We need a Drax and Mantis show NOW

Rating: 7/10 (28 June 2020)

SYNOPSIS:
Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is found by his long lost father, Ego (Kurt Russell), and learns a lot about himself. He also finds out that it might not be as good of a reunion that he was hoping for.
REVIEW:
A step up from the first film. *Insert outrage and hate in the comments*. Someone had to say it and I'm apparently the only one man enough to admit it. We get a deeper dive into the mental of several characters and it was funnier. Don't get me wrong, I have the same qualms that I had from the first film and I also feel that this movie had a couple of terribly unfunny lines. Like, super cringe. Almost makes it worse than the first film, but not quite. On top of learning about who Peter is, why Yondu (Michael Rooker) and Rocket (Bradley Cooper) are the way they are, why Nebula (Karen Gillian) acts the way she does, how Drax (Dave Bautista) feels deep down behind his strong and cheerful facade. This film gives us so much and then it just throws interactions between Drax and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) in there like we're all angels and saints. We don't deserve those moments, but James Gunn goes "here, take this, cherish it, hold on and never let go." Or at least I imagine that's what he would say to us. In this film, I also feel the villain was a genuine threat. I do wish that Starlord wasn't just automatically incredible at what he just found out he could do. Other than that, I really felt this was a strong film with slight potential to do more, but still good nonetheless. 7.6/10.