Effect bonanza with lack of direction

Rating: 6/10 (26 April 2017)

The first film was a massive surprise when it launched, even the actors were unsure of how the movie would be received, and feared it was going to be marvels first real flop in the new age of superhero movies.
But as we all know, it wasn't a flop, it was a surprisingly entertaining and fun film that was so easy to fall in love with. The characters, the universe, the effects, the story, it was all good.
Personally i have seen more or less every single American superhero movie that has ever been made, with a few exceptions here and there, but hard to say which movies i might have missed, i even saw "The Phantom" and "The Masters of the universe" when they released back in the day.
But just to clear something up here and now. Those two films i just mentioned, is not among what i call good films. What i consider to be some the best superhero films made to this date is (not in any particular order) Batman (1989), Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), Superman (1978), X-men (2001), Logan (2017), The Avengers (2012), Deadpool (2015), Spiderman 2 (2004), The incredibles (2004). Guardians of The Galaxy (2014).
There are more, i just don't want to use up all my 1000 words here listing movies i like. It's just for reference.
Anyways. Guardians of the galaxy 2 is not on my list of best superhero movies of all time I'm afraid, no matter how adorable baby groot is, it simply wasn't enough. This movie is a pure effect bonanza from start to finish, and it looks absolutely gorgeous, no doubt about that. The pacing isn't too bad either, the music score is amazing. But...
Yes, *sigh*. The movie lacks direction. It is sort of a mess, and i have to be one of the bringers of bad news, but the movie isn't bad though, it just didn't live up to it's predecessor. It wouldn't be the first time in history that ever happened, but still.
Except for the main villain, this movie is basically almost the same as the first film, not much new to see here to be honest. It feels recirculated, like the writers just thought: Oh hey, they like the first film, let's just give them more of that.
Some times, this tactic works, if you write it correctly, and add enough new stuff go along with it. But they almost fell in the "The Force Awakens" trap here.
The big laughs are far apart, most of the jokes are just mildly "gigglingy" (new word *patent pending*), and the movie suffers because of it. But there are some moments in the film that are truly awesome and lifts the spirits, as it can become dull at times. Incredible actually, when you think of how much is going on in this film, at any given moment.
Kurt Russel is one of those "awesome things". He is the one that lifts this movie up a nudge, his performance and presence makes all the difference in this film. And if you are a Kurt Russel fan like me, well this movie is a lot more easy to enjoy. Snake Plissken never let's me down ^^
Anyways, if you are just going to hang out with some friends and just enjoy some laughs and watch some CGI extravaganza on display, this movie has you covered for the most part. But don't expect anything like the original. I'm sad to say they didn't achieve greatness this time.
6/10 - Fair