Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the much anticipated sequel to 2014’s runaway hit. In this sequel, while on the run from a prideful client that has been double-crossed by one of the team, Peter “Star Lord” Quill (Chris Pratt) finally meets the father he has long wished to meet, Ego (Kurt Russell). While Peter, Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista) and Ego’s assistant Mantis (Pom Klementieff) travel to Ego’s planet so that father and son may become better acquainted, Gamora becomes increasingly suspicious while her sister Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Yondu (Michael Rooker) stay hot on their trails.
In trying to process and organize my many thoughts on this movie, the conclusion that I came to is that Guardians Vol.2 is the ultimate case study on the way our society currently digests and evaluates things, particularly entertainment. Vol.2 is not as good as its predecessor (nor should it have been expected to be, the first movie is one of the best comic book/space adventure movies of all-time) and isn’t a great movie overall but, this does not mean it isn’t a good movie. Modern society tends to have a black and white viewpoint on all things, everything is all good or all bad, the greatest thing ever or complete trash unworthy of any kind words. Guardians Vol.2 exists where most things in life do; the middle. The movie has its issues but a good, emotionally compelling third act elevates the movie and makes it a worthwhile watch.
Going into the movie, I was weary of what marketing had been hinting at; that this sequel would play to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) increasingly stale formula of bombastic action set pieces and mountains of jokes and one-liners. What made the first Guardians movie so special was that while Marvel’s now trademark non-stop action and jokey dialogue was present, unlike in other MCU movies, these things did not come at the expense of the movie’s plot, character moments, or emotional/dramatic scenes. It was one of the few Marvel movies that struck a balance between the comedy and having a plot with heft and weight. For the first two-thirds of this film, that was lost as Guardians Vol.2 took the funny moments that everyone enjoyed in the first movie and cranked them up to 10. The humor is used to keep viewers engaged during the first two acts and their flat plot. When we are finally treated to moments of a compelling story or emotional resonance, a joke comes out of a character’s mouth and undercuts the moment. No character embodies this more than Drax. His comedic straightman literalness and obliviousness was well balanced in the first movie with a warrior hellbent on revenge that had to learn to work together with other people and come to turns with the loss he suffered. Here, the character just becomes a joke a minute guy with barely any development by the end of the film, save a corny, generic “I now see the good inside of you through the ugliness on the outside” lesson.
Then we have Baby Groot. While this character has become an instant sensation and beloved “cutesy” figure, his presence is distracting, reductive, and encapsulates this movie’s oversaturation of attempts at laugh out loud humor. The opening credits are a too long, corny Baby Groot comedy routine that immediately had me worried for the tone of the rest of the movie. Obviously created to sell toys, Baby Groot is essentially a Minion from Despicable Me dropped in a Marvel movie. This character’s popularity when juxtaposed with the vitriol for Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequels 18 years ago represents the regression of the sensibilities of the general audience. There is no difference between the two, only our tastes have changed.
Despite the movie’s problems, the third act where the plot finally begins to fully bloom and unfold and the underlying theme comes to the surface provides a good moviegoing experience and a return of the Guardians we’ve come to care for. Here, the theme of family and fatherhood really draw you in as we see Peter come to terms with who his father is, how much he cares for the rest of the team despite their dysfunction, and what it truly means to have a dad as opposed to a biological father. Yondu’s redemption arc is also well done, hitting some great emotional beats in spite of the aforementioned problems with inappropriate joking in spots. The villain in the film is also Marvel’s first compelling one since Loki due to their being allowed to breathe and be something of their own other than just a device for the hero(es). We become engrossed in their story and get connected to their fate emotionally as well, which is critical for a compelling and fully developed antagonist. The familial ties between Gamora and Nebula are executed well, and the theme of caring for family is woven well into their story. The third act conclusion really saves the movie and allows the earlier reliance on jokes to be forgotten as the story hits its crescendo and the emotional beats develop.
While it doesn’t seem as if Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 will have the same replay value as the movie before it, and the movie isn’t great, it definitely is worth a watch particularly if you enjoyed the first movie. Although at times it does feel like a mid-season episode of a TV show rather than a movie with its own point, a strong third act offers a compelling story and emotional weight that draws you in and makes you care for the characters again. The sacrifice of an engaging plot throughout the movie for an uptick in jokes is disappointing but the end, what we do get makes up for earlier reliance on formula.
Image: Walt Disney Studios
