Gloriously uplifting, full of good-natured, self-effacing humour. It's near perfect for what it is. Fantastic entertainment.

Rating: 9/10 (12 May 2017)

***SPOILER ALERTS - DO NOT READ UNTIL YOU HAVE SEEN THE MOVIE! ALSO NEVER LET SOUP BOIL****
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Review Usually sequels are less than satisfying when the original was, and is, loved. Some notable exceptions being The Dark Knight and the Godfather 2. Nevertheless GOTG2 delivers. And it delivers like a take away meal with an unexpected and delicious side dish you didn't order and don't have to pay for. Win. I loved it. The cast again fill their roles with relish (forgive the food pun) and for me, Dave Bautista's Drax shone. Such is his timing and delivery, of an apparently completely literal character, he has become the adored poster boy for people with autism around the world. (After she gets hit) "Mantis, watch out!" Perhaps it works so well because, like The Dark Knight, it isn't really a sequel but more of another episode in a series you would binge watch if only they had released the next 5 (yes please!). The origins of Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) are teased out with a sophistication akin to a seduction. He is the BEST. Jesus. EVER. Kurt Russell as Ego (essentially God) is charming and disarming until one discovers his utter contempt for any life other than his own as well as Sony Walkman's. His inability to see beyond anything but his own needs transforms him from an apparently loving father (playing catch with his son) into a wonderfully dangerous Super- Villain. Like all the best Super-Villains he fully believes in his philosophies and nothing will stand in the way of his plan. Not his many dead children, not Star-Lords mother (Chris Pratt's reaction to Ego's casual admittance that he killed his mother defines, in that moment, both of them and is beautifully played out), not anyone or anything will stand in the way of his destiny. Mr Pratt again brings an uncool cool to his role. He constantly manages to show chinks in his emotional armour while somehow maintaining a sangfroid that resonates with everyone who wants to be a superhero but knows they'd be a bit sh*t at it. He gives us all hope. He doesn't get the girl but the 'unspoken thing' between Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and he, a much used, almost clichéd, plot device, is here given a slight twist or breaking of the 4th wall. They don't actually break the 4th wall, more maybe a hair-line fracture or perhaps they make it transparent. Deadpool would work well with the GOTG if only they inhabited the same universe. We can hope that, like the world of physics, one day there will be a Grand Unified Theory and they can. This is an exceptionally funny movie but it is also very moving in parts. I laughed out loud several times and cried twice. I may have cried more than that but I admit only two because I want to be Star- lord. It's that sort of movie. You come out wanting to BE them. Any of them. Even Rocket the little Trash Panda. The father son theme continues and takes a twist as Yondu shows his true colours are opposite to the colours of EGO and his sacrifice and funeral are hugely moving moments. "He may have been your father, Quill, but he wasn't your daddy." Like the comedy nothing is forced, nothing is sugar coated and nothing is over egged. The only criticism (other than Disney are involved in any way at all) I have is that very, very occasionally the film turns into a music video. Whole songs are played without any dialogue and somehow the pace drops a little at those moments but that is because in those moments they seem slightly incongruous. When taken within the context of the whole movie they set the tone for the glorious end sequences a little like a clear blue sky above a battlefield littered with the dead and dying. Or a mound of dead baby skeletons. The opening, featuring baby Groot (who is used skillfully to distract and move between scenes throughout) is excellent but, at the same time oddly, perhaps, for me, the weakest scene in the movie. Don't get me wrong though because many good movies would kill to have an opening sequence like that and it only appears weak because the whole thing is so well done it's a 5.9 on a board of 6's. ELO's Mr Blue Sky - already an acknowledged classic - will never be the same again but they haven't ruined it - they've added to it. This movie has everything and damn nearly in perfect proportions. Perhaps the tiny imperfections I saw made it better, they echo Star- lord's. I could go on for hours and I probably will (name that tune!) because I have all but scratched the surface but, finally, this IS a great movie. Funny, moving, thought provoking and thoroughly entertaining. One to watch again and again. One for the collection. Definitely. Marvel are getting everything right. EVERYTHING. We are ALL Groot. Nebula: (to Gamora) All you do is yell at each other. You're not friends. Drax: No... We are family. And they are. And we want to be. Gloriously uplifting, full of good-natured, self-effacing humour. It's near perfect for what it is. Fantastic entertainment.