To See or Not to See: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will not disappoint fans of the first installment. This sequel is just as funny, full of nostalgic pop culture references, and made up of wonderful special effects. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 also has one other thing going for: a surprisingly emotional wallop of a story.

Vol. 2 opens in, of all places, Missouri. We see a young woman and a young man (special effects magic on Kurt Russell, making him younger) out on a car ride and romantic rendez-vous. It turns out that these two are Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt) parents. Then, the opening segued into the present where Peter Quill and his fellow Guardians of the Galaxy–Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Baby Groot (Vin Diesel), and Rocket (Bradley Cooper)–are in the middle of defending the people of the Sovereign’s powerful batteries from a huge, blob-like creature. When they’ve completed their task, they take their reward (money as well as Gomora’s rage-filled sister, Nebula played by Karen Gillan) from Ayesha the High Priestess (Elizabeth Debicki), but Rocket can’t help but pocket a few batteries of his own on the way out. This does not bode well for the Guardians’s relationship with the Sovereigns.

Meanwhile, Yondu (Michael Rooker) encounters his former Ravager leader, Stakar (Sylvester Stallone). Stakar turned against Yondu when he learned that Yondu was trafficking in children (oh, you mean, like Peter Quill when he was young? Hmm…). To add insult to injury, half of Yondu’s crew thinks he’s gone too soft by allowing Quill to live so they begin a mutiny.

Elsewhere in the galaxy, the Guardians are indeed being attacked by the Sovereigns who have learned they’ve been stolen from (in ships that the Sovereigns operate like video games from afar). Their rescue comes from none other than Peter’s long-lost dad, Ego (Kurt Russell) and Ego’s “pet”, Mantis (Pom Klementieff). They offer to take some of the Guardians to Ego’s planet. Of course, they go, and the visuals on that planet are gorgeous. Everything that ensues after is, of course, full of action and supported by one heck of a great soundtrack (to find out exactly what happens…well…you’ll have to watch the movie!).

Everyone in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is, in short, brilliant. Pratt is the perfect combination of swagger and an open book. Cooper’s Rocket is as mean and rude as ever, and Bautista’s Drax is straight-up hilarious. His literal interpretations and manner of speaking always comes off as natural and spontaneous. And, obviously, Baby Groot steals every scene he is in. His giant puppy dog eyes and mischievous nature literally made the audience chortle in delight every time they saw Baby Groot.

Without giving more of the plot away, I’ll just say that Peter’s “dad quest” adds the heart-tugging emotions into this film. Realizing who your family really is–and that sometimes the strongest families are the ones you make with friends–is a message everyone can relate to. There is an incredibly moving moment that was so wonderfully surprising since it came from a giant action movie.

Dazzling special effects and witty and hilarious banter to deep emotions that the characters grapple with, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 really delivers and sets the bar high for other big summer movies to come.

★ ★ ★ ★ out of 4

Photo Credit: Marvel