Family lesson from space pirates

Rating: 8/10 (26 April 2017)

When the first Guardians of Galaxy ended with high note, specifically with "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", I was thoroughly blown away. Volume 2 is just a tad shy from that magical moment, yet it's an entertaining barrage of visual, music and humor of its own right. This time the space odyssey shines unexpectedly bright from the excellent supporting characters and their openly dysfunctional relationships while keeping the core charm from the original.
The main story follows Quill and his newfound father Ego (Kurt Russell). It's a self-discovery and family ties plot device that for most parts work well enough, but it does feel too safe and follows the same footsteps of other Marvel movies. This tends to veer into the realm of godhood and while it possesses a few twists, the sense of novelty is reduced from the first movie.
Still, it's not by any means a bad showing and luckily, the rest of the crew more than perform beyond their call of duty. Yondu (Michael Rooker) is a rock star of Mary Poppins' caliber. Not only he has one of the best action scenes in Marvel universe with the flying arrow, his character brings scruffy emotional depth as he interacts with Rocket and ultimately Quill.
Nebula (Karen Gillan) has a very intense love-hate relationship with Gamora (Zoe Saldana). The two trades bullets and blows almost every time they meet. Nebula is much darker than the rest of the characters, a contrast the movie doesn't shy away from. The elegant part of this unhinged mentality is how her emotions are seeping through her metallic visage, just barely enough. It's, in an odd way, humanize both sisters exquisitely.
Humor is abundance, tightly woven in even the direst situation. If you come for childish antic your adult self is trying to suppress, this will be nothing less than a gleeful escapade. The use of humor is especially useful in introducing a few more characters while expanding on what already a diverse cast. Nothing charms the audience better than characters that can make them giggle and smile, and in Volume 2 that's practically everyone.
Volume 2 is visually more colorful than the original, taking advantage of the setting as well as robust action sequences. The first tracing shot alone makes it clear that this is smoother experience even in chaotic world the characters often find themselves into. Retro music makes an expected return, production knows the power of the soundtracks, thus trying to fit them into the story. This should never change.
Imagine a moving painting of faraway world, serenaded by song from decades ago, where all the residents are partially broken inside and partially juvenile, yet manage to be so fricking lovable. Add David Hasselhoff and you get Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.