Definitely a spectacle, but not quite on par with the first

Rating: 7/10 (2 May 2017)

I loved the first Guardians of the Galaxy. It introduced a lovable band of misfits very effectively. Now, as we move on to the sequel, roughly carrying on where we left off, a number of things are occurring to me.
A) Is this just going to be a re-thread of the first film, only with more quips and wise-cracks? B) Are we going to go more into character development? Will we know more about the characters motivations? C) Is this film going to contain more references to the MCU? The answer to A and B is yes. C, not so much. Guardians is very much in its own world, figuratively and literally.
We're reunited once again with Peter Quill, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and (Baby) Groot, who bring Nebula along as well. Yondu also comes to the forefront and everyone gets more character development, which is fun to see because everyone works so well off each other. After an interstellar mishap, they end up crashing on a nearby planet and end up meeting Ego, Quill's father and his associate, Mantis. However, while Quill is trying to form a bond with his father, things don't stay cheerful for long. The Guardians figure something's wrong and they take care of it.
So, overall, the film is entertaining, although I found it a little bit cluttered. The jokes were funny, don't get me wrong, and the visuals, once again, were stunning. However, some scenes didn't really mesh together tonally.
The characters were great though. Baby Groot won the hearts of everyone, and Drax and Rocket were by far the comical highlights. Star Lord once again tries to win the heart of Gamora, and Yondu has a change of heart after being exiled.
It's not the best film I've seen but it's definitely entertaining and action-packed. Definitely worth a look.