Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Movie Name: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Year of Release: 2017

Director: James Gunn

Stars: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, Michael Rooker, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Kurt Russell, Sylvester Stallone, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Tommy Flanagan, Ving Rhames, Michelle Yeoh, David Hasselhoff, Laura Haddock

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
View Trailer Here

Synopsis:

Following the surprise success of "Guardians of the Galaxy" in 2