Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Review

Rating: 8/10 (16 May 2017)

Welcome to the guardians of the frickin' galaxy, and enter dancing baby Groot. The opening scene during the credits was super fun, and baby Groot is just so adorable. While not every character gets a great character arc there are several great moments for each character. Drax played by Dave Bautista provides most of the comic relief, when Groot and Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper) are not on screen. Some of the humor takes things a bit too far, but for the most part, the comedy has been up'd in this sequel.
All of the Marvel movies have great visual effects and this one is no different. The opening scene with a young Kurt Russell looks very believable. The movie knows how to use color to great effect. The setting for the gold people, known as the Sovergn, looks spectacular, with the bright gold and bold blue and white backdrop. Considering the movie has lots of characters of all different colors, each of them seemed to stand out beautifully.
Now, even though I like Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana's characters, Peter Quill and Gamora, the standout characters by far were Michael Rooker's, Yondu and Karen Gillan's, Nebula. Two characters I thought were "okay" in the first movie, get more backstory and character motivation in this movie. It humanizes them to make them sympathetic characters that can be redeemed.
One thing that wasn't as good as the first movie is the use of music. The opening song with baby Groot dancing around was great, but some of the other songs seemed just there in the background and didn't add anything to the scene. Unlike the first movie where the songs would enhance the scenes, only a few moments in Vol.2 do that well.
Without spoiling who the villain is, I will just say, this is one of the better villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and vastly better than the first movie's villain, Ronan. I understand the villain's plan and completely believe that they believe in what they are doing. There were a couple of very well done and horrifying moments that are unsettling to make the audience hate the villain. The best thing is that the villain provides more than a physical threat but an emotional one as well. Also providing insight into the relationships between several of the other characters.
Overall, I would say that I enjoy Vol.2 more than the first movie, but that does not mean that it is perfect or better. While the movie has enhanced certain characters, it also adds more to the plot and takes a too much time trying to bring the Guardians back together for the final battle. However, I really liked Kurt Russell's character, Ego, I love baby Groot and the best line of the movie is Yondu's, "I'm Mary Poppins, ya'll!" Truly awesome.