Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) | [Insert Joke Here]

I opened my previous Guardians review with an observation about a common criticism I hear launched at superhero movies. Last time, it was the “too many characters” criticism, which writer/director James Gunn managed to deftly circumvent, proving that you can have a superhero movie with lots of characters that is still entertaining and easy to follow. Another frequent criticism I hear, particularly launched at MCU films, is what is called “Marvel Humor.” In his sophomore effort in the MCU, Gunn attempts to navigate bigger emotional moments centered on family while injecting some of the Marvel humor that, by this point, was starting to wear on audiences.

Pros

Effects, set design, and alien worlds look great
Good emotional moments with solid characterization
Fun action sequences
Funny jokes

Cons

Too long with some pacing issues
Some jokes undercut good emotional moments
Some jokes just don’t work
If you don’t know what a Celestial is, the plot doesn’t make the most sense.

Plot & Thoughts

After completing a task for a society of egotistical, gold-skinned people called the Sovereign, the Guardians obtain Gamora’s sister, Nebula (Karen Gillan), to transport her as a prisoner to face trial for the various crimes she’s committed. However, the Guardians are very quickly on the run from the Sovereign due to Rocket (Bradly Cooper) stealing their precious batteries for reasons we can only assume are because he’s Rocket. The Guardians narrowly escape with their lives aboard Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt) ship, only to crash on an unknown planet. As the team debates about what to do next, a mysterious individual appears, claiming to be Quill’s father and a Celestial being named Ego (Kurt Russell). Quill goes with him to find out more about his past with Drax (Dave Bautista) and Gamora (Zoe Saldana), while Rocket stays behind with Groot (Vin Diesel) and Nebula to fix the ship. As the Sovereign seek out the Guardians, more bounty hunters are brought into the mix to find them, and Quill’s past is revealed not to be as romantically pleasant as he hoped.

While the first movie served as a fun adventure to introduce the characters, Vol. 2 seeks to bring more depth to the Guardians and their surrounding side characters by exploring various details about their past and highlighting the emotions of the characters. Some of these moments are great and extremely meaningful. Other moments are undercut by the Marvel humor being forced into as many scenes as possible. How we get to these emotional payoffs is probably where Vol. 2 struggles the most.

Unlike the first film, which shows the characters going to a lot of wacky and colorful locales on a planet-trotting adventure, much of this movie takes place in two separate locations before finally bringing all the various characters together. After the Guardians crash their ship, they split up. Quill, Drax, and Gamora go with Ego and his assistant, Mantis (Pom Klementieff), to his home planet, where Quill can learn more about himself. Meanwhile, Rocket, Groot, and Nebula stay behind while Rocket fixes the ship. A vast majority of the movie takes place on Quill’s planet, where not a whole lot happens until Nebula escapes and Rocket is attacked by the Reavers. That isn’t to say there aren’t good scenes while they’re here. One in particular that is very effective is when Mantis touches Drax while he is talking about his daughter. He has a smile on his face as he remembers her, but when Mantis touches him and sees his thoughts, she immediately begins to cry and feel the immense sadness Drax is actually experiencing. It’s not subtle, but it’s a good show-don’t-tell moment that is not undercut by misplaced humor or quick edits.

The fact that a majority of the cast stays on the planet for most of the film and does not leave until the end creates a sense of stagnation with the pacing. There’s plenty of cool stuff to look at in terms of the artistic design, even if it’s all very clearly green-screen. There are also some entertaining moments of jokes and characterization while they’re there, but the sense of adventure that was in the previous film is missing. Most of the plot is just waiting for Quill to find out what his father really is and what his plans are. As a result, Rocket has most of the adventure when he faces off against the Reavers and teams up with Yondu (Michael Rooker).

When the action hits, it’s fun and bombastic like you want from a Marvel movie. The scenes in which they’re escaping the Sovereign, or the big climactic battle at the end, are exciting and colorful. The jokes are hit or miss. Some are really funny, like when Mantis is exposing Quill’s feelings for Gamora or “I’m Mary Poppins, y’all!” Others get in the way of the meaningful moments, like when Quill laments the loss of his Walkman. Essentially, it still has the look and feel of Guardians of the Galaxy, but it’s not quite as tight as the original.

TL;DR

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is mostly consistent with the first film in terms of style and tone, which means that it’s a fun time. It’s not as funny or as narratively efficient, with some jokes just falling flat. Still, it has some good characterization and meaningful emotional payoffs to make up for the slightly uneven pacing and unnecessary jokes that occasionally get in the way.

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