User reviews

Despite being a huge comic book nerd I was not familiar with the Guardians before the first movie came out. I did some googling and upon learning about this sci-fi superhero team consisting of a talking raccoon and tree man I was hardly impressed.

I finally got round to watching the first film and was blown away. It had a remarkable charm that even the other Marvel titles didn't have. It was filled with great humour, memorable moments and fit into the Marvel Universe long running story perfectly.

Because of this I pumped by expectations up high for the sequel to a degree where it was almost guaranteed to fail yet somehow, someway it didn't.

Not only did it meet my expectations but it exceeded them, GotG2 is amazing.

Full of the same five star humour, being a visual treat and once again with an excellent soundtrack the film gripped me from the outset and delivered that charm all over again.

This time including several industry veterans including Kurt Russell (Who has been on great form since his return) and Sylvester Stallone they fit in well and don't detract from the franchise as I feared they might.

With cameo appearances along the way from the likes of Farscape (1999) lead Ben Browder to industry legend Seth Green as Howard the Duck this is a fun rollercoaster ride than left me positively gagging for more.

This is one of those films I feel like I could rant about (In a positive way) for a while and so I'm going to resist the urge and merely say that Guardians 2 is a contender for the best Marvel movie, contested only by the first Avengers film.

Masterpiece.

The Good:

Cast are great again

Charm returns

Excellent nostalgic soundtrack

Looks amazing

The Bad:

Only one movie with Baby Groot? Noooo!

They seem to have dropped Drax's taking everything literal jokes away

Michael Rosenbaum was wasted

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Batista should have skipped over wrestling and just been an actor

My god, I did not expect this movie to be this good. I am a big fan of the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, and while I do think it is one of the better MCU movies, this one is just better in practically every way. The plot is well structured, and the pacing is great. The movie also explores its characters way more thoroughly than the previous one. The struggle of finding a place where you belong is a central theme, and every important character has their own struggles related to this. The performances are great as usual, every actor really brings their own flavor to their character. The movie also has great visuals, with all the wacky and fun ideas you might expect from a space movie. The action scenes are great, and the cgi is pretty flawless. The movie is also way funnier than any other MCU movie, with every character being a great source of humor. It's so much comedy being presented it's actually a little too much for me sometimes. Some of the characters feel like they exist only to be comic relief, even though they also have serious struggles that deserve a more serious treatment than they get. That is my only complaint though, as this is a movie with great plot, characters and visuals, as well as a fantastic climax, even though they pulled the whole "saving the world"-plot point again. This is one of my favorite MCU movies and space movies in general, it's a great time and I highly recommend it.

The movie is full of heart , well directed and has some great messages as the first one but it is funnier than its predecessor. This can be sometimes an advantage and other times a disadvantage. Not quite as fresh as the original, but it's still a great triumph with one of the most emotionally impactful endings of any Marvel Cinematic Universe story. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 might not be as amazing as the first movie but it's a fun ride with characters we love.

Rating: 7,8.

Quill finds his real father.

This is an enjoyable adventure with great humour and character moments.

The story is pretty threadbare outside of the development of characters like Quill, Yondu, Ego, and Nebula but this provides enough entertainment on its own. Written into most scenes are strong themes about family and friendship. What it means to be a parent. Surrogate parents and families. Estranged children searching for parental figures and family.

Of course it's all done with a great sense of humour, as characters like Drax, Mantis, Rocket, and Groot light up the screen with strong verbal and visual comedy.

Quill doesn't massively develop as a character, but we do learn more about his origins and powers. Alongside this the Guardians are portrayed as developing a family dynamic. This is great idea given they are all depicted as coming from traumatic beginnings.

Ego is an interesting character and fantastic visualisation of an outlandish graphic-novel concept. It is not particularly subtle, but the character epitomises an extreme version of the in-built selfish drives present in everyone. Kurt Russell is on great form.

The contrasting father figure of Yondu is written particularly well. He has been portrayed as having egotistical characteristics too, but here is given a huge redemption arc with with moments of great altruism. It is great to see Michael Rooker playing this type of character. He is as stereotypically violent and generally aggressive as in his previous roles, but for once he gets to show some heart.

Nebula and Gamora have solid moments of relationship development. These scenes all tie in well to the movie's main themes and are important to the overarching narrative of the MCU, particularly when watching The Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Karen Gillan and Zoe Zaldana both give strong performances, especially Gillan who is a consistently strong performer in the MCU.

