If you recall from when I looked back on the first Guardians of the Galaxy, I had some pretty big issues with its structure and pacing. I definitely enjoy the film and still think it's one of the stronger installments of the MCU, but it suffers from some pretty critical flaws that have always kept me from loving it.
Those flaws don't exist in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Sure, there are new problems that pop up, like an over reliance on humor, but it is a much stronger film than its predecessor. It's guided by a more confident director in his second rodeo, sharper performances, extended explorations into each of its characters, and genuine emotional beats while never losing what made the first film so successful: its personality and its heart.
Right from the word go, it's apparent that James Gunn has become a much stronger filmmaker in the time between both films. After a brief prologue with Peter's mother and father, Ego (played with energetic swagger by Kurt Russell), we cut to the Guardians on a mission to protect extremely valuable and powerful batteries from a giant alien monster. Gunn can't help but one-up himself here, as he takes the fantastic opening credits from the first film, with Peter dancing along to "Come and Get Your Love", and combining it with more dancing Groot. In a gorgeous, sweeping single-shot, Groot dances along to "Mr. Blue Sky" while the rest of the team battles on in the background. The technical achievement of this whole number is just eye-opening, packed with so much humor and love. If you watch this sequence and don't have a smile on your face, I don't really know if you have a soul.
That actually brings me to my first point as to why I find this film stronger than its predecessor. It integrates the Awesome Mix soundtrack with much more purpose this time around. "The Chain" is reprised in a key moment in the climax (which gives me goosebumps every time), Ego directly parallels the lyrics of "Father and Son" to his life as well as being used for the film's heartbreaking final scene, and so on. Whereas Awesome Mix Vol. 1 gave the first film a unique flavor and serves as a direct tie between Peter and his mother, Vol. 2's selections actually enriches the themes Gunn wishes to present.
And this film has some pretty heavy themes it wants to explore. If the first film was about a family of broken people coming together, Vol. 2 is about the broken people dealing with what broke them. Peter Quill/Star-Lord comes face to face with his father, Gamora works out her rivalry with her sister, Nebula, Rocket tries to push everyone away out of fear of being hurt again, and Yondu comes to terms with his role in Peter's life and faces the consequences of his mistakes. The only Guardians who don't seem to have any demons to deal with are Groot, who's just a really dumb baby, and Drax, who still misses his family but has begun the process of moving on when he meets Mantis.
Unlike the first film, Vol. 2 spends way more time delving into each character's arc, allowing itself to breathe and explore them as individuals. Since they're already a team, James Gunn doesn't need to rush to get to that point anymore, making each character all the much stronger for it. As I mentioned in my retrospective of the first film, Gamora was heavily underutilized. Gunn fixes this mistake by not only focusing more on the potential romance between her and Peter, he also brings Nebula back and gives the two plenty of time to dish out their bad blood. Both women were heavily scarred by their father, Thanos, and learn that their hatred towards each other is misguided.
Meanwhile, Rocket is paired off with Groot and Yondu in what is definitely the strongest sub-plot of the film. As I mentioned last time, Michael Rooker was excellent as Yondu, and he's somehow even better here. Yondu is allowed to become a more sympathetic character; we learn all of the details behind his past with Peter and why he spared him. Meanwhile, Rocket learns to trust Yondu and comes to terms with why his attitude is not okay, even if it comes from deep trauma. As it turns out, the two make for amazing partners, stealing the show in its most spectacular sequence as they take back Yondu's ship from the traitorous Ravagers. So even though the movie deals with some deep material, it never forgets to have some fun too.
With all that being said, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 does have one major issue: its desire to be bigger in every way. As most sequels are wont to do, there's a need to give the audience more of what made them show up before. That's not a bad thing in theory, but it backfires here in one major regard: its humor. Guardians Vol. 2 has a bad habit of undercutting numerous dramatic moments with humor that just kills the scene due to how out of place it is. What's worse, sometimes the gag just doesn't work or the payoff doesn't click. Not to mention that Drax is unfortunately not much more than comic relief in this film, although Dave Bautista nails much of the humor with his perfect comedic timing.
The MCU has recently had a major issue with too much levity, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a shining example of this. That said, there's still plenty of great humor in here that wouldn't have happened in the first film. For example, the gag where Rocket and Yondu make 700 consecutive space jumps is full of so much visual insanity that would have made Marvel extremely hesitant to include in the first film.
Another minor issue I have with this film lies in Ego's true nature. I have no problem with Ego being the villain, in fact, his plot isn't a surprising turn (his name IS Ego, after all). My concern lies with the idea that he's responsible for the death of Peter's mother. It just seems contrived to me. Sure, I get that we needed Peter to snap out of Ego's spell, but why have him in the spell in the first place then? Why not have Peter disagree with Ego's plan? And before you say "Well, why else would he have explained his plan to Peter?" Again, I must point out his name is Ego.
Still, everything about Peter's feud with Ego leads us to the heart of the movie once again: Yondu. After finally confessing to Peter that he viewed him as a son he never had, and a way for him to redeem his sins, Yondu sacrifices himself. After his death, the film holds back on the jokes, showing that Gunn has enough tact to let the tragedy linger. The final scene, Yondu's funeral, is breathtakingly beautiful, and one of the best scenes in the entire MCU. Who knew that a movie with jokes about massive turds and vomiting trees could be so poignant? Well, knowing how much heart James Gunn pours into these films, I can't say it's all that surprising. It's a wonderful, bittersweet ending to the movie.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 isn't a complete success, but it builds so much on the strengths of the first one. With strong new additions to the cast like Ego and the delightful Mantis, to the expansion of characters we've already grown to love, and to the go big or go home mindset of Gunn, this film is undoubtedly a success in my eyes. I saw this film and I finally saw the movie everyone saw from the first installment, not to belittle that film's extraordinary success. I'm glad James Gunn found his passion in these films, and although I loved that this film stood totally on its own, I can't wait to see the Guardians finally team up with the rest of the MCU in less than one week.
Phase 3 is on a roll now but next time, we're going to dive into another MCU reboot of a beloved character. You know what they say, the third time's the charm. And this time around, the world's favorite web-slinging hero has some pretty familiar company.
Next time: Spider-Man: Homecoming
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