways; it’s weird as hell), and I especially loved HOW they were used. This movie uses the same method, but the songs just simply aren’t quite as memorable or effective. I’m not sure whether it’s the songs themselves or if the novelty has just worn off in a way, but I can’t say I preferred any of the songs in this film over the original. Don’t get me wrong; some of them are used quite effectively. “Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass has a bit of involvement in the main plot, as it ends up being a track that all the Quills really loved. “Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra is used effectively but a little stereotypically after that. “Southern Nights” by Glen Campbell and “Come A Little Bit Closer” by Jay & the Americans play during Rocket and Yondu scenes, but I think those only stand out because the scenes they’re attached to do. As for the rest…well…that’s the thing. Far more songs are used, but they’re not really memorable. Two songs HEAVILY used in the trailers aren’t utilized that well, if they were even used at all. “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac was used in a brief and awkward scene, and I don’t think “Fox on the Run” by Sweet was even in the movie. How sad. I still love how the classic sound of the tunes and the sci-fi setting couldn’t be more of a contrast; that’s one of the reasons why this series as a whole is so damn great. It just…wasn’t as impressive this time around. On the other hand, it took me some time to like some songs from the first film, so time might tell a different story in the future. I will say that I’m SO glad “Spirit in the Sky” by Norman Greenbaum didn’t make it into this film either. I CANNOT STAND that song!
To begin my closing statements, I’ll say that hype is never really a good thing for a movie. Hyped-up films hardly ever live up to their heightened expectations. Marvel took a risk on these characters the first time around, and boy did it pay off for them. Now that hype is behind them, however, this sequel left a couple things to be desired. While seeing new and familiar faces interacting in different ways is and likely will be the highlight of ANY Marvel film, I’d say the envelope wasn’t pushed quite as much as it should have been. The story we get is certainly well-written and acted, and it offers plenty of humor and entertainment. As a standalone series, it’s good, even great. But when you take into account all of the things that are going on in the universe AROUND this movie, how this film doesn’t contribute to them, and what this film does to eliminate some later possibilities, it’s a little disheartening. I’m not going so far as to say “why watch an MCU film that doesn’t contribute to the other events?”, but that does play a small part in my disappointment. My main let-downs lie in what the film didn’t cover from these characters’ pasts, as well as some people and things we now know we won’t see in the future. In terms of origin explorations, I suppose there’s always the next movie in the timeline, but I figured a movie ABOUT fathers and origins would be the one to reveal them. I suppose I figured wrong. Along with this, a lot of the movie just felt…off. It didn’t feel like the usual Summer MCU movie. The first film changed my life, but this one…didn’t. To use the title of the Jay & the Americans song, I guess I just wanted this sequel to “Come A Little Bit Closer” to my expectations.
It’s difficult to determine how you feel about a story that’s good in its own right, but it’s not the story you wanted to see. As hard as I have been on this film, though, there’s a HUGE silver lining around it. At the end of the day, it’s more MCU Guardians out on another whirlwind adventure that’s full of humor and heart. THAT’s what I was waiting these three long years to see, and if that’s all you’re looking for, you won’t be disappointed.
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” gets 3.5 stars out of 5.
I apologize for taking so long to write this. I had seen the movie only a few days after it released, so this has been sitting around for a few weeks now. Doing a spoiler-free version might not mean much anymore, as I’m sure everyone around here has seen it already… Still, I wanted to give it a try.
When a little more time has passed, I will post a follow-up spoiler-filled version of this review. Since my verdict has been revealed, however, it will be a little more like a discussion where we can talk about the film’s final moments and what they mean for the future.
Keep an eye out for that in the coming weeks.
Ah, the sequel… In many instances, it is the scourge of cinema. Studios put out disappointing and/or ridiculous half-efforts for more easy cash all the time. When a sequel is done right, however, it’s a big win and an absolute delight. I consider myself a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to sequels. If I care about a character, one film just isn’t enough. I love watching heroes and protagonists “transform” in their subsequent outings, and it fascinates me to see where things go once the first big problem is behind them. What were once inexperienced heroes become almost sage-like figures that everyone else comes to for help. They reunite with their parents or siblings, or they may have kids. Plans and priorities change, and even the character focus of the sequel itself can change at times.
