Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Rating: 9/10 (16 May 2017)

What hurt Marvel's "Iron Man 2"? Their "Thor: The Dark World"? A host of problems, some small and others not so much. Marvel Studios has a negative stigma attached to itself in terms of villains. The sequels to "Iron Man" and "Thor" suffered from this perhaps the worst, as well as an overall struggle to fit within their newly built universe. Both movies juggled tone and had a difficult time building on what was built in terms of character and the events that happened to them - nothing was gained or placed in real stakes. Thus, these are mostly disregarded entries in this now still growing series.
James Gunn created the first, biggest Marvel sleeper hit since "Iron Man". His movie shared the year with the ever-serious but tremendously made and highly anticipated "Captain America: The Winter Soldier". In Gunn's film, he gave the audience a group of characters that didn't have the luxury of being as well known or established as Captain America or Hulk. Gunn had a Han Solo-type lead from earth, an alien warrioress who leans on the colder side, an emotionless almost gladiator type who's obsessed with fighting, a generally angry raccoon, and a tree-man who can only say three words. This was the group who lead the now fan-favorite "Guardians of the Galaxy". Naturally some side characters got a bit of the cold shoulder treatment and with such a vast world it mostly laid unexplored. Overwhelmingly, the film was filled with an effective use of its soundtrack, interesting dialogue, and fulfilling character moments. So naturally, a sequel was needed.
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" understood what it needed to do, what it needed to fix, and it what needed to address, in mostly satisfying ways. In the sequel, we take what we've learned from the previous film and jump right on the train a canon three months after our first adventure. "Guardians 2" chose not to do the thing it would've been easy to do - ditch the beloved dialogue that set the characters and their motivations up in favor of bright, loud action scenes for 2 hours that didn't further any of our previous knowledge or love of the universe. Instead, we were given a reason for the events that take place. From the start, the dialogue is back, along with a soundtrack that kicks in about like another member of the team. These characters don't necessarily always agree or get along but their chemistry is always felt when it needs to be. The best parts of "Guardians 2" aren't a major confrontation, an action scene, they're moments of character building and use of dialogue (a shot of Gamora sitting in a field alone contemplating the things that've just happened just may be my favorite). We see the group as a whole learn about each other, understand each other. We see them talk, laugh, get angry, and most importantly we see them take action on their established beliefs. These small, and sometimes longer, moments launch these characters from just funny and exciting characters to genuinely interesting and believable ones.
While "Guardians 2" isn't perfect (there's a lot of stating the obvious and a good bit of action movie clichés, along with some questionable CGI at times), it succeeds on its goals and ambitions. In the sequel, we get a wonderful whirlwind effect of what made the original so much fun and so refreshing. "Guardians 2" offers so much beyond simple entertainment, while there is a great deal. Not since Jon Favreau's first "Iron Man" have the action scenes in Marvel fallen so much secondary to the moments of dialogue and lingering scenes. It expands the universe in ways we had yet to see, and it takes what were minor characters and elevates them as equals, giving them time and choices to make that make them fit in all the more and define them going forward. Every single scene has weight, every moment someone has a choice to make, someone to save, something to do. Every scene is a way of showing why each character is so vital to the story and how true their connections are and how important their tasks are that they've now been given.
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" was a tremendous success with a lot of boxes it had to check, and mostly it checked them. The good in "Guardians 2" was the type of stuff you go to movies for, and the bad was too few and far between to really detract from it overall. "Guardians 2" is an achievement in Marvel's universe, and will without a doubt be one of the most fun and enjoyable movies of the year, just as its former was.