Visually it is a colourful feast for the eyes and full of exciting spectacle as you would expect from a space adventure. For me the CGI action is a little too much on occasions and distracts from the story, but doesn't spoil my enjoyment of the movie. It generally tells the story through its cinematography and editing. Being a Guardians movie it has a great soundtrack of course with many a well placed song.

When you hear the words 'as good as the first' it is often met with skeptical ears, however, I think your friends will be pushing for you to go with them again to see Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 as it is definitely as entertaining as the first, if not better (shh don't tell). With the intense action scenes, met with the classic one liners, tied in with the classic soundtrack your dad would dance awkwardly too, this film is definitely one for your friends and family to rave about. The acting was in parts a bit over the top and a little try-hard-like with the humor and some characters had grown a somewhat over the top personality since Vol. 1, but the hilarious lead acting of Chris Pratt as Peter and the bad*SS support of Zoe Saldana as Gamora made you not care about previously stated issues. Marvel continues to pump out the action-packed blockbusters that kill at the box office and Guardians vol. 2 will definitely follow those steps. Compliments to director James Gunn! Be right back queuing again.....

9/10

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a great movie, and I would say better than the recent superhero movies. I'm afraid thought that the first movie set the expectations so high that is not crazy to doubt if this one was able to keep up.

Visually is as good as the first one, the acting is on point and the soundtrack is dope. The plot is fine, although it falls under the "knowing better the characters and realizing their sad and deep feelings" cliché. It leaves me with the feeling that the first one was innovative and fresh, wherever this one just reused the formula.

Apart from that, this is an entertaining and fun movie, and I would recommend it to anyone who is into superhero or science fiction movies. It doesn't disappoint.

Let me start by saying that I'm still unsure how I feel about this movie. And before I tell you about the movie, I feel compelled to tell you that I went to watch this movie with 15 excited fans of the first movie - 5 of which were comic book readers and the rest (you do the math) had watched the first one and couldn't wait to watch the sequel, but are not comic book readers. Now, remember this, because I'm going to give you some of their reactions at the end of the review.

OK, now let us begin with the actual review. If I'm to put it in one sentence, I'll say that it was fun, but not that much and that it was a one time watch. Star Lord and the gang start off with the usual shenanigans that have you laughing, sipping your coke, eating your popcorn happily and adoring little Groot. The beginning of the movie is pretty much what the trailer shows us. James Gunn made us fall in love with the GoTG in the first film and in this film, he gives us more reasons to care about them as we delve into each of their pasts. The not-so-subtle theme of family is cute, but at times forced and feels like...and I quote one of my fellow movie-goer friends - "Fast and the Furious in space". For me this movie was driven solely by the characters and not by the story. While watching the movie, I realised that all of THIS would be better as a TV show. At one point in the movie I was like, yeah this is great, I'm laughing, but where is this going? It all seemed pointless some 45 minutes-1 hr into the movie. I had a Batman v Superman Deja Vu (only this Deja Vu was shorter and colourful). The movie suffers greatly due to the lack of a good villain and forced cheesy dialogues. Towards the end, I was like "Man! This is Flash and Arrow level of whining." Fortunately, the characters keep you interested and for my Rocket is the real MVP of the whole movie. I friggin loved every line he said. Drax was awesome as ever, Groot was bloody adorable. Gamora was under-utilised, Quill was funny (that's it). Amongst the other characters, Peters dad was decent, Yondu was great and Mantis was good in the limited role she had.

Im sure there will be others who will reach the point i reached in the movie when i thought it was going nowhere, but might be happy with the movie overall all as there is a big emotional payback in the end of the movie. For me, that was not enough to hide it's short-comings. Loved the END (the proper end, not the villain fight - I thought that was okayish and predictable, but funny nonetheless). All in all, a decent, funny movie, that is led down by the weak writing. It doesn't quite live up to the benchmark set by the first part. Oh and out of the 5 post credits scene, the 4th one is the important one.

