Disappointing

Rating: 2/10 (9 February 2020)

All I could think after watching this is that it must take a lot of hard work and skillful direction to make something that so thoroughly undercuts everything that was fun in the first film.
It's a pretty movie. But it's so stupid, and not in a "comic book" sense -- in a way that makes you lose your suspension of disbelief. Just a couple of examples: The crash landing on Ego, with two people hanging out of the ship, who aren't injured at all, while the ship is almost totalled; also, SO much exposition. This movie talks to you but it doesn't show you much except CGI and Stark-style wisecracks.
Good points: Nebula, Yondu, and Kraglin are interesting characters -- they each have something of an arc here. And Chris Pratt really nails Peter's emotions in the aftermath of his father's manipulation and then death. Also, that Pacman appearance was wonderful.
And it's a pretty movie, as mentioned. I suppose they had to streamline the Guardians tale to fit it into the larger Marvel Studios architecture. But in doing so, they lost something that really made that first movie a treasure.