Entertaining but not as surprisingly good as Vol 1

Rating: 6/10 (10 May 2017)

Is this movie entertaining? Absolutely. The color-palette is gorgeous. The action is easy to follow. The story is as well. It deepens our understanding of the characters that we met in the first movie. And it's funny. In fact, from the beginning of the movie, we're fed the information that this film is going for fun, laughs and action. It is no surprise, therefore, that that's all we get. A 137 minute (and you better stay for all 137 credits and all, you don't want to miss any of the 5 post credit scenes) romp through 700 galaxies (or at least a few of them) to get to know the meaning of who your family really is.
What was a surprise was that this movie pushed significantly harder against the PG-13 rating than most of the other films. I found some of the violence against bad-guys a little harsh. Additionally, I thought the references to sex-bots, fornication on a universe scale, and the references to a god's (little "g") manhood a little out of place, unnecessary even to the overall plot of the film. It seemed the deliberate marketing of Baby-Groot and the "Disney-fication" of the MCU would entice 12, 10, perhaps even 8 year old to the seats. I didn't find these to be easily pushed aside for those ages in post-movie discussions. In addition, I thought the reach for sentimentality at the conclusion of the movie, while effective in many ways, lost its edge for me in light of the cantankerous and callous treatment of the above issues by the script and characters within.
I will recommend the film. But I'm a bit disappointed it didn't effectively reach a higher bar standing on the shoulders of its predecessor. It should have in my opinion. And I'm afraid it won't hold up as well to repeat viewings. It's in the top third of the MCU of movies with CA: Winter Soldier, CA: Civil War, Iron Man, and the first GotG. I was kinda hoping it would've been in the top 3.