Still a bright spark in the MCU

Rating: 8/10 (2 January 2018)

'Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2' is the highly-anticipated sequel to one of Marvel's surprise hits - and it doesn't disappoint. Sure, it's not as novel or zesty as the original, but it's still one of the best sequels in a long time. It still looks - and sounds - great: vibrant colours, plenty of action, both in space and on strange planets and another killer soundtrack that will grow on people as well. Great use of Fleetwood Mac and Cat Stevens, in particular.
Peter/Star Lord (Pratt) is back with his rag-tag friends/family - Gamora (Saldana), the almost-love-interest; Drax (Bautista) who's both endearingly stupid and means well; Rocket (Cooper), the alienated racoon and Groot (Diesel), in ultra-cute baby-tree form. Yondu (Rooker), Peter's adopted father and Nebula (Gillan), Gamora's sister, are dragged back into the fray, as Peter's father finally appears - Ego (Bridges, charming as ever). There's some great cameos - Hasselhoff, Stallone, and, as always, Stan Lee (+ The Watchers) - and some good development of Mantis (Klementieff) and Kraglin (Gunn).
The main plot is all about family - Peter and his new-found father, as well as his odd relationship with Yondu (and Gamora); Gamora's love/hate relationship with Nebula; Rocket being lonely and struggling to accept that he cares for others; and them all looking after Baby Groot (excellent post-credits scene too). Obviously, a great final battle scene and plenty of laughs throughout.