On the same level as vol. 1

Rating: 9/10 (4 October 2017)

James Gunn's 2017 follow up to the surprise hit Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) does what Marvel has long struggled to do in its extensive cinematic universe, create a sequel that is on the level of quality to its predecessor. Iron Man 2, Thor: Dark World and The Avengers: Age of Ultron all are underwhelming compared to the first outing in each franchise and along with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a film that certainly captures the humour of the first film, and builds on the heart of it.
The soundtrack from the outset is exceptional, and this is exemplified by an opening scene that perfectly sets the fun yet heartfelt tone for the rest of the film. The supposedly intense battle against an enormous beast falls into background noise as watch Baby Groot dance his way around to Electric Light Orchestra's Mr Blue Sky immediately shows that Vol. 2, like the first, will not take itself too seriously. I loved the over the top use of bright colours, steering into the skid and not trying to fool the audience about the amount of CGI being utilised. In a way it actually makes you forget about the special effects as it becomes more stylised rather than trying to hard to fake action, this is continued throughout the film in particular on the planet that is Ego.
My one criticism of this film is occasionally the humour did feel forced, which I guess is necessary to still appeal to younger viewers, often the funnier moments came from the more subtly humorous moments. The exception to this is Drax, whose species takes everything literally and allows Dave Bautista to really show off his comedic acting, saving what could be fairly weak jokes into hilarious moments with his impeccable timing and delivery.
Vol. 2 faced criticism for supposedly undoing the character development of the new 'family' coming together by having the main Guardians fighting and arguing throughout the film. However, I believe this is simply more realistic as all families fight and a group of people with strong personalities are ultimately going to have conflict. The heart and emotional moments in this film I believe actually to be superior to the first, the relationships between Rocket & Yondu, Gamora & Nebula as well Peter himself with his father are all fantastic. For an action/comedy superhero film, there are moments that genuinely bring a tear to your eye.
The standout moment for me is when after revealing his extensive attempts of creating a celestial son, Kurt Russell's Ego then almost casually mentions that he put a tumour that killed Peter's mother in her head. It came at a time when Ego thought he had one Peter over, also the dolly zoom filmography technique used upon this revelation perfectly translates the shock Peter must be feeling to the audience. I loved that his reaction wasn't to typically ask 'Why?' but simply to immediately start angrily shooting Ego, a more realistic showing of the overpowering rage he must have been feeling. Once again the score is brilliantly utilised in the fight scene here, with Fleetwood Mac's The Chain being expertly integrated, credit to Gunn for this.
The casting of the main characters itself was outstanding but the injection of Kurt Russell in the sequel was a masterstroke. He perfectly plays the father figure when first introduced whilst also giving off a slightly uneasy vibe that makes sense upon the big twist. I also enjoyed the larger screen time given to Karen Gillan's Nebula and Michael Rooker's Yondu, two great tough characters who played bigger and less one-dimensional roles than they did in the first.
I would say as a whole the sequel isn't quite as funny as the first, however, it still has numerous laugh out loud moments and it is high praise to be anywhere near the first film. What elevates it to being of the same quality for me is the over-arching narrative and the emotional core that drives the development of the characters. There are more quiet moments of character development which whilst limit the action that may appease some viewers in the short term, ultimately results in a great emotional pay-off at the end of the film, particularly with Yondu's sacrifice.
Sequels to excellent movies are hard to make, and they are always going to face comparisons. However, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is an exceptional follow up that leaves me actively excited for the third outing and hopefully an appearance from the Guardians in Marvel's upcoming Avengers: Infinity War films.