The First Was My Favourite Film. This One Tops It.

Rating: 10/10 (4 May 2017)

I adored the first Guardians of the Galaxy. Like many, I was blown away having gone in with no expectations, and laughed and grinned through the entire thing. It became my favourite film, on its own until Denis Villeneuve's masterpiece Arrival profoundly moved me, and so the stakes were high for the sequel that I arrived to with Baby Groot bobble-head in hand (bringing my cardboard cut-out was logistically impractical).
When I went to the midnight screening (28th of April in the UK), I loved it. Everyone in the room did. From the very first scene where the rich visuals filled my eyes, to the following scene, which made, and continues to make, me grin from ear to ear and is my favourite scene in cinema. to the laughs and action and thoughtful moments that made up the rest of this film; they managed to take all that was great about the first and ramp it up.
So yes, I exited the cinema at something past 2 in the morning, utterly delighted. I wanted to go again. And that I did. In the first five days of the film being open in the UK, I watched it four times (at three separate cinemas), and I have to say that I have been delighted with it every single time.
Standout performances in this film must go to Drax, Rocket and Yondu—with the former taking the lead in laugh-out-loud moments in this film—while Kurt Russell has an absolute ball as Ego.
One of the many, many things that I loved about this film (whose soundtrack, I would argue—having had it on hard rotation for this last week—surpasses the first's) is the fact that James Gunn's work is self- aware. We saw some of this in Deadpool, as Ryan Reynolds spent his time making fun of 'superhero landing's and similar superhero movie tropes, despite falling into a number of those, itself. In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, we see a step up from this. Instead of making fun of the clichés that come along with this sort of film, they embrace them and ramp it up at times, having the duel effect of accepting that there are certain hoops that need to be jumped through while also retaining the sense of fun and ham for which the first was so lauded. Additionally, this also means that any sentimental message is passed on, while also you're aware that the tongue is rooted firmly in cheek: much akin to somebody who uses hyperbole to tell their partner that they physically radiate beauty- although the manner of delivery isn't meant to be taken seriously, the message is still genuine.
Chris Pratt does this very well; I'm convinced he's not a very good dramatist, he's just such a charismatic and funny person that he gets away with it, which works perfectly well in situations like this, as he makes comments that plainly point towards motifs within the film which, in a Shawshank or a film of that ilk would seem out of place and stilted, but work brilliantly in the context. (Disclaimer: I haven't seen Passengers and so don't know whether his performance here proves wrong my theory about his acting chops)
There are moments throughout the film that are surprisingly brutal for a Marvel film, definitely a high-end 12A, but not out of place, and there is a general joy that easily balances this out.
If you go to see Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, you should absolutely love it. Admittedly, I went in with a lot vested in the film being good, but I have been to see it thrice more after that, and it still holds up for me. What I would say, as was the case with my brother, is that going a second time may help because this film is chocked full (both in the sense of the story-line and visually) and going multiple times allows you to notice little moments throughout—with there easter eggs galore for the Marvel fan, including references to the previous film. Also, I would recommend going to see it in 2D on your first showing: I went in 2D for my first two viewings, then IMAX 3D and then 2D again, and—although the 3D has some absolutely beautiful moments and really is striking—I found that it distracted from the film at times and I spent time looking at the film, rather than watching it.
So yes, I could not recommend this film highly enough. James Gunn does a fantastic job of giving us a film that helps us learn more about these characters; care more about them; see them in battle and, most importantly, meet Baby Groot, who is a complete and utter delight. Bar one moment of slightly choppy editing (although this may just be my four viewings showing an over-analysis that most people won't notice) I could not fault it for the way it was put together, mixing light moments with dark brilliantly and keeping an excellent pace, and all of the cast are thoroughly watchable, with it a joy to be back in this gang's company.
Now, if you don't mind me, I'm going to go and re-watch the original, before, potentially, going back to the cinema this weekend. I am Groot.