A Stellar Sequel that Maintains the Fun and Energy of its Predecessor,

Rating: 9/10 (3 June 2017)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a terrific movie with a very well developed plot and an excellent cast. It brings back a lot of what we loved about the original film, but not in a way that comes across as forced or that it is trying to be a carbon copy. It has a brand new soundtrack with plenty of toe tapping tunes, as well a ton of sequences that are just enchanting, as a result of how fun and well executed they are.
It is, sadly, not quite as fresh as the original, there were moments were it felt like they were trying too hard to mimic something that worked in the first, as well as that, the plot just simply is not as engaging. It is a lot slower, while in the original we see Star Lord and his crew jump from one place to another, here they spend the majority of the film on one planet, when as audience members we are craving a bit more excitement, rather than seeing Peter trying to connect with his enigmatic father.
The cast are all top notch, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista all slip back in to their respective roles very naturally, Bradley Cooper shines once again as the voice of Rocket Racoon, and Vin Diesel puts so much heart in to Groot, in this case, a baby version. The best character in this film, which came as a big surprise to me, was Yondu. A very two dimensional being in the original, they added so much development to him in this movie, and Michael Rooker portrays him with great depth. I found myself feeling more connected to him than anyone else, and actually somewhat relatable.
While it falls flat in certain aspects, you will not be able to wipe the smile off your face when seeing these characters on screen again. Funny and action packed, I would recommend Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 to anyone looking for a good Sci-Fi or Adventure film.
The Guardians land on a planet that they soon learn is inhabited by Star Lord's father, he must now learn the truth of his origins.
Best Performance: Michael Rooker