Second verse... same as the first?

Rating: 8/10 (29 April 2017)

Our team now work as mercenaries. Now, they run afoul of the Sovereign, the Ravagers come into an unexpected circumstance, and everyone's relatives show back up... well, the ones that are still breathing. What? Everybody's got dead people! So the big theme is family. Because Vin can't keep that out of his franchises. Siblings, even if not by blood. Father *figures* if not biological ones. And it's explored incredibly well. It does grind the story to a halt.
By and large, this recreates, does twists on, and always increases in scope, what everyone loved in volume one. And most of the time, it's enjoyable. It does feel like it was written specifically to ensure it does well, where last time, it came out of the blue. The size is immense. At times, the amount of CGI on-screen is almost excessive. The smaller, personal scenes ensure it doesn't reach sensory overload. Fights get vast, and yet we can follow it. Heck, there are times where, intentionally, the action itself is literally off-screen, while we're watching something amusing or even "boring". The 3D is some of the best I've ever seen. There being so many jokes in this does end up slightly excessive, even forced, and there's too much low-brow stuff(and that's coming from someone who in general digs that kind of material).
There is a lot of content in this that is disturbing and/or violent. I recommend this to anyone who liked the original. And if you loved it, I will do more, I will implore you: you *have* to watch this one, too. 8/10