Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Review

They're back! The Guardians return to do what they do best... save the galaxy. Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Baby Groot team up once again for a fun and crazy adventure. Just like Marvel fans can thank Joss Whedon for two great Avenger films, the same can be said for James Gunn. Comedy fills the film every chance it gets. It's also so hard to turn away from the awe-inspiring visual effects and marvelous action scenes. The journey starts with the Guardians on a mission to kill an intergalactic being after being hired by the Sovereign. However, being the misfits they are they could not help themselves by stealing from the group that hired them. While on the run, the Guardians get some aid from Ego, who happens to be Peter's father. Everything is fine for a good minute. Peter spends quality time with his dad, Gamora captures her sister, Nebula, and Drax meets a new friend, Mantis. But things turn sour quickly. Plot-wise the film has a very comic-based storyline with a few punchlines, but it's the characters that steal the spotlight. We learn origin stories of many characters who we learn to love and understand more. Plus, another Guardians film means more awesome tunes. Every scene showcases a great tune that fits the mood and helps us be engaged. Lastly, the film shows that the universe is filled with endless possibilities. We can expect the Guardians (or even the Avengers) to interact with Adam Warlock in the future. If you're unfamiliar with character just know he is a big deal, like Thanos-level big deal. Also, we learn the true meaning behind all those Stan Lee cameos. The legend turns out to be the Watcher. Basically he is God is the MCU and oversees everything to make sure things don't go south for the worst.

In the sequel we learn more about character from the predecessor and are even introduced some new exciting characters. Nebula is Gamora's half-sister and daughter of Thanos. She is a trained assassian and has revenge senses high on her mind. Throughout the film, she wants to get the best of Gamora and we learn that all she wants to do is defeat her for once. In the end, Nebula does love Gamora and always wanted a close sister bond with her. However, because Gamora always beat her in combat Thanos would disfigure Nebula causing her to develop resentment. Now that the two have the same mindeset of defeating Thanos, we can expect the duo to team up in the future to create an unstoppable force.

Yondu is another character from the first film. He is introduced as the guy who went to pick up Quill from Earth and deliver him to his father. Instead Yondu raised him as his own and trained him to be a Raveger. The truth we learn in this film is that Ego is a maniac (we'll get to that in a minute) and Yondu kept Quill for his protection. We learn to develop sympathy for him and realize how great of a father figure he really is (just like Mary Poppins).

While hinted in the first film, we finally learn the identity of Peter's father. His name is Ego and he is a living planet. Ego has God-like powers that make him almost unstoppable. At first, we can enjoy the reunion between the two until the truth speaks. Ego is the reason for Peter's mom's death and, ultimately, he wants Quill to stay with him in order to control the universe. Kurt Rusell does an amazing job at making us quickly love him but hate him just as fast.

The latest addition to the Guardians of the Galaxy is Mantis. She has the power to control and understand feelings. Mainly used to put Ego to sleep, she later helps the Guardians to defeat him. While she is mainly used for comic relief in the film, we do learn to have a soft spot for her and can't help but root the best for the character.

Final Score: 8/10

With the addition of new characters to the Guardians of the Galaxy, we can expect some great chemistry, whether for comedic purposes or cool action scenes, for future films. While not the most original or in-depth plot, it still delivers a thrilling ride. The film does not disappoint in creating stunning visuals or having a silent room because everyone will be laughing or jamming out to the tunes.