Somewhere between Age of Ultron and Doctor Strange

Rating: 8/10 (30 April 2017)

The MCU continues by returning one of the greatest things about 2014, but of course facing a great danger, living up to the first one.
We find our mismatched reckless Guardians on a job protecting the high Sovereign from a giant shark squid thing with Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) dancing to Mr Blue Sky creating another iconic musical opening in a more dramatic but fun sequence. From there, our main leader Star Lord (Chris Pratt) gets re-acquainted with his long lost father played very pleasantly by Kurt Russell and as before a whole heap of trouble awaits.
As far as what happens beyond that point is not for me to reveal of course, but it is very hard to explain as the plot doesn't seem to actually choose a direction. I know this is really what should be expected of this half comedy half science fiction adventure but it was something that the first one got. However where Guardians lacks in narrative it heavily makes up for in laughs.
What I believe James Gunn and the rest of his writers and producers have done is basically thought: Wow the fans love that combination of comedy and action, lets just do that classic sequel thing and crank that up to 10. This would usually be a criticism but Guardians 2 gets away with it. Obviously it does not match the magic of the first film, but satisfies very much as a sequel. But the film is not just surface, the film really takes its time to express this meaning of family which is actually really moving and provides more layers and atmosphere to the characters than the first one did. It takes a similar pathway to Star Trek Beyond, story-wise and structurally securing itself as great popcorn entertainment.
Like what the LEGO Batman Movie did, the jokes never stop coming, consisting of many laugh out loud subtle and visible jokes but also a lot of jokes that don't really cause much response and quickly die, but enough for you to most certainly pass the Kermode and Mayo's six laugh test. A little too many laughs particularly coming from Drax in this one.
The entire cast returns with a clear joy and privilege to be there as they each steal minutes of the screen to show off their wacky personalities, from Drax's maniac laughing warrior, to Rocket's quick witted sharp shooting genius. Russell chews up the script in his own manner, but Sylvester Stallone's brief appearance is nothing to get excited about.
Now earlier, as I mentioned the cranking it up to 10, Guardians 2 mostly certainly accomplishes this through its visuals, which create a rainbow themed colour scheme for the galaxy and show off more corners unknown to its audience. The action becomes non-stop as well, with little moments for you to take a breather. During the final act of the film, I do believe I felt the spirit of the comics come alive. But they got to fill that extra 15 minutes with something, which I personally feel they could loose. At times I wanted the film to move pace slightly as the film felt like it was just killing time on several occasions. Certainly never boring but just could move quickly at points. But I shouldn't really complain when a lot of this time is filled to add more layers our characters.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 is a very fun and enjoyable time but much louder on its visuals, humor, and action. It would certainly not be disappointing to the Marvel fans, may not be the first film but its not Thor the Dark World (wink wink). 8.4/10