Ratings - 6.5/10

PS - Here are few of the reactions from my friends -

Comic book reader friend 1 - "That was so much fun"

Comic book reader friend 2 - "I liked it, but could've been better"

Comic book reader friend 3 - "So funny"

Non-Comic book reader friend 1 - "Bro, you didn't tell me we were watching Fast and the Furious in space"

Non-Comic book reader friend 2 - "Garbage"

Non-Comic book reader friend 3 - "One time watch"

It has its moments where it may crack a joke at the wrong time- but Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is easily one of the best sequels i've ever seen- and without a doubt- an absolute blast. I knew from the minute I saw the trailer for the first film that Guardians of the Galaxy was going to be something special, and the same thing applies to this film. We get the iconic characters back in all their glory, as well as some new ones. The entire cast is great, there is no doubting any of the main 5's performances, as they are simply as great as before. What I do enjoy about this film is how they decided to make Nebula less of a 2D character and really provide the depth they didn't have time for her character in the first film. We also get an excellent performance from Kurt Russell as the God Ego- as well as newcomer Pom Klementieff's hilarious portrayal of Mantis, and of course the brilliant Michael Rooker as Yondu. The soundtrack is great, obviously, and Gunn's direction is so excellently crafted and visually sound that you can't help but feel every aspect of emotion he is going for while making it. It's an incredibly funny film, with some great action scenes, and a deeply emotional turmoil that honestly made me cry once...or twice. The visuals are also fantastic, as well as the makeup, and the look of the film is incredibly well developed- as well as its style and atmosphere. In the end, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is everything you would hope the sequel would be and more. It may not be quite as good as the original, but it certainly is more than a worthy successor.

My Rating: 9.9/10.

*SPOILER FREE REVIEW*

As a huge fan of the first film, I went to watch the movie as soon as it came out. And I have to say I wasn't disappointed at all.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.2 Offers so much thrills and an awesome cinematic experience, The action starts right from the opening scene and it doesn't end until the last 2 seconds of the film. The people behind the movie just knew how to not make the audience bored, and they succeeded at that.

I have to say that 3D ticket here is worth the additional price, because honestly, if any movie deserved to be really watched in 3D it's this one,It adds so much depth to the scenes and makes the movie alive.

The plot is interesting enough to keep you engaged and the pacing never really drags even with the movie's long duration.

The soundtrack just fits right into its place and it really helped the background quality, providing the best classic songs. The movie is also really humorous and I found it as funny as the first.

Due to the movie's high budget, the scenery is Amazing! The movie feels like a very entertaining roller coaster, it was a joy and all the crowd were very pleased.

In the end, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.2 Is a MUST-SEE for fans of the first one and a VERY ENJOYABLE ride for everyone else. It's simply one of these movies that are always fun to watch.

I had my doubts about this one while going to the cinema, because I am a big fan of the first one and was genuinely worried that this one wouldn't live up to it's predecessor. While I do believe that the first one was a better movie, this one is what I would consider a perfect sequel.

Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 does the right thing by letting us get to know the characters a bit better. What I was most surprised by, however, was the choice to focus more on the character of Yondu than that of Chris Pratt's Star Lord. I thought it was a brilliant choice; Michael Rooker really shines in this role and is by far the best character in the movie. There are also some really cool action scenes with his arrow. Star Lord gets thrown to the side a bit, which is good since we already know pretty much everything about him except for who his dad is, which we do find out in this movie. All in all, the action was fun, the characters were great, the colors were great, it was much funnier than the first one (this movie is very much a comedy with some absolutely hilarious one-liners, mostly from Drax) and just overall a delightful experience. It definitely exceeded my expectations.

That being said, I do have just a few problems with this movie. They don't ruin the movie for me and they're not that bothersome, but still. We all know about the recent trend in big superhero movies such as this one, which is bad villains. And, honestly, all of my problems start with the villains. The Guardians are being followed throughout the movie by these golden people, which ultimately serve no purpose in the movie other than being "villains", I guess. I say "villains" because it's very much debatable what their motivations are and even who they are, and we just don't know enough about them to care. Everything they do is pretty ridiculous and over the top. The other problem I have is with Kurt Russel's character. Now, I love Kurt Russel and I was excited to see him play Peter Quill's dad, but his character just feels like a big exposition machine and, not to get too spoilery, goes the typical cliché route. His motivations are clear, but very much overused and he's basically in the movie as a plot device. These two things, though, aren't that big of a problem to me because they were just devices for the movie to give Star Lord something to do (of course, a movie needs conflict), and they were background things working around the jokes, fun, and the adventure the characters we love were on. And the ending does get quite emotional.

Ultimately, I think fans of the first movie will have no problems enjoying this one as well and I believe it has done everything right as a sequel. Let's just hope Marvel continues down this path of movies that know what they are and are just plain fun.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 is such a glorious celebration of all that's enjoyable about going to the movies. It makes you feel you've gotten your money's worth, from the ticket price to all the expensive food and drink items. Everyone in the theater walked out chatting and laughing about the movie. I can't think of a way to make a more enjoyable movie than GOTG 2.

