While it's not as good as it's predecessor, Vol.2 is still an entertaining space adventure with good humour and action that stands as one of the MCU's better films.

Rating: 8/10 (1 May 2017)

'Guardians of the Galaxy vol.2' is the follow up to 2014's excellent 'Guardians of the Galaxy'. In this sequel all of the main cast return along with writer/director James Gunn who,this time around, penned the script alone. The film catches up with the Guardians several months after the events of the first film and centres around the meeting of Peter's father, Ego.
On the whole this second instalment is extremely fun. It does however lack the charm and surprise of the first film. The characters are all great and are given some decent dialogue that is filled with attempts at humour which sometimes works but unfortunately often falls a little flat. There are only few laugh out loud moments here, unlike in the first film, and a lot of the jokes elicit less than a smirk. That's not to say that the shortcomings of the jokes are a detriment the fun of the feature, though; the overall light tone of the script and the comedic nature of the characters contribute to a constant sense of entertainment.
The cast are all on top form, especially Michael Rooker as Yondu who's character is developed more than in the first feature. Baby Groot surprisingly wasn't overused and didn't take up the majority of the screen time as I expected. The character was fairly good and had some funny moments, although I much preferred the innocence and aggression of Groot in the original film.
One standout aspect of the original film was the retro 70s soundtrack that led the action and emotion and here we get another plethora of classic 70s tunes that accompany the Guardians. While I preferred the utilization of the soundtrack in the first film, 'Awesome mix vol.2' was implemented well into the feature and included some great songs that added to the fun.
The action scenes in this film were all constantly entertaining and felt fun. Gunn once again directed them with style and the witty remarks by the characters during the sequences really added to the fun. The third act did however get a little too big and generic, heavily relying on CGI-fuelled extravagance, but luckily it retains a key focus on character throughout.
The film had an emotional payoff, which really worked and provided some great moments for the characters that we have grown to care about over the course of the two films.
Overall 'Guardians of the Galaxy vol.2'is a thoroughly entertaining film ,that retains a sense of fun and character throughout, that never comes close to being as imaginative and original as it's predecessor. It is a film that has excellent character moments that make you really care for them and provides plenty of joy, even if a lot of the jokes fail to make you laugh as much as the film makers clearly intended. 8/10.