"Vol. 2 - The Awesome Mix"

Rating: 10/10 (12 May 2017)

There isn't much to say about 2017's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" that probably hasn't been said already, so I'm just going to try to break it down into a few pointers/highlights.

Writer/director James Gunn. I am continually impressed by this jokey, enthusiastic former Troma alumnus who has certainly come a long way SINCE his Troma days, and the gross-out horror of "Slither" (2006) and his first superhero effort, the black comedy "Super" (2010). You can tell that the "Guardians of the Galaxy" series for Marvel are probably the films he's been wanting to make for the longest time.

James Gunn, again. Gunn is a true smart-aleck, and his film is rife with witty one-liners and clever dialogue that shows that while his budgets have increased ten-fold, he still retains his smart-aleck sense of humor that characterized much of his earlier, smaller-budgeted work. And he makes his laughs, and the timing of those laughs, count.

The cast - Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (pro wrestler Dave Bautista), Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), and Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel). What can I say? The central themes of this sequel are family, and the ties that bind. While Gunn's script kind of hits us over the head with this, it is clear that a cinematic family of sorts has been formed, amongst these hard-luck losers of petty crooks and fugitives-turned-mercenaries-for-hire, and they all appear to be having a blast in their roles - especially Chris Pratt, who before "Guardians of the Galaxy" was known primarily for his role on "Parks and Recreation" and has lost a considerable amount of weight, beefed up, and shaped himself into a capable leading man.

The music. The film has a score by Tyler Bates, but its main soundtrack is comprised of old-school hits primarily from the 1970s, which gives "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" a kind of self-knowing retro-hipness that shows that while it's set in outer space and in another galaxy, its roots are firmly in the distant past, in far simpler times that Our Hero Star-Lord clings to desperately even as he embraces his new role as the leader of a mis-matched group of interstellar heroes.

That's all that I really have to say about "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," which is an even more Awesome Mix than the first.
10/10