fun overload

Rating: 7/10 (14 October 2017)

Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and his friends; Gamora (Peter Quill), Drax (Dave Bautista), Baby Groot (Vin Diesel), and Rocket (Bradley Cooper), take a job from the Sovereign. They get Gamora's sister prisoner Nebula (Karen Gillan) as payment. When the Sovereign discovers Rocket had stolen from them, they set off to take out the Guardians. The group is saved by a Celestial, Ego (Kurt Russell) who claims to be Peter's father. Meanwhile, Yondu (Michael Rooker) is being ostracized by the other Ravagers and faces a mutinous crew.
This is a visual overload of wildly colored space fantasy with unending quips. The first Guardian is refreshing for that idea but it gets a little repetitive with a sequel. The freshest scenes are Nebula's obsessive murderous rage against Gamora, and Baby Groot's inability to get Yondu's hat. There is some heart with Yondu and the sisters. It has some fun but a lot of it feels overloaded. At times, I pine for more of the quieter moments to let the characters deal with their feelings or simply reset my color receptors. Kurt is Kurt and is really perfect as Quill's father. I want the movie to take its time with the emotional turmoil but like a lot of these superhero movies, the pacing has to maintain its freight train momentum. Overall, this is fun but it can't be new again. It expands on the characters but it can't stop to smell the roses.