GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Vol. 2 | Review #1

By Jose Jara

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Vol. 2
“A GOOD MIX TAPE THAT CAN’T TOP THE FIRST”
BY: DANIEL GUZMAN

I was ready to take the journey to another galaxy and see Peter Quill aka Starlord(Chris Pratt) and his band of super misfits once again save the universe from annihilation. My copilot for this journey was none other than my 12 year old son. Holding on to his poster of the Guardians of the Galaxy V.2 ever so gently and having a Hershey’s bar on his other hand, my son’s eyes were beaming with excitement as the movie began. Guardians of the Galaxy V.2 did not disappoint him, but it didn’t thrill me as much as my first encounter with the Guardians.

For those of you reading this whom have not seen the first Guardians of the Galaxy, do me a favor and read no more of my synopsis of volume 2. Go and see what all the buzz was about that was a sure fire pleaser the first time around. The adventure jumps immediately into an action scene showing the Guardians working hand in hand in the beginning of this film, fighting off some gargantuan monster that must be wreaking havoc in some galaxy. The opening action sequence is a blurb thanks to the dance sequence Baby Groot goes on to perform so effortlessly and  adorably on the screen. We come to discover that the Guardians are now working as protectors for hire who were currently on a mission for a planet inhabited by gold colored human-like beings that believe there is no equal to them. We find Starlord hung up on not knowing his biological father. Briefly after this, the Guardians are saved by Quill’s long lost father, Ego, played by Kurt Russell, during a galactic space pursuit. Every character is given a subplot that we are led to follow along. The bigger plot taking place is in discovering whether Ego is a good dad, or a father who just turned up out of the blue with a shadow mission at play.

Director, James Gunn, had plenty of work cut out in order to surpass the audience’s expectations. The director doesn’t necessarily fail, and neither do the actors. Gamora(Zoe Saldana), Drax(Dave Bautista), and Rocket(Bradley Cooper) all perform to their likeable personas. Even former adversaries from volume 1 such as Yandu(Michael Rooker) and Nebula(Karen Gillan) are given meatier roles that develop their characters. Unfortunately, the height and feverish excitement of the first film seem impossible to match while recreating much of the same funny tactics and action thrills. There is no doubt that Guardians volume 2  is a fun outing at the theater, but it feels like your seeing a fantastic magic show that you loved and are seeing for a second time. You enjoy it, but you know what is coming. In the end, you will still find my son and I in a theater line waiting eagerly to watch Guardians  of the Galaxy Volume 3 whenever it hits the screens.