This sequel, however, is very special. Three long years ago, my life was changed when I became well acquainted with the Guardians of the Galaxy, in their Marvel Cinematic Universe forms at the very least. I was originally sold on the idea of Marvel’s cinematic universe when I saw “The Avengers” a couple of years before, but if ANY doubts had lingered, “Guardians of the Galaxy” made them disappear. The setting and focus were both so unique for superhero films of the time, and I already had quite an interest in the sci-fi band-of-thieves motif from watching similar things like “Firefly” and “Titan A.E.”. Rocket Raccoon and the whole gang instantly became my favorite team of MCU heroes, and I could hardly wait for their inevitable sequel to hit the theaters. I may be biased, but I think the so-called “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” had become my most anticipated film of all time. Now, three long years later, that time has finally come. But was this sequel worth the wait? That’s what I’m here to decide.
[I will be attempting a spoiler-free review here, but I will still describe some first-act plot elements. Most of it has already been shown in the movie’s trailers. If you wish to avoid this plot description, skim to the next bracketed paragraph below.]
Like its prequel, this film similarly opens with a scene back on 1980s Earth, only this time with Peter Quill’s parents. I won’t go into too much detail, but it’s important later in the film. Then, the Guardians return to the screen in the scene you probably expected: battling the monster for the Sovereign. This includes another similar callback scene, this time with Baby Groot dancing to “Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra while the rest of the team fights. Once the monster is slain, the Guardians head to the Sovereign…palace?...to claim their reward, which ends up being Gamora’s “sister” Nebula. SOME Guardians can’t stop themselves from disrespecting the Sovereign, and soon after, the Sovereign are pursuing the Milano. Before meeting their end in an asteroid field, the team is saved by an “unknown” ship but is still forced to crash-land on a nearby planet. It is here that Star-Lord’s father makes himself known. After a bit of time spent making acquaintances, the Guardians disband into two segments. Star-Lord, Gamora, and Drax go with Peter’s father while Groot and a shackled Nebula remain with Rocket as he tends to the Milano. And that’s basically only the first fifteen minutes. From here, the plot’s events diverge from each other before reuniting in a rather explosive, emotional, and admittedly-ridiculous climax.
[This is the end of the plot description. The actual review lies below.]
In starting this actual review…I’m a little conflicted with how to exactly rate this sequel. I had seen and heard a lot of things about it going in, and in the three years between installments, expectations have naturally been built up. It’s a little tough for me to look past what I wanted and just look at what was actually provided in the film, but there are some things that I feel could have been done entirely different…and for the better.
So first of all, with a title like “Guardians of the Galaxy”, we should all agree that the characters should be looked at in equal focus and without bias toward a single member, right? The original film only slightly skewed towards Peter Quill’s perspective, as he is the only character we see flashbacks for. However, in the original, this focus was a little more balanced with the mad titan Thanos in the picture, keeping us reminded of the origins of both Gamora and Nebula, as well as what the titan had done to Drax’s family. That semi-direct conflict warranted explanations of who those characters were and where they came from, and it also doubled as a connection to the rest of the MCU and its impending Infinity War. Drax, Rocket, and Groot, however, left us craving more in-depth looks into who they are and where they come from. We get this in conversations, but dialogue explanations only take us so far. I had heard that this sequel -- as it should -- was going to dive deeper into the origins of the characters. Upon hearing this, I -- and I imagine many others -- thought we’d be getting more FLASHBACKS! Going in, I expected EVERY Guardian (original, perhaps not Yondu or Mantis) to have one within this sequel. I wanted to SEE their origins, not HEAR them explained and merely touched upon again and again. The film is actually even longer than its original, so I imagine they’d have time to cover it.
What we get, however, is just the one flashback at the start, and it isn’t even for Star-Lord himself. Everything about their origins is STILL merely talked about. Gamora and Nebula TALK about their battles, Yondu’s history with the Ravagers is TALKED about, Rocket’s origin is TALKED about, Drax TALKS about his family… Do you see the problem here? It really isn’t much more information than the original film gave us, with the exception of Star-Lord’s parentage. With such a biased focus, they should call the next one “Star-Lord and the Guardians” since they love HIM so much. I’m tired of HEARING about this stuff; I want to SEE it! And what’s worse is that there is a completely plausible way around this right within the movie. Mantis is an empath, meaning she can feel the emotions of whoever she touches. We saw this in one of the trailers for the film. She uses this on a few characters in the film, mostly on Drax. Well hey, there’s a character we don’t really know that well! Whenever Mantis touched Drax to see his emotions, WE could’ve seen something too. We could’ve seen the memory of Drax’s family’s death in his own mind while Mantis explained the emotion. They could have been blurs or faded representations of the memory, but they would have helped far more than her explanations. And to think this could have happened with every character!