From the beginning, the MARVEL STUDIOS logo has changed. While it's slowly creeping on screen, we used to see comic pages flipping. That's now replaced with movie footage, and the music is now epic, making the MS logo feel more classy and majestic.

The opening credits scene is just so creative, and a scene like that could very well be one of the best ending scenes in another movie. But in GOTG 2, it's just the opening! Looking back on the entire film, I can't believe in this age where we're all so used to seeing flashy space and combat action scenes, everything gets better and better as this movie rolls along towards the ending.

This is a really character-driven movie, and every single main actor gets fantastic screen time. No one is in the background. They all shine. Jokes are non-stop, and there are WAY more jokes in this sequel. Some of the humor is so unexpected and wacky that you'll just burst out loud laughing! You'll hear other people in the theater continue to laugh as the movie rolls on and you'll laugh again just thinking about what happened on screen.

As funny as this movie gets, you'll be pleasantly blindsided with some extremely heartwarming scenes between characters. How can a movie make people laugh so hard, then the next minute have everyone sobbing, or at least fighting back tears? If you're the type of movie-goer who likes to brag that you didn't cry through an emotional scene, prepare to get tested. GOTG 2 has many emotional scenes, and they happen at the weirdest, most unexpected times. My bet is, you WILL cry at least once. There's just too many good scenes coming at you and you'll stumble. This movie is such a rare roller-coaster of emotional ups and downs. Enjoy the ride!

The end credits are filled with things to keep you sitting in your chair. Don't make the mistake of walking out. There are something like 5 or 6 end scenes dispersed through the credits. You'll see people in the theater standing to leave, then sitting. Standing again, then sitting down. There's just so much going on in the end credits!

From start to finish, this movie has everything and the kitchen sink thrown in. It's all bigger, better, funnier and way more emotional than the first GOTG, and easily the most entertaining thing you might witness this year in the theater. Don't miss this movie!

When first movie came out everyone was crazy about it yet I wasn't that impressed, Even tho the story was descent and characters more or less likable, Overall it was nothing special but It had same problem of uninspiring forgettable villain, typical for marvel movies.

Now for the Vol 2 it really surprised me.

Characters are better written,they actually have some depths this time, Actors really did good job portraying them, it can be seen how much fun they had on the set, Visauls are very good as always, story is well written full of humor, it actually made me laugh few times. Plot of the movies was already seen but it do the job. And villain is pretty cool as well.

On the other hand, The problem I had with movie is that it tried too much to be funny the whole time, some jokes are forced and unnecessary, There are scenes where they really cross the line and made it too goofy. Yet again it was naive at the moments, and some dialogue could be better but Overall its quite enjoyable movie, one of the best marvel have to offer for now.

I was lucky enough to see this on 20/4 at an industry screening which allowed me to sit on the film for a few days before I gave a review. I can safely say GotG Volume 2 absolutely wowed me. I can't believe these bunch of lovable misfit a-holes made one of the most MATURE themed films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is visually gorgeous. The use of colour, design and the straight up imagination of the source material outstand any MCU film prior. The action is glorious and astonishing. One scene in particular, I was jaw-dropped in its entirety as direction, action-choreography and music all came together so harmoniously. And THE MUSIC! What an eargasmic soundtrack. The songs are more poetic this time around and fit the subtext of the film perfectly. The trailers gave me the feel of the first movie; a straight-up Sci-fi action-comedy with a simple point A to B plot. GotGV2 is so much MORE than this! This film is patient with its characters and there is an emphasis on growth and family. It manages to balance 7-8 characters and gives almost all of them a satisfactory emotional arc. There is so much to chew on here with the issues and motifs felt by certain characters and I applaud that! This film is vastly different and I'm glad because I just love these characters so much! They are still so fun and energetic. It's great to see the team again and how their dynamic transforms. Also I forget to mention, the film is laugh-out-loud funny! All thanks to Drax who is by far the most comedic character and put me stitches.

Overall, this was both (I can't believe I'm saying this about the Guardians of the Galaxy) an emotionally dense and exciting blast. If Guardians 1 is the fast-paced Sci-Fi adventure like Star Wars was in 1977, then Vol. 2 is the deeper & richer film that takes its time to expand our beloved characters; just like Empire Strikes Back.