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| Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) |
Starting off where I usually start in movies like this, this film is beautiful to look at. The environments are bristling with detail, the colours are much more vibrant than they were in the previous movie, and the effects are fantastic to boot. Right from the scale of the opening fight against the big monster to the hectic insanity of the final showdown, it all looks great. The motion capture on Rocket and Groot is still as fantastic as ever, and Sean Gunn did an excellent job in both roles. Something I'll mention here that I don't normally shout out is the make-up. There are a lot of different alien species in this movie, some present for only a single scene, and everything looks wonderful. I have no idea how they brought Mantis to life in the way they did, but it always had me fooled. It looked so real, it was ridiculous. The music is also as good as its been, and there are some winners in the soundtrack. Setting the opening credits against Mr. Blue Sky was perfect, and the use of Fleetwood Mac is always appreciated. Once again, the original compositions do their job when they're called upon, but there's a reason everyone loves the use of pre-existing songs in these movies: whenever they're used it's exactly the right moment for exactly the right tone.
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| Chris Sullivan as Taserface |
All of the original cast members are back, and they're able to build off the characters they established in the first one to give us something new. Chris Pratt is, for the most part, his usual Chris Pratt self, but he has a lot more moments of genuine heart that really, really land. He has a couple of tear-jerker moments, which isn't what you'd expect out of a traditional Chris Pratt performance. What you'd expect is more in line with what Dave Bautista delivers in this movie: non stop comedy. I'm serious. Practically everything out of Drax's mouth in this movie was a winner, and it was a good choice to make him more of a comedy relief character this time around, as he's the one with the least personal stakes in this story. Zoe Saldana gets a few softer moments than she had in the last movie, having begun to warm to the ways of Peter Quill and the Guardians, and it all feels really natural and nice. I'd say of the original 5, she has the least variation from how she was in the original, but Infinity War gave her so much more to do, so I'll let it slide. Rocket is how Rocket was, but there's a bigger focus on why Rocket is, and it's really great stuff too. Pairing him with Yondu for the majority of the movie was an excellent choice, and I'll get to Yondu specifically in a moment, but suffice it to say, they both service each other's stories wonderfully. Baby Groot obviously has the biggest variation, since he's technically not even the same character than he was in the past, and he's really fun here. I think I do prefer the Groot from the first movie, since original Groot was kind-hearted and sweet, but could turn on the anger when needed, while here it's almost a reverse, and I find the former far more interesting than the latter. However, the way they use Baby Groot here is about as good as it could have been, and they get a lot of comedy, heart and badassery out of him.
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| Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Chris Pratt as Peter Quill, Dave Bautista as Drax and Bradley Cooper as Rocket |
Yondu and Nebula are given more of a focus here than in the past, so I'll talk about them now. The relationship between Peter and Yondu was interesting to touch on in the original, and I'm glad to see them explore it more here in the sequel. I also like the look we get at the other Ravagers, hinting at a bigger civilisation than just Yondu's crew that I hope we see more of in the future. Michael Rooker absolutely crushes it in this movie, and he has a sense of gravitas that he somehow blends with some of the more ridiculous lines wonderfully. I also really love what we get of Nebula here. Like with Yondu, the original hinted at a really interesting relationship between her and Gamora, as well as teasing a really dark backstory I wanted to see explored further. And I got it. I like how it sort of brings Gamora down to Nebula's level, which is perfectly natural given their pasts. I'm so impressed by how Nebula's not a very emotional character (except when it comes to rage), but Karen Gillan still manages to get a really emotional performance out of it. She finds the exact right balance of letting the emotion seep through while still keeping the toughened persona that Nebula... well, is. Pom Klementieff is new to the cast, and she turns out a really compelling performance as Mantis. She's like a puppy dog, she does a great job of winning you over with her innocence and cuteness right from the beginning. Her friendship with Drax really works, and her abilities, while maybe not the most action-heavy or aesthetically interesting, are certainly unique. I'm excited to see what they do with her moving forward, as I feel like there are stories you can explore with this character like what she was doing before Ego.
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| Pom Klementieff as Mantis |
Speaking of which, Kurt Russell is absolutely excellent as Ego. He's charming, funny, dark in moments, and it really feels like Russell based his performance off not only Pratt's,but also some of the other roles he's undertaken in the past. Through Ego, we also get to my favourite thing about this movie, and thing that really makes it stand apart from the original: it's unpredictability. Say what you will about Guardians 1, but you could basically tell what was going to happen in the movie from when it started; the band of unlikely heroes get together through circumstance, don't get along at first, but eventually work out their differences and become a family to save the galaxy. Here, it's not as simple. You might have guessed the villain's intentions from the start, but the way they get there and the extent of the villain's plan isn't broadcast from the word go, and there are enough twists and turns to really keep you guessing along the way. The drawback is that, since the villain doesn't really come into it until the final act, the movie does drag a little bit before it gets there, but only a little bit. The movie still keeps you entertained with the comedy and visuals and characters and basically the entirety of the Ravagers storyline. Is it funnier than the first movie? That's certainly up to you. I personally think it was about equal, and I'd probably give the edge to the original, but that's not to say there aren't some amazing moments of comedy here.
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| Kurt Russell as Ego |
Ultimately, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) is a fantastic sequel to a great movie. It advances the characters forward, it doesn't just tell the same story over again, but it keeps the tone and atmosphere that made the original so great in the first place. Who cares if it's a little similar in tone to the first movie; with the amount of movies that are out there, the fact that two movies felt a little samey really shouldn't mean much. These are both really unique action blockbusters, and with James Gunn back at the helm for the third, I can be confident in saying it will be too. 9/10.
Next, it's Spider-Man: Homecoming.
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