Solid sequel but falls short of the excellent original

Rating: 7/10 (12 May 2017)

The original Guardians of the Galaxy is my favorite Marvel Universe movie and probably my favorite movie of 2014 (either that or John Wick). I was completely unfamiliar with them until the movie, but I loved the characters and the tone. The film reveled in unabashed wackiness in a way that reminded me of stuff like Flash Gordon, Big Trouble in Little China and Howard the Duck (more on Howard in a minute). The sequel is much of the same. This is a really fun movie with great characters, but it does fall short of the original largely due to some narrative restraints.
The plot largely revolves around the team finally meeting Star Lord's father (played by one of my favorite actors, Kurt Russell). Star Lord, Drax and Gamora go off to investigate the father while Rocket and Groot are taken as hostages by Yondu's crew (Yondu, played by the awesome Michael Rooker, is the blue guy with the flying arrow). To discuss any further would require major spoilers, so I will leave it at that.
The issue with the film is an almost inevitable flaw with a series like this. In any story about the formation of a team, there are four basic stages: Stage 1: The team members don't trust each other; Stage 2: A threat forces the team to learn to work together; Stage 3: Something causes the team to become conflicted and/or separated; Stage 4: A new threat brings the team back together. For reference, Captain America: Civil War is Stage 3 for the Avengers and I'm hoping the next Avengers film will just dive right into Stage 4. Stage 3 is almost always the least entertaining part; it's the dramatic lull before the status quo is returned. It's the film equivalent of a ballad at a metal concert; it's a good time to grab a beer before the fun stuff comes back. The middle act of Guardians 2 is essentially stuck in Stage 3 with the team divided in half and individuals resolving their own issues. It isn't bad, mind you, but watching Peter resolve his daddy issues, Yondu ponder his role in Peter's upbringing and Gamora and Nebula discuss their sibling rivalry isn't as fun as watching them battle space mutants. All of this drags down the pace of the film while the audience waits for the inevitable status quo to return in the form of big space battles. The beginning and end of the film are a hell of a lot of fun, but some running time could have been trimmed in the middle.
Now let's address the biggest issue that is weighing on my mind: Disney and Marvel, where the hell is my new Howard the Duck movie? The reveal of Howard at the end of the first Guardians is my favorite post- credit scene since the first Iron Man and it's the only one that has never been followed up on. Sure, we get a glimpse of Howard in this movie too, but he has no lines and is only seen for a second as if to taunt me. I kept waiting for Howard to show up with a bigger role throughout this entire damn movie and, at the end, I was left sitting there duckless like an idiot.
Despite a meandering second act and a disturbing anti-duck agenda, Guardians is still a solid sequel that is worth seeing in theaters. If I sound overly negative about it, it's because I love the original and had high expectations that were not quite met. So go see it, enjoy and hopefully I will get my damn Howard the Duck movie.