Orbi-Wan Techno

From my movie review page, Orbi-Wan Goes To The Movies:

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (PG-13) - The band is back together in a rousing, funny, and ultimately emotional second chapter that truly focuses on family and relationships

Move over, Dom and the Fast/Furious gang. When it comes to portraying just how strong the bonds of family really can be, there's a raccoon, a sapling, a warrior with no filter, a blue pirate, a green assassin, a cyborg girl, an empath and an half-human rogue to show the car-culture gang just how it's done.

Yes, it's taken a few weeks for me to see the newest Marvel movie, but I've gone through a couple of unexpected family crises in the past month, including the passing of my father. Because of this, my reaction to the themes of Guardians Vol. 2 is perhaps stronger than those of the casual moviegoer.

A prologue set in 1980 introduces us to Peter Quill’s father, a very powerful alien being played by Kurt Russell, as he courts Peter’s mother. The action then picks up shortly after the end of Vol. 1. The gang is hired to defend a valuable power source from a rampaging space beast. Once the fight begins, though, the camera focuses on Baby Groot, who is too small to join in the fracas, and instead is dancing to ELO’s “Mr. Blue Skies”. The battle is in the background as opening credits roll. The entire scene sets the playful mood and humor that infuses the Guardian movie with a sense of fun.

After ticking off a race of beings called The Sovereign, our heroes find themselves crash-landed on a planet, only to be rescued by Quill’s father, Ego, and his assistant, the innocent and impressionable Mantis. The heroes split up, Peter, Gamora and Drax go with Ego; Rocket, Groot, and Nebula (Gamora’s cybernetic sister) stay behind to repair the ship. Yondu, Peter’s former boss, eventually joins them after his crew of Ravagers turns on him. From there, the action and fun continue to ramp up, and the Guardians have to save the galaxy a second time.

Again, this chapter continues the theme of family and relationships that began in Vol. 1. Rocket and Yondu discover they have a lot in common. Mantis’ bonding with Drax provides some of the funniest moments in the film. Gamora and Nebula have sibling rivalry issues to work through. Groot is Groot, bless him. At the heart, though, is Peter and Ego, the father he thought he would never know. However, as Ego reveals his secrets, Peter discovers Ego is not the role model he was expecting.

The first Guardians of the Galaxy and director James Gunn set a pretty high bar for Marvel, blending comedy, sci-fi action and deep comic book roots in a way that was not only unique, but consistently entertaining, colorful and full of adventure. It also had a killer soundtrack. Vol. 2 continues that tradition, often surpassing the original with the humor and action. Again the music plays an integral role in the plot, with the song “Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)” driving much of the story. And the theme of family, relationships, and fatherhood just add another layer that is driven home, especially towards Vol. 2’s end, which will have you reaching for your tissues…

My only criticism is that there is maybe a bit too much going on in some spots, but this is a summer blockbuster that begs to be watched more than once to catch everything that’s happening. That said, I am giving “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” 4.5 out of 5 lightsabers. This one hit me personally, and is definitely near the top of my list of favorite films.

NOTES TO PARENTS: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is rated PG-13 for comic book sci-fi action violence and some crude sexual remarks. There is a smattering of PG curse words, and a brief discussion centered on an alien being’s genitalia. There’s a disturbing scene during a mutiny where loyal crew members are blown out of an airlock, and many bodies are shown floating in space. During an escape, Rocket, Groot and Yondu create much havoc and kill many mutinous crew members (not too graphic, but in slow motion). One of the Guardians is shown impaled on tentacles of light during one battle. All of the Guardians are briefly shown in various degrees of peril during the final battle.

AFTER-CREDIT SCENES: There are FIVE additional scenes throughout the credits. Two are pretty funny comedy bits, the other three will make sense to hardcore comic book fans. There’s nothing tied to the next GotG or other Marvel films (as far as we know).

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Troy Stiffler

Yondu's story was the highlight of the movie.

Nick Danger

I asked myself the same question, but I decided that I was thinking in the wrong genre. In comic books, only one person gets a signature device, such as an impenetrable shield, webshooters, or a lasso of truth.

