Good overall, but not as much as the first

Rating: 8/10 (4 October 2018)

The first Guardians of the Galaxy movie is one of the most popular comic book movies thus far, with its memorable cast of colorful characters, spectacular visuals, and pop culture references from the 1980s. The Guardians return here for another adventure, where Star-Lord meets his father, Ego. The strength of the first movie was how this band of drastically different characters functions, which the second movie builds on successfully. It explores character relationships in pairs - we see interaction between Star-Lord and Ego, Gamora and Nebula, Rocket and Yondu, and Drax and Mantis. It's just as action-packed and funny as the first movie, but they spend most of it separated. In addition, Ego is one of the MCU's best villains so far, with a good performance by Kurt Russell, an interesting backstory, and an awesome set of powers. The twist with him at the end was totally unexpected (in a good way). Much like the first movie, the soundtrack and visual effects are highlights. The theme of music from the 80's continues, with the likes of Fleetwood Mac and the Electric Light Orchestra having songs featured in the film. The visual effects were spectacular, from the space battles to the planets, especially Ego's planet. The problem with it is that it feels like it's just trying to get the Guardians more screen time before Infinity War, making it seem like filler material for the MCU's overall story. The first Guardians movies introduced the Power Stone and gave Thanos more screen time than any other before Infinity War, so it was rather surprising to not see it connect to the overall story with the Infinity Stones, and have it not connect to Thanos. And a lot of people were upset at how drastically Mantis differed from her comic book persona. While I see the two as entirely different characters, it makes sense that that would upset long-time fans of the Guardians. Still, for fans of Marvel or comic book movies, this is a must watch. It's definitely a worthy addition to the MCU, even if it's not as memorable of important to the MCU's overall story than the first one.