Couch Guy Reviews: Guardians Of The Galaxy: Volume 2

Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2 is the highly anticipated sequel to the 2014 film Guardians of the Galaxyand is the 15th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie brings back returning stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper. The film also brings in Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, and the great Kurt Russell. This is one of my most anticipated movies of the entire year so let’s begin.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2 is another win for Marvel but it is not as good as the original. Now that doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie, but it doesn’t reach the level of greatness that the 1st did. The quick summary of the movie is that after the Guardians of the Galaxy are stranded on a planet after capturing Gamora’s sister Nebula (Karen Gillan), they come across Ego (Kurt Russell) who turns out to be Peter Quill’s father. With it, we now have our movie. What I really liked about the movie is the great chemistry that the Guardians have with one another. These are some of the most loveable characters in the MCU and movie adds on to that. Chris Pratt is once again perfect again in the lead as Star Lord and the rest of the Guardians are as good as they were in the previous one. And yes it’s true, Baby Groot is as cute as you could possibly imagine!
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As for the new cast, Klementieff as Mantis was ok; I just feel any actress could have played her. As for Kurt Russell, he is fantastic in the movie. He brings that Kurt Russell charm and he was one of the best parts of the film. Marvel does a really good job of bringing in classic actors in these movies and you can now add Russell to the list. But to me, the standout character of the entire movie was Michael Rooker as Yondu. In the first movie, Yondu is a classic anti-hero character and I liked for what he was. But in the sequel, he gets a lot more depth and backstory and he became an amazing side character.

As for what I didn’t like, this doesn’t have as much action as it did in the first and slows down as some points. As I mentioned in my title, this is a small movie in a blockbuster type of movie. It’s a personal story that focuses on relationships. Whether it be with Peter with his father figures (Ego and Yondu) or the sister bond of Gamora and Nebula; that is the main point of the story. There is not a lot of setting up for the future of the MCU so don’t expect that going into this movie. But when you take the action away, a lot of the trill that you get from these big action set pieces goes out the door. However, the action is fantastic when it happens so there is no need to worry there. This is also unfair putting this in the negatives but I wasn’t crazy about the humor. Yes this movie has some laugh out loud moments, but some of the time it comes off as awkward. It’s not bad, it’s just not great.
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Now this is a minor spoiler but I feel I should say that before writing what I’m about to write. SPOILER START There is a major twist in the movie and I could tell that people are going to like it or hate it. I still haven’t figured out what side I am on but I can already tell that it’s going to create a divide, like Iron Man 3. So keep your eye out for that. SPOILER END

In conclusion, Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2 is fun superhero movie and a worthy sequel to the original. While it slows down at some points and doesn’t have as much action as the original, it’s a great story about family and the relationships we have with our family. Yes there are a few post-credit scenes so stay for the entire movie.

Rating: 82%/B-

Written By: Steve Santoro (SVS_1993)