The Guardians of the Galaxy injects the already pretty fun Marvel universe with a dose of wacky hijinks. In my review I called it Star Wars if every character lived in Han Solo’s world. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 gives us more of the same fun. It’s not a jolt of electricity, but a movie version of a warm hug.
After a dancing baby Groot (Vin Diesel) opening, we find out the Guardians happily using their notoriety by accepting well paying jobs, and in Rocket’s (Bradley Cooper’s voice) case, maybe taking a little extra on the side. After running from a job gone bad, “Star Lord” Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) gets rescued from an unlikely source: Ego (Kurt Russell), his long lost father. Ego takes Peter, Gamora (Zoe Saldana), and Drax (Dave Bautista) to see his planet and meet his companion Mantis (Pom Klementieff), while Rocket and Groot repair the ship and keep watch over Nebula (Karen Gillan), Gamora’s revenge obsessed sister. Tracking the guardians’ ship is Yondu (Michael Rooker), who is still salty over Peter’s sabotage from the events of the first film.
Guardians Volume 1 was special because of how well the misfits fit together, including Yondu. Listening to them needle each other led to big laughs and even some surprising emotion. So Guardians Volume 2’s big risk is splitting the team into parts, and in one of those parts the star of the first (Pratt) is off listening to his daddy most of the time, sidelining his moxie. James Gunn’s goal I’d imagine was to see if the rest of his talented cast could rise to the occasion. Not a bad bet right? Turns out Bradley Cooper’s Rocket is probably the real star and movie glue here, carrying a good portion of his section by himself since Groot and Nebula really don’t talk. Michael Rooker’s Yondu, beneath that fun blue scathing exterior, actually might have a heavy blue heart, carrying maybe more than just that whistling arrow beneath the surface. The big winners of this movie though are Drax and Mantis. I don’t know what happened to Dave Bautista, but he developed fantastic emotional and comedic timing, dropping most of the big laughs in this film. The lengthy info dumps drag these sections to their breaking point, but by the time I was getting bored, the team found their way back to each other, and I was in again.
The theme of the first guardians film was forging family through shared loss. Guardians 2 expands on this theme to focus on what actually makes a family. Sounds a little like a Fast and Furious movie right? Like love, building a story around family is a great choice because it is universal and easy to connect with, regardless of language, country, or bachelorhood. Plus, themes like this always carry an emotional punch. Nebula’s character is very much a killjoy robot…until we learn how her past with her sister Gamora informs her character today. The nice touch Gunn gives these family members is varying understanding of what that means. Rocket and Gamora are still terrified to open up to people, but Yondu and Drax help them guide and understand why it is important and how self destructive that type of behavior can be. These connections make the inevitable trippy 3rd act battle mean something more than just a drug induced teen would fine amazing. I was near tears at one point because of how emotionally moving a selfless act for a family member can be.
People who liked the first Guardians of the Galaxy – in other words, people with a pulse – will certainly be up for what Volume 2 has to offer. Though I fear the well might not be as deep as I thought, I am definitely on board to see where this family will fly us to. Provided Rocket is flying, of course. And Groot keeps dancing.