WE are Groot!

Rating: 8/10 (29 May 2017)

'GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOLUME 2' was directed by James Gunn and stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Kurt Russell. Shortly after the events of 'Guardians of the Galaxy', the fame of the Guardians has spread throughout the entire galaxy and reached Ego(Kurt Russell), a cosmic being who has a personal relationship to one of the guardians.
Let me just say that I liked the original 'Guardians of the Galaxy' but I didn't think it deserved the mass acclaim it had achieved. That said, I had high hopes for this movie due to the talented team working on it and Marvel's recent track record. I really liked this movie. Gunn has outdone himself with this movie and provided a true, character driven story with good humour, great acting and stunning visuals. The original cast of the original return to this movie and all do spectacular jobs. That said, this movie does have a few flaws. One of them is the messy action. Not to say it was poorly filmed, none of the movie was, but it just didn't feel that clean and felt like they were trying too hard to make it very grand. I do recommend this movie but I think caution is warranted due to the differences in how the story is driven. If you're a die hard fan of 'Guardians of the Galaxy', I can see you having issues with this movie but I think most people will be able to take the changes and enjoy it.
In comparison to the simple origin story presented in volume one, this movie provides a much deeper, fleshed out study of the characters and is built around them and their relationships. I really appreciate this focus and feel it definitely benefited this movie. I also really like how every line of dialogue in this movie means something and has some effect to the story. This was a really clever way to approach it and made for some really powerful and even hilarious moments. Combine this amazing change in focus with the incredible ending, and you probably have one of the best, if not the best, MCU plots we've had. Well done Gunn.
My-main-strength-with-Volume-One-was-the-incredible-cast-and-that echoes-all-the-way-through-to-this-movie. Chris Pratt is amazing as Peter Quill and the exploration of his character in this movie is excellent. That said, I think that a greater focus should be applied to other characters because I don't want this franchise to turn into 'Starlord: The Movie' over 'Guardians of the Galaxy'. Both Zoe Saldana and Karren Gillen were great as Gamora and Nebula respectively and I really loved the relationship between the two. It's rare that movies can have a genuinely heartbreaking and emotional relationship between two characters that's carried in blood not in attraction. Vin Disel is Groot. Baby Groot is one of the most adorable things in the known universe and do Disney play on this? You bet they do but any excuse to look at the little guy is as good reason as any. Also, rebel Groot. Stay through the credits just to see Rebel Groot. Dave Bautista is also pretty good as Drax and steals a lot of the scenes he's in. Granted he doesn't receive much focus but I think they've expended all the ways they can use his character anymore and that is actually kind of sad. Bradley Cooper is great as Rocket but I feel like he was wrongfully pushed aside in this movie. There is one scene involving him and Yondu(Michael Rooker) in this movie that I thought was beautiful and poetic. Speaking of Yondu and Michael Rooker, Rooker did a phenomenal job as Yondu and gave probably the best performance in the entire film. This movie made Yondu one of the best characters in MCU cannon and I think it's incredible how they did that. Kurt Russell was also pretty decent as Ego and I genuinely bought his relationship to one of the Guardians. This movie had TWO sets of villains. One set was a very weak punchline that served nothing to the plot and existed for the sake of existing. The other set was very enthralling and intriguing for the former half of the movie but loses credibility and enjoyment value as the movie progresses.
Technically speaking, this movie is gorgeous. I don't mean that lightly either. This movie is so artistically appealing and visually stunning that I admire Gunn and Henry Braham for the beautiful movie they've produced. It really takes you back to the visual wonder and amazement of watching something like 'Jurassic Park' for the first time. Both movies are completely different, mind you, but the sense of awe and wonder you feel in this movie, and incredible attention to detail reminds me of my first viewing of that movie. Top the cinematography off with amazing visual effects(courtesy of half of China) and flawless costume/set design, and you have one technically astounding movie.
The drama in this movie is also surprisingly well handled and I really bought the character conflict throughout. The laugh-to-cringe ratio was around 50/50, which isn't bad to be fair but they do hover around some jokes for WAY too long and this really reduces their meaning and humour value. As stated before, the action in this movie is really messy, except for one sequence towards the middle.
The pacing for this movie was also WAY off and didn't work in the slightest. While the music was fine, it didn't hold a candle to Volume One and was no where near as good.
In conclusion, I do recommend you see this movie and I would rate it a solid 8 out of 10. I can see some die hard fans of Volume One having issues with it but realistically the new focus of attention definitely benefited the movie and helped garner my interest back into a Marvel team I neither liked too much or cared about. Congrats Gunn, you've earned it.
8/10