Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2 (2017)

Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) was something of a complete fluke. Its quirky sensibility should never have worked but instead it breathed new life into the fatiguing superhero origin story. James Gunn’s space opera, focusing on a band of misfits, perfectly blended with its 70s and 80s pop soundtrack. So after such a surprising and refreshing original, could the sequel live up to the inevitable hype? Plus, considering Marvel’s track record with sequels ranging from the dreadful Thor: The Dark World to the brilliant Captain America: Winter Soldier, that query carried significant weight. And it’s safe to say that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 exceeds the hype and in fact surpasses its predecessor in terms of quality and more importantly, substance. The first film aimed to draw the characters together and pioneer the inevitable third act space battle. The sequel on the other hand is incredibly more character driven, primarily focusing on the mysticism of Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt) parentage. Opening with a brilliant one-shot battle sequence with ELO’s Mr Blue Sky playing throughout. The vibrant Ditko colours and superb soundtrack exquisitely matches the bizarre battle occurring the background. Later we are introduced to Quill’s father, Ego, brilliantly performed by Kurt Russell (a man who can do no wrong). Ego, the living planet (yes I know), rescues the Guardians and invites Quill to accompany him back to his home world. Assisted by Gamora and Drax, Quill dewily follows Ego hoping to shed some light on his somewhat chaotic childhood. Like I keep reiterating in many of my reviews, Guardians is another example of a filmmaker expressing his own voice and in this sequel he explores that voice to its fullest. It is evident Gunn really does care about these characters, navigating through inter-personal relationships with the Guardians such as Quill and Rocket, Gamora and Nebula and Yondu and the Ravagers. At the film’s core however is the Field of Dreams father-son bond between Quill and Ego.

Guardians Vol 2 upholds its vibrant visual texture, from the newly introduced Golden citizens of the Sovereign to the wild vistas on Ego’s planet, while raising the emotional centre from its previous instalment. I would fully recommend this excellent Marvel feature - it is possibly in my top 3 favourites in the MCU. You should go out of your way to see this film for Baby Groot and the soundtrack alone.