Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

As with the trailer for "Guardians of the Galaxy", I enjoyed the trailer for its sequel. While it didn't have as nearly a large of impact as the trailer for the original film, the sequel trailer did contain some pretty funny stuff (I also like how they didn't spoil some of the best jokes). Something that also peaked my interest as "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" neared release was that the film earned a 100% grade in test screenings, which is the highest earned for any Marvel Studios film. I learned after seeing the movie however that those test-screening audiences were not chosen as randomly as is normally done by other studios. Regardless, "Vol. 2" has everything you loved about the original film. They filmmakers took the right steps to create originality in the sequel but didn't go too overboard thankfully as some sequels do. Both movies are equally enjoyable in my book and I like the first film a tad more only because it is the cinematic source material.

Other comic book films are ruined because of too much foreshadowing for future films, introducing supporting characters that don't contribute to the story and going for a darker approach among other things. The nature of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is such that any one of these mistakes could have happened. Besides those flaws, any movie can fail to properly entertain because of an imbalance of the cinematic aspects. Some movies have too many jokes and others have too much eye candy. The biggest tragedy for me is when filmmakers spend less time on the story and the other cinematic elements do not support the tale being told. Fortunately, writer/director James Gunn has crafted a follow-up that fans will love and want to see again. I was pleased to discover that the film is fun to watch more than once. Considering the upcoming "Infinity War", the studio could have forced Gunn to create more tie-ins to "The Avengers" and to introduce popular characters from the comics that weren't needed. In "Vol. 2", the new characters support the story well enough and the "crossover window" remained open but wasn't flaunted in the faces of the audience constantly. One decision that Gunn made for the sake of originality was Baby Groot. Originally, Groot was to be full grown for the events of "Vol. 2" but by having him small and cute, you can make new jokes. I almost cried after Baby Groot is bullied by the mutinying Ravagers. The sequel is just a little more visually appealing than its predecessor but all sequels do that. I also think the eye candy could have gotten completely out of control by outshining the story. Peter undergoes a journey in "Vol. 2" that is quite personal and emotional. In the first film, he became less selfish by helping to form and lead the Guardians. Now he is learning about his origins, self worth and the importance of his relationship with others. Just as Peter goes through character changes, so do almost all the other characters and this is important for any sequel. There are some important scenes where we feel sympathy for Yondu for example. What happens at the end of the movie is something you wouldn't expect considering the genre and how upbeat the first film ended but this is where the sequel introduces the required increase in drama without going too dark. Concerning this ending, Gunn did not want to create this tragic conclusion but gave in because he knew it was right for the story. Despite this emotional final scene, it is well balanced by the comedy throughout the show. I enjoyed how the Sovereign drones resemble an arcade more than an armada. The relationship between Drax and Mantis also appealed to me because of its intentional awkwardness and I like how Taserface is an actual character from the comics. As with the first movie, some of the crude humor did bother me but it is tolerable because of Drax's ignorance. I also enjoyed how we are treated to additional references from the 80's such as "Cheers", "Knight Rider" and "Pac-Man". The filmmakers even made references to that decade by way of the casting of Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone. We also have the appearance of "Zardu Hasselfrau". The Zune was pretty funny because of dramatic irony but this joke does not ruin the mood of the climax. I also love how Peter makes Yondu think that a certain Disney character is cool. The action in this sequel also does wonders for the entertainment such as when Rocket, Yondu, Baby Groot and Kraglin take back the ship. There are only two story flaws that I can see with "Vol. 2". One is that the Guardians could have saved the galaxy by just escaping the planet. I guess considering their adversary however, Peter would forever after be escaping. Also, I want to know how Yondu and Peter escape the exploding pod.

The returning cast members slipped right back into their roles nicely and the effort James Gunn made to bring everybody back was quite impressive, regardless of how small a role they had on the first film. In the case of Groot, this is one instance where the original actor is able to perform for the foreign-language releases as well. Vin Diesel recorded his voice for sixteen foreign-language versions of this sequel (he only recorded for four versions of the original movie). Sean Gunn returns as Rocket's stand-in on the film set and as Kraglin. The latter character has a larger role in this sequel. Russell played his part quite well. For the scene on earth in 1980, a combination of practical and digital makeup was used to create a young Kurt Russell. I was excited to see Stallone in this film but his best scene was at the end of the movie. He did feel a little out of place the first time I saw "Vol. 2" but that was because of how famous he is. Michael Rosenbaum provided some dance reference for Baby Groot in the end credits of the first film and he returns to do the same for the opening sequence in "Vol. 2". This time, it required an entire day of work on a soundstage. Rosenbaum also has an on-screen role as a Ravager. The various cameos were fun. Stan Lee's cameo was shot the same time as his cameos for "Doctor Strange" and a yet-to-be-released film. His role in "Vol. 2" can almost be used to explain his cameos in every other MCU movie and that makes it one of my favourites. I did not expect "Zardu Hasselfrau" to show up twice so that was cool. The 3D special effects were very good as mentioned and to see them in IMAX was a treat. Some scenes were shot with IMAX cameras and even 8K resolution cameras. There were a few shots where the 3D special effects spill out of the aspect ratio and normally, I hate when filmmakers do that. Thankfully, this was done sparingly and weren't a distraction because I didn't notice during my first viewing of the film in IMAX. Fun fact, the cassette tapes used in the first film were misplaced or lost and the Walkman headsets were broken when it came time to film "Vol. 2". The pressure for the soundtrack to be just as good as its predecessor was high. I felt the use of songs was good but the first film had music I had heard before and was a little catchier. I am starting to warm up to this new "mixtape" though. I really loved "Guardians Inferno", an original song from this film, and its retro music video. I can't believe how well it recreates the disco era of music. For the musical score by Tyler Bates, some pieces was recorded before shooting so that it could be played for the actors on set during filming. The aforementioned dramatic ending was one instance where the actors really benefited from the score being played in earpieces.

This was the perfect way to kick off the summer blockbuster season of 2017 and it became my favourite film of that year. "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" also received an Oscar nomination for its visual effects. The movie was genuinely fun and lives up to its predecessor's sense of style. The admirable qualities allow you to forgive the minor plot holes. Humor is what made the first movie such fun but this time, the story was the film's best quality. The filmmakers found the right balance between the familiar and the original, albeit the first film almost always has the uniqueness that a sequel can't. I'm all pumped for "Infinity War" and James Gunn will be back for a "Vol. 3" after the crossover despite Disney not being able to make up its mind.

4.5 Stars out of 5