It seemed like a gamble when writer-director James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy debuted back in 2014. Like its ragtag group of heroes, Gunn’s movie was the scrappy underdog in the ever-expanding universe of Marvel films, lacking the ubiquity of names such as Captain America or Thor. Who, besides comic book diehards, had heard of Star-Lord? And a talking raccoon? What the hell was up with that? Yet, Gunn’s film is now one of the most beloved of all the Marvel movies for its ribald humor, throwback aesthetic and witty rapport between its stars. It was a breath of fresh air in a batch of films about superheroes and explosions that also happened to take themselves way too seriously.
Three years later and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 now opens in a completely different scenario: with major expectations. Not only must the movie succeed at the box office, but like all sequels, Vol. 2 must capture the same lightning in a bottle that made the first installment so beloved, all the while bringing something different enough so fans won’t feel like they are seeing the same thing for the second time. Finding that balance, retaining what made the first one so good and adding new elements, is a tough precipice to skirt, and in many ways, Gunn is successful in this second go around.
Chris Pratt returns as Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord), the leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy, an unlikely group of thieves and scoundrels who just happened to save the universe in the first part. Quill, a lovable, yet loutish half-human who was abducted by alien traders, is still reeling from the death of his mother when he was a child. In a brief prologue, we learn that she was impregnated by a creature from another world (played by Kurt Russell). When we catch up with the Guardians of the Galaxy, they are doing mercenary work for a group of gold-skinned aliens, who quickly become enemies when talking raccoon Rocket (Bradley Cooper) rips them off after the job. Outnumbered and doomed, Quill’s long-lost father appears and skirts the Guardians off to his seemingly perfect planet.
Gunn tries to strike a balance between humor and something more sentimental here, as the idea of father figures controls most of the narrative. Quill, who is perhaps the biggest embodiment of id in the Marvel universe, just wants a dad with whom he can throw around the ball. Raised by the blue-skinned scrapper Yondu (Michael Rooker back again here and in fine form), Quill believes he never really had a true paternal figure. He is also struggling with the unspoken sexual tension that exists between him and his green-skinned companion Gamora (Zoe Soldana). But Gamora has bigger fish to fry as her jealous sister Nebula (Karen Gillan) is out for her blood.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is at its best in some of its auxiliary storylines. The main villain takes his time to reveal himself, and when he does, his plan is pretty ridiculous. Pratt doesn’t have much range as an actor, but Gunn also doesn’t give him too much to do here. Instead, he separates his Guardians into two groups. The more interesting section comes when Yondu, Rocket and Groot (still in baby form) team up against a mutiny on the scrapper’s ship. Yes, Dave Bautista is fantastic yet again in the other narrative as Drax the Destroyer, but even his jokes can’t transcend the somewhat half-baked plot about Peter Quill and his father. There are a lot of subplots stuffed in here, but none of the individual threads (Quill and his dad, Yonu and his mutiny, Rocket’s issues with bravado, Drax potentially falling in love again, Gamora vs. Nebula) really don’t transcend soggy soap opera storylines.
Comic book films rarely aspire to great art. There really is never any risk to them. Kill off a superhero and he will be back sooner or later. Somehow, Gunn does manage a moment of pathos at the film’s close, but it isn’t long until his characters are back to wisecracking along with a retro soundtrack. Like its scruffy crew, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is an affable and harmless way to spend a few hours. The first Guardians succeeded because it appeared to break away from the pack of Marvel films. By emulating that escape plan again this time, Vol. 2 slides neatly in along with the rest of them.
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