Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 stays familiar but delves further into character development and growth
The first days of summer are quickly approaching and all the signs are in place for the changing of the season. The days are getting longer, the weather is getting warmer, and Marvel is releasing its first big budget movie of the year. This year, we are being treated to the sequel of Marvel’s 2014 sleeper hit Guardians of the Galaxy.
Guardians of the Galaxy was one of the biggest gambles the studio has ever made. It was a film not based on a massively popular comic book property like Spider-man or Iron Man, nor was it expressly tied to Marvel’s other flagship series The Avengers. Instead, it was based on a cult comic with foul-mouthed space raccoons, green-skinned ladies, and talking plants.
It had every reason to fail, but thanks to a dynamic cast, great writing, and a retro feel, Guardians was immediately popular. And so, as with all popular franchises the sequel returns to capitalize on the success of the previous film, hitting all the right notes, but stumbling to find the right intonation. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is entertaining enough, funny enough, and corporate enough to start the blockbuster season off by closely following its own patterns.
The film starts on an exotic planet sometime after the events of the first movie. The Guardians have become famous for the defeat of Ronin, and they offer their services to the highest bidder.
Much of the opening scenes have been replayed over and over again in the trailer—our heroes fight a large mouthed tentacle monster in order to protect some expensive batteries for some Goldfinger-esque colored aliens called “The Sovereign.”
This happens to ELO’s “Mr. Blue,” where the filmmakers capitalize on the cuteness of the new fan favorite Baby Groot (Vin Diesel), a gimmick in an already gimmicky character whose antics become a slightly weary by the end of the film.
All of our favorite characters return. Rocket (Bradley Cooper) remains a brusque criminal, Drax (Dave Bautista) an overly direct barbarian, while StarLord (Chris Pratt) plays the everyman and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) the rational female surrounded by boors. A few new faces pop up—a slightly on the nose empath with antennae named Mantis (Pom Klementieiff) and an aptly named Celestial named Ego (Kurt Russell).
The themes of the film revolve around ideas of family. For an action film based on a trippy comic book, it’s strange to note that almost every character has an emotional close up where they squeeze out a single tear. Many of the moments feel unearned, forcing characters to do and say things out loud that should be more understated.
The previous film did this well—I recall one particular scene where Rocket and Quill share a room in a space prison and the camera pans down to show Rocket’s cybernetic implants. That small moment hints at a past full of anguish, informing the audience about the character without explicitly telling them.
Vol. 2, instead, explains Rocket in a long “I’m just like you” speech by another character, which comes across as slightly hackneyed in comparison. But, sequels mostly follow the code of “more of the same, but faster and flashier” and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has this in spades.
The sets and scenes and effects are stunning to the look at and the soundtrack is just as wonderful as the first film. In particular, I loved the introduction of Ego’s planet to George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord.” Without a doubt, the film gets a lot right.
In all, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is exactly what a Marvel movie has been for several years now. A beautiful, fun comic spectacle that tells a somewhat compact story and sets up future franchise films.
More and more, the Marvel Cinematic Universe reflects the Marvel Comics universe. Everything is a set-up for future stories, everything hangs on the previous story, and the only way to understand what’s happening from movie to movie is to buy the previous issue. It’s something comic books have done since their impetus and it’s no surprise that it works so well here.
When I was a kid, I always notice striking similarities between the soap operas my mom watched and the way my comic books ended—or didn’t end, as it were. There’s always one more issue. Always one more show. Always one more movie. So shall it be from now until forever.