What fun would Knightrider be in a world where everyone had self-driving cars?

mndtrp

I'm in the same camp as the people who felt it was overall a good movie, but parts of it felt forced. It was better than any other Marvel 2nd movie sequels, aside from Winter Soldier.

nando820

I loved this movie. The use of "Mr Blue Sky" at the beginning was great.
The first part felt a bit disjointed in the sense that with all the members separated I wasn't quite sure where the plot was going. But the second half brings everything into circle with a very satisfying and emotional showdown.
It truly helped that the villain this time around was more well rounded with a direct link to the characters. When Peter turns Super Saiyan I went like yeah and I felt a rush I haven't felt since I first saw Goku fight Frieza as a kid. Well done Gunn well done

"I'm Mary Poppins Y'all!"

fumanstan

It's funny, I feel like the "super" fight between Peter and Ego was executed better then a lot of other recent attempts at, including Superman vs Zod or Neo vs Agent Smith.

whotony

Already have my soundtrack from Doritos.

Anyhow thought this movie was a great as the first one.
Saw it today in Imax 3D.
The 3D was great.
The scenes shot in Imax were drop dead amazingly beautiful. Well
worth the admission.

One complaint is what was Ego's plan to make everything Him?
Just to cover everything with the blue lava?
And what does the lava do?

I loved that they used Ego the living Planet in a movie.

I own most of the early appearances of the first GotG comics and had all the Valentin run but had no idea who the Stallone and Yeoh and Rhames characters where supposed to be.
Will have to research that one since no in here mentioned the names of those characters.

4/5

RoboDad

Saw it again yesterday (3rd time). Loved it just as much as the first two times. But I am even more bummed about Yondu. He is such an essential character, and the possibilities for him in the next movie would have been incredible.

nando820

Oh man the Cassette looks sweet, but I don't have a Walkman anymore...
I do have a stereo with it, but i probably would end up playing the Vinyl on it.

Obi-Wanma

Stallone = Starhawk (Stakar Ogord)
Rhames = Charlie-27
Yeoh = Aleta Ogord

Obi-Wanma

If people are still interested in this design specifically, it's available for $16 in qwertee's tee shop now:



https://www.qwertee.com/product/mary-poppins-y-all

It also may be coming to riptapparel soon, as I saw it among a group of designs for people to vote for which ones that they print next.

B.A.

This was never going to reach the heights of the original, but it was still a damn good flick.

B.A.

++++

Finisher

She really killed it. The whole Sovereign thing was well handled.

I'm not the biggest comic movie fan but these Guardian films hit the sweet spot for me. The characters and interplay between them just feels right.

Kurt Russell also did a lot of subtle heavy lifting in this film. Really an outstanding performance.

musick

Adam Warlock is about as tied in as anything can be
but I guess if you aren't familiar than "as far as we know" applies

anyway finally got around to seeing it myself tonight and thought it was awesome, maybe even better than the first

TomOpus

And it passed the first GotG in worldwide boxoffice.

Obi-Wanma

According to James Gunn and Kevin Feige, Adam Warlock isn't in Infinity War.

musick

never said he was

Obi-Wanma

No, but the way they're making it seem, at least, Adam Warlock is a tie in for future Guardians movies, not necessarily a tie in to the greater MCU.

E Unit

Just saw this last night with the wife. We really enjoyed it, I thought it was on par with the first movie. My wife said she liked this one more than the first. I dug the story a lot more than I thought I would, and was surprised how there was hardly any references to the overall Marvel universe, save for a comment or two. I was actually sad when Yondu died. But really good movie and good amount of humor in it. As usually, another worthy chapter in the Marvel universe. It'll be great seeing them in Infinity War.

Michael Corvin

I finally received the cassette soundtrack. I was kind of bummed it didn't come with a digital copy like the first one did. I'm not really down with buying another copy.

d2cheer

Can't you convert that to digital?

nando820

E Unit

Looking forward to the Sharknado remix of this one.

RichC2

Finally watched this, it's a solid flick and really well made but kind of oddly put together. The first hour plays like a Guardians TV series episode linking the first movie to the 2nd half of this one. Still, a very enjoyable group hug of a movie.

Poor Zune.