Far too much lame humour.

Rating: 5/10 (20 February 2019)

God-like space traveller Ego (Kurt Russell) reveals to Peter Quill (AKA Starlord) that he is his father and tries to convince his new-found son to become part of his plan to assimilate the entire universe.
I'm one of the few who didn't enjoy the humour in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie: I just didn't find it funny. So you can probably guess how I feel about Vol. 2, which ramps up the level of comedy even further. I can't say I'm disappointed that James Gunn won't be directing part three (although I do think he was treated very unfairly by those in charge).
But Vol. 2 doesn't just suffer from an excess of bad gags: the plot is weak, the pop soundtrack is overbearing, at 136 minutes it's way too long, and the action is too far-fetched (even for a comic book sci-fi film featuring a talking raccoon and a dancing baby tree). Our heroes are thrown into numerous situations that would reasonably result in a very messy fate, yet they repeatedly manage to emerge unscathed. Suspending disbelief is one thing; accepting that a character can escape certain death time and time again is asking too much.
Admittedly, Gunn has produced a film that looks great, with some mind boggling special effects and mesmerisingly beautiful scenes that make wonderful use of colour, but with such a silly plot and execution that frequently defies logic and the laws of physics, it's hard to care too much about what happens to the good guys.
In short, this is the second best film to co-star Sylvester Stallone and Michael Rooker, Cliffhanger still clinging firmly on to first place.
5/10, simply for sexy insect alien Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and tasty blue bald cyborg Nebula (Karen Gillan), both of whom make watching just about worthwhile.