GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 (2017) *** ½

The opening scene of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is one of pure joy.  The adorable Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) does a toe-tapping dance number to ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky” while Star Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), and Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) fight a giant space squid.  Most directors would make the space squid battle the center of the action.  Thank God director James Gunn isn’t most people.  Instead, he focuses on Baby Groot’s dance moves while all the space action happens in the background.

This is truly one of the best moments in a Marvel movie thus far.  The only problem is that Gunn tries this same ploy of keeping the action obscured while something humorous is happening in the foreground a little too often.  Each time he does so, it’s with diminishing returns.  Since the first time he did it was unadulterated cinematic bliss, I can’t say I really blame him for trying to recapture that feeling.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a sequel set in The Empire Strikes Back mode.  I don’t mean that it’s a particularly darker movie, although there is some dark stuff in it.  What I mean is that it is steeped in Daddy Issues and that half of the team is split up for most of the running time.  It also has a bit of a Wrath of Khan vibe as there is at least one touching death scene.

As you can see, just by throwing out Empire and Khan in conjunction with this movie, you can already tell it’s a pretty good one.  I can’t say it’s quite as good as the first one, but that’s mostly because it lacks the freshness and invention of the original.  Things really sizzle when Rocket and Baby Groot have to team up with their former foe Yondu (Michael Rooker) to escape the clutches of some space pirates.  In fact, Yondu’s whole character arc is one of the genuine surprises of the entire flick.  We all know that Michael Rooker is a national treasure.  It’s just that he has been woefully underutilized for decades.  Here, Gunn gives him a golden opportunity to do what he does best and Rooker hits it out of the park.

Going into the film, I was the most hyped about seeing Kurt Russell.  He is a great addition to the Marvel Universe and he does a fine job with his role.  There really isn’t anything wrong with his character arc, except that it’s predictable.  (I mean, his name is Ego, which pretty much tells you that he’s only looking out for himself.)  The way he plays it though, with that unmistakable twinkle in his eyes, keeps it from feeling stale.

Even though the film mostly centers around Pratt, it still feels like he gets the short end of the stick.  He was a revelation in the first movie.  You could see a movie star in the making.  Here, he’s mostly a dick to his friends until he learns the error of his ways.  Like Russell, he’s not exactly bad or anything, it’s just that the writing is a bit flat (and the final superhero battle looks like it came right out of Man of Steel).

Luckily, Drax is even more hilarious this time out.  Once again, Dave Bautista steals scene after scene from his more prestigious co-stars.  I also liked the interplay between Gamora and her sister Nebula (Karen Gillan). 

So yeah, it may not entirely be successful, but it’s amazing just how good Vol. 2 is.  I can’t say it’s as good as the first one.  I can say it comes damned close.

If anything, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the second best sequel starring Vin Diesel and Kurt Russell about a makeshift family unit engaging in crazy action sequences where the villain from the last one is a good guy in this one I’ve seen in the past month.

 

Marvel Cinematic Universe Scorecard:

Avengers:  Age of Ultron:  ****

The Incredible Hulk:  ****

Iron Man:  ****

Iron Man 3:  ****

Captain America:  Civil War:  *** ½

Ant-Man:  *** ½

Guardians of the Galaxy:  *** ½

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2:  *** ½

The Avengers:  ***

Captain America:  The First Avenger:  ***

Captain America:  The Winter Soldier:  ***

Thor:  ***

Thor:  The Dark World:  ***

Iron Man 2:  ***

Doctor Strange:  ** ½

 

2017 Comic Book Movie Scorecard:

The LEGO Batman Movie:  ****

Logan:  ****

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2:  *** ½

Ghost in the Shell:  *** ½