Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2★★★★½
Quill has dad issues
Save the galaxy again
All heart eyes for Groot
Set to the backdrop of Awesome Mixtape #2, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team's adventures as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill's true parentage.
The first Guardians of the Galaxy is probably my second favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe movie (after The Avengers), so to say that I was excited about this sequel is a bit of an understatement. I love pretty much everything about this franchise, from the music to the characters to the colors that saturate pretty much every scene. And, for the most part, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 didn't let me down.
It was great being able to jump right in with the Guardians crew (as much as I enjoyed watching them come together in the first movie), and everyone played their roles to a T. Chris Pratt plays Peter Quill/Star-Lord's mix of swagger and insecurity so well, and Dave Bautista's Drax never fails to make me laugh, hard. Rocket was snarky and endearing, in equal parts, and I love how I tend to forget that he's voiced by Bradley Cooper, if that makes sense? (How about this: The character is so well done, and feels so "realistic," that it's easy for me to separate the voice actor from the role.)
Zoe Saldana's Gamora was a little underused, but her scenes with Karen Gillen's Nebula were some of the most powerful of the movie. There was an overarching theme of family, whether blood or found, in this film, which gave it a lot of heart. And Michael Rooker's Yondu really made some huge strides in character growth. The smattering of cameo appearances by celebrities were also delightful, but I won't spoil who all appeared.
Unsurprisingly, Baby Groot (Toddler Groot?) stole the show. From his opening credits dance party to his post-credits scene, everything he did was either adorable, hilarious, or a combination of the two.
The plot of this movie was the only thing that I felt was a little lacking. Although the story line surrounding Ego was interesting, and was a good story on its own, the movie felt overly "bridgy," like it was there to get us from GotG to Infinity War without making too much of an impact. That said, I loved it. It made me laugh, it made me tear up, and it made me want to listen to the soundtrack on repeat. (To be honest, however, the soundtrack of the first movie was better, too.) If that's not a good time at the movies, I don't want to know what is.
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