Finally the busy weeks are over. So to celebrate it, last Sunday I went to the movies with a few friends for the latest Marvel movie spectacle: Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2.
And... it was an amazing thrill ride!
Is it as good as the first one? Yes and no.
But let me explain, while trying to keep the spoilers to a minimum.
Yes it's good: The comedy
If there's anything that I was doing during the movie, it was laughing my ass off.
Groot's innocent antics, Drax' oblivious and loud humor, Rocket's and Star-Lord's bickering and Even Mantis' innocent child-like humor was all good. And all of the visual comedy. Oh my god, this movie is just so hilarious!
Yes, it's good: The character development
Since most of the characters were already properly introduced, this time we had time for character development.
Yes, some characters get more development than others (it IS a big cast), but nearly everybody had their moment. Star-Lord has bonding time with his father, Gamora has her issues with her "sister" Nebula, Rocket has his moment with Yondu (of all people), Drax even has some moments with Mantis and even Groot has (although VERY minor) a bit of a growing-up phase.
I just wanted a sister!
That's why I'm going to kill you!
Yes, it's good: Emotional moments
I can't talk too much in detail about this, due to this topic being very spoiler-heavy.
But there are some REALLY emotional moments in this movie. Some of the last scenes even brought me to tears. It's heartbreaking.
Yes, it's good: The main villain
Yeah, surprise! The villain is actually pretty good! There was some confusion at first on whether it was going to be one of the Gold People, the Ravagers, Thanos, Ego himself or somebody else.
But I think most people familiar with the Marvel comics and saw a bit of the trailers, you were pretty sure how this one was going to turn out. And I confirm: Your suspicions are correct.
And I find it to be pretty good, and pretty much honest to the comic book incarnation as well.
Good guy or bad guy? Who can tell?
Yes, it's good: Many nods to the fans
First off: A few great cameo's, including Stan Lee (obviously). I'll keep the rest vague, because seeing the cameo's will trigger some sort of "YES!" from the Marvel fanboys.
But one Cameo character that appeared along Stan Lee did trigger a "What the?" from my friend and I, since we thought this specific character was part of the Fantastic Four Universe (and thus part of 20th Century Fox). But according to sources, it was part of the same deal that allowed Fox to use Negasonic Teenage Warhead in Deadpool and allowed Ego to be part of this movie (who apparently is also a part of the F4 universe).
Oh, and err... the rumors are true: David Hasselhoff HAS a role in this movie. How and what, I'll leave that part a secret.
Yes, it's good: So many mid/after credits sequences
One tip when you go to the theaters. Sit down until the last credit has rolled. There are SO MANY mid/after credit sequences. Some are simple fun stuff (like the dancing groot scene from GotG 1), others are setting up the third movie (yes, they WILL return - confirmed at the end).
Also fyi, try reading the actual credits. There are a few fun nods in the text as well.
Not that good: The overall story
If you start to think about it, the story is kind of predictable, it doesn't make a lick of sense from time to time and there are quite a few plot-holes. So much in fact that I think Honest Trailers is going to have a field day with this movie.
But does it really drag this movie down? No. Or did you forget that it was exactly the same case for the first movie? The first movie had lots of plot holes as well. And the more you thought about it, the more you could see that a lot of the story didn't make any sense.
But it was a fun thrill-ride none the less. And thus the same goes for this movie. Though if I do have to compare the two stories, the first one is more action-focused, while this one is more character-focused.
To quote the Honest Trailer for the first movie:
"It's best not to think about it too hard".
Not that good: The Golden people
The Sovereign is their race, but err... yeah: They kinda suck. These golden people are mostly there to provide some sort of threat and comedic relief. The most annoying part? They're kind of confirmed to return in the third movie via the after credits scenes (the less, the better).
Not that good (or is it?): 0 connection to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
While the first GotG movie had an explanation of the Infinity Stones, this movie literally has 0 connections to the rest of the Cinematic Universe (not even a Thanos cameo). No, there's not even a reference or set-up in the mid/after credits scenes. This REALLY is a movie that (kind of) stands by itself.
But in all honesty: I didn't mind. It's a bit of a breather to not have scenes forced upon us to set up future movies (like the Thor bathing scene from Age of Ultron).
"What do you mean, I'm not in this movie?"
Overall: Just as good as Volume 1
Overall, I had the feeling that this movie was about as good as the first one. But it doesn't surpass it. And while I feel it didn't need to surpass the first movie, there may be people of the opinion that it had to.
If people complain about this movie, it's mostly because it's not that "fresh & new" as the first movie, or that they expected it to have more action and less bla-bla. But I personally didn't mind..
If I had to score it, I'd give it an 8/10. It's no masterpiece, but it IS really good and I'll gladly welcome a third installment.
And yes... I'll go finish my anime reviews now. Until then, V out.
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