A fun and stylish sequel

Rating: 8/10 (4 September 2017)

The incredible world conquering success of the original Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014 caught everyone by surprise, no doubt even Marvel themselves were shocked at just how well the odd and colourful tale of a ragtag group of universe saviours resonated with audiences of all ages.
With the success of his first film, director James Gunn and his team of now household names and actors had an added weight on their shoulders, placed upon them by a world that was now expecting a lot more from them and in a very rare cinematic feat, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is a sequel that delivers and in many instances, is arguably better than its well-liked predecessor.
No longer needing to set-up characters or explain the extended universe the Guardians of the Galaxy find themselves in, Guardians 2 wastes little time in throwing us back into Gunn's fun, fresh and often laugh out loud funny take on the Marvel property, that sees our lovable crew (this time with a scene stealing Baby Groot and more of Michael Rooker's blue space bandit Yondu) come across Kurt Russell's Ego, a space God that just so happens to be the long lost father of Pratt's Indiana Jone's clone Star-Lord.
Gunn holds nothing back this time around, no doubt given a greenlight from Marvel to let his imagination run-wild, as the film starts out with a devilishly ingenious opening one-take segment that sets the film up for its break neck pacing, that pauses only slightly on its way to a thankfully non-generic finale, that's only real failure is that it feels a little bloated in its justification to see Guardians 2 run over the two hour mark.
The travels to this destination however offer up the great cast rapport that was built up in the first film, everyone is just as good if not better this time around with Groot and Dave Bautista's Drax stealing a fair chunk of the films best comedic scenes, while the increased screen time of Rooker's Yondu allows for the films best action sequence, as the bandit leader alongside Rocket and Groot make a seriously cool break for freedom aboard a villain filled craft.
These knowingly cool scenes (accompanied by another foot tapping mixtape) and comedic ticks showcase a crew and a director entirely in charge of their film and Guardians 2 is a film in total command of its offerings and sets up perfectly for a third outing, as well as the long hyped meet-up of the Guardians crew and the Avengers ensemble for next year's Infinity War.
Final Say –
Proving that Guardians of the Galaxy's success was no one-off event, Guardians 2 is a true crowd pleaser that will be sure-fire winner for anyone that enjoyed Gunn's first adventure and a further solidification that this ragtag crew of heroes and anti-heroes, is one of the coolest Hollywood properties going around.
4 wannabe Mary Poppins out of 5