Director James Gunn himself once said that this film is about FATHERS. Keep in mind that is the PLURAL sense of the word. Hearing this, my mind went to my expectations about the origins, and I thought EVERY possible father would be looked at in greater detail. What we got, however, was a film about just PETER’S fathers (biological and surrogate) really, with only one or two brief conversations about Thanos, just one or maybe two about Rocket’s origin, and…that’s about it. The biased character focus strikes again, and it’s even stronger in this film. Thanos is completely absent in this film, and while I don’t think he should have been THE villain in this one, it would have been nice to just stay a LITTLE connected to the MCU. Just like the first film, they could have just shown what Thanos was up to without having him directly involved in the main plot. Just his presence is enough of a connection to Gamora and Nebula that it would have been worth it. Hell, we could have seen the sisters’ past quarrels through HIS eyes! Instead, the Gamora and Nebula portion of this film is a little more about sisterhood than their “parentage”. Among their side arc, Rocket and Yondu share a special bond that’s probably the highlight of the whole film. During it, though, they merely TOUCH on how they are “exactly the same”, but that’s about all we get. And now that I know the events of the film, it’s a shame knowing that can’t be touched upon again in future installments. What a damn waste.
Diverting momentarily into some pros for the film, let me talk some more about Rocket and Yondu. Both of these characters really shine in this movie, and as I said already, their interactions are the high points. We get to see a LOT more of what Rocket is capable of, not only in terms of gadgets and tech, but we even catch him in some hand-to-paw combat. We see a lot of instances of just how much the Guardians as a whole seem to RELY on Rocket’s technological inventions as well, and on the other hand, we see that he may have grown to like Peter’s soundtrack. Also, there’s a running joke in this film where the concept of a raccoon isn’t universal, similar to the first film. Yondu calls him a rat consistently, and Nebula calls him a fox more than once. He’s also called a “trash panda”, but that was intentional. We see what Yondu is really capable of as well, and his lines likely stole the show. The revelations behind Peter’s father later on in the film also reveal some things about Yondu’s past, and we see a change of heart in him as the film transpires. Put simply, he blossoms both physically and emotionally in this film.
The REAL strength of the movie, as it also was in the original, is the varied character interactions. In this case, it’s the characters interacting with newcomers, or in some cases with existing characters they didn’t have contact with before. I’m not sure Rocket and Yondu even had eye contact in the original film, so the idea of pairing them together here was pure genius and an absolute delight. On the other side of the story, Drax’s interactions with the “new team member” Mantis (she was never OFFICIALLY welcomed) were a delight as well. At times he plays tricks on her, and at others he tries to let her down easy to worse effect. His purely-literal sensibilities make for hilarious and unintentionally sweet conversation between them. Aside from Peter’s interactions with his father, everything else is basically what’s been done before.
While Rocket, Yondu, and Star-Lord really shine in this film, Drax, Baby Groot, Gamora, Nebula, and Mantis are unfortunately given very little to do. They still have quite a few lines of dialogue in the film, but they don’t take action very often. Baby Groot specifically is barely utilized in actual conflict, but he is utilized a little too much as comic relief and is just…inserted…into scenes where he just doesn’t seem to belong. Again with my expectations, I anticipated he’d be treated more like a child as the Guardians feel like his caretakers, and we got a LITTLE of that. For the most part, though, he seemed like a chore or an inconvenience to them, especially when Rocket brought him up as part of a plan to Peter’s dismay. I hate to say it, but the absence of Groot’s adult form may have negatively affected the film for me. I also wasn’t expecting Yondu’s sidekick Kraglin (played by Sean Gunn) to become such a pivotal character, but that’s more of a positive note.
On the flipside, however, humor is another collective strength for the movie. It really is HILARIOUS, with just as many if not more quotable jabs and memorable moments throughout. To risk some slight comedic spoilers here, the Kevin Bacon joke from the first is replaced with the likes of David Hasselhoff and Mary Poppins, more misnomers for “raccoon” come up, Groot and Rocket are still behind quite a few laughs, and Drax’s bluntness is as laughably effective as ever. While it is well written in that aspect, the movie also sports some FANTASTIC visuals as usual. The Sovereign architecture and what we see on Peter’s other “home planet” are visually unique and utterly astounding to behold. The Sovereign as a whole are an interesting race from what we see in the film, and I’m happy to hear they may be touched on a little more in the future.
Unfortunately, that’s just about all the praise I have for this movie. I’ve given plenty of comments on the Rocket and Yondu side of the movie, but as for the other half…it’s a little more dicey and bland until the final conflict. Director James Gunn decided to change the identity of Star-Lord’s father to avoid some sci-fi clichés. However, upon discovering who it was changed to and seeing how it played out, it ended up following some different cinematic stereotypes. I’ll talk about this some more in a spoiler-filled version of this same review later on, but without giving too much of the film away, I’ll just say that I wish it had gone differently, and it leaves some questions behind.
One last thing that isn’t really a con or disappointment -- but is simply less memorable or effective compared to the first -- is the soundtrack. I ended up loving practically EVERY song used in the original film (except for “Cherry Bomb” by The Runaways; it’s weird as hell), and I especially loved HOW they were used. This movie uses the same method, but the songs just simply aren’t quite as memorable or effective. I’m not sure whether it’s the songs themselves or if the novelty has just worn off in a way, but I can’t say I preferred any of the songs in this film over the original. Don’t get me wrong; some of them are used quite effectively. “Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass has a bit of involvement in the main plot, as it ends up being a track that all the Quills really loved. “Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra is used effectively but a little stereotypically after that. “Southern Nights” by Glen Campbell and “Come A Little Bit Closer” by Jay & the Americans play during Rocket and Yondu scenes, but I think those only stand out because the scenes they’re attached to do. As for the rest…well…that’s the thing. Far more songs are used, but they’re not really memorable. Two songs HEAVILY used in the trailers aren’t utilized that well, if they were even used at all. “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac was used in a brief and awkward scene, and I don’t think “Fox on the Run” by Sweet was even in the movie. How sad. I still love how the classic sound of the tunes and the sci-fi setting couldn’t be more of a contrast; that’s one of the reasons why this series as a whole is so damn great. It just…wasn’t as impressive this time around. On the other hand, it took me some time to like some songs from the first film, so time might tell a different story in the future. I will say that I’m SO glad “Spirit in the Sky” by Norman Greenbaum didn’t make it into this film either. I CANNOT STAND that song!
To begin my closing statements, I’ll say that hype is never really a good thing for a movie. Hyped-up films hardly ever live up to their heightened expectations. Marvel took a risk on these characters the first time around, and boy did it pay off for them. Now that hype is behind them, however, this sequel left a couple things to be desired. While seeing new and familiar faces interacting in different ways is and likely will be the highlight of ANY Marvel film, I’d say the envelope wasn’t pushed quite as much as it should have been. The story we get is certainly well-written and acted, and it offers plenty of humor and entertainment. As a standalone series, it’s good, even great. But when you take into account all of the things that are going on in the universe AROUND this movie, how this film doesn’t contribute to them, and what this film does to eliminate some later possibilities, it’s a little disheartening. I’m not going so far as to say “why watch an MCU film that doesn’t contribute to the other events?”, but that does play a small part in my disappointment. My main let-downs lie in what the film didn’t cover from these characters’ pasts, as well as some people and things we now know we won’t see in the future. In terms of origin explorations, I suppose there’s always the next movie in the timeline, but I figured a movie ABOUT fathers and origins would be the one to reveal them. I suppose I figured wrong. Along with this, a lot of the movie just felt…off. It didn’t feel like the usual Summer MCU movie. The first film changed my life, but this one…didn’t. To use the title of the Jay & the Americans song, I guess I just wanted this sequel to “Come A Little Bit Closer” to my expectations.
It’s difficult to determine how you feel about a story that’s good in its own right, but it’s not the story you wanted to see. As hard as I have been on this film, though, there’s a HUGE silver lining around it. At the end of the day, it’s more MCU Guardians out on another whirlwind adventure that’s full of humor and heart. THAT’s what I was waiting these three long years to see, and if that’s all you’re looking for, you won’t be disappointed.
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” gets 3.5 stars out of 5.
I apologize for taking so long to write this. I had seen the movie only a few days after it released, so this has been sitting around for a few weeks now. Doing a spoiler-free version might not mean much anymore, as I’m sure everyone around here has seen it already… Still, I wanted to give it a try.
When a little more time has passed, I will post a follow-up spoiler-filled version of this review. Since my verdict has been revealed, however, it will be a little more like a discussion where we can talk about the film’s final moments and what they mean for the future.
Keep an eye out for that in the coming weeks.
