Great Adventure

Rating: 9/10 (5 June 2017)

My main criticism was that I don't feel like you needed to have seen the previous movie to really get/enjoy this one. You would have missed out on the bonding of the team and the backstory of Nebula and Gamora, but overall you'd be fine.
Overall, though it was a great movie, it felt more like a side story in the many adventures of the Guardians of the Galaxy and less like an actual continuation of their main story. Why? Well, we did have that wonderful cameo of great actors who portrayed the original Guardians. We had our Stan Lee cameo. And, we had Peter Quill's backstory explained. Other then that, I don't yet see how any of this advanced the main plot of Thanos or of any big threat to the Galaxy.
My favorite parts of the movie were Rocket and Yondu's character growth. I felt tears in my eyes when Yondu died. Such a powerful message that parentage and parents can be such distinct things. Also, Gamora and Nebula's sister bonding and reconciliation. Their scenes were so much of what it is to be a sister. One cannot hate in such a way without there being love in the mix.
The only truly plot advancing potential that I saw in this movie were the after-credit scenes. Especially the one with Adam. Only time will tell if any more of this will have an effect on the Marvel Universe. Regardless, this was a great story to tell.