Perhaps not as spectacular as the first entry, but nonetheless exciting, funny, and visually stimulating as it needs to be

Rating: 8/10 (11 May 2017)

When Guardians of The Galaxy first hit the cinema multiplexes in the summer of 2014, it was a surprising success, especially for a superhero film based on comic books that very few knew about. Grossing around a quarter from crossing the billion-dollar mark, it was fairly predictable for a sequel to see the light of the day. This second installment, which helms director and writer James Gunn as the conductor, brings back our favorite heroes from the first film and places them in an all-new adventure. While this film made the score as a wild crowd-pleaser with its clever humor and tense, special-effects-laden galore, this one perhaps marks a just a slight stepback from its predecessor. Cutting back by a fraction on its zany, light-hearted tone in favor of deep character development and heart, this film delivers the fun and excitement with only a few flaws that go marginally noticeable. This film focuses on the Guardians: Peter Quill/Star Lord (played by Chris Pratt), Gamora (played by Zoe Saldana), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Drax (played by Dave Batista), and the now Baby Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel). The team travels to a distant planet where they come across a celestial named Ego (played by Kurt Russell) who happens to be Peter's long-lost father. The team soon sets out on an intergalactic adventure to discover the mysterious of Peter's strained past.
Whereas the first installment ran off the chains with non-stop cheekiness and balls-to-the-walls humor, this movie takes a small step back to take a deep exploration into the characters, most particularly Peter Quill. This endeavor opens doors to a more powerful emotional core that taps into the heart strings. That is not the say the film does not leave any room for some light-hearted banter between the characters along with gut-busting one-liners. Although a small portion of the sexual innuendos tend to fall flat, the character certainly prove to be fighters for stealing the show from each other. The main driving force of the plot here is themes of family, that is where the dynamics of the father-son relationship between Peter Quill and Ego comes in. The story spends a portion of time diving into the relationship between Peter and his father, and what accounts is some emotionally resonating sequences that are surprisingly moving. But that is not all, the relationship Gamora and Nebula (played by Karen Gillian) is also greatly explored here, though perhaps not as ambitiously. The family dynamics result in numerous (and occasionally clunky) tonal shifts throughout the picture. Along the side, the film doesn't fail to fuel the adrenaline tank with visually stunning action sequences including spaceship battles and countless CGI explosions to keep things moving at a reasonable pace. And much like the previous movie, serving the backdrop of nearly every scene is a sweet classic 70s soundtrack to establish the cheeky mood of the story.
The majority of the cast from the previous installment returns, each of them is good as ever. Chris Pratt, the likable guy he is, returns with a sheer amount of charisma and humor to his role. His humanistic performance serves as a supporting factor for his chemistry with new-face Kurt Russell who plays his father. The two share a strong emotional chemistry that greatly serves as a driving force the story. For fans of Russell, the actor never disappoints from his opening screen time, to the final act. Zoe Saldana is very strong in her role, boasting a fair amount of humanity with her emotional bond with Karen Gillian's Nebula. Bradley Cooper returns as the voice for the loud-bantering raccoon Rocket and continues to deliver one hilarious one-liner after another. Professional wrestler Dave Batista puts some great effort into the role of Drax, adding both humor and sentimental value to his already comedic figure. Groot who is now shrunk down to baby form is sustained by the voice of Vin Diesel who like the last film, never reaches a departure outside his signature lines "I am Groot". This little character is cute the second he appears on screen, and never fails to deliver the charm. Michael Rooker does his job as Yondu, another returning character. Sylvester Stallone makes a surprise appearance here as well, although his screen time is reduced to no longer than five minutes or so. Then there is Pom Klementieff as a telepathic mantis who swarms with a slice of humanity to her character, as well as a pinch of comedic chemistry with Dave Batista's Drax. If there is anything that chews at the clever chemistry between these characters, it is most likely the long separation between these characters with Peter, Gamora, and Drax spends a large amount of time on one planet, and Rocket and Groot on another, thus reducing the hilarious banter that contributes to these character's likability.
Guardians of The Galaxy: Volume 2 is a fun follow-up to the 2014 original, with a fair amount of energy, heart, and humor to satisfy moviegoers of a various demographics. It's certainly not as polished as the previous entry, but that very little to bar from the insane amount of fun this movie is. This movie is an early summer blockbuster that is virtually impossible to doubt for reaching a phenomenal box office receipt by the end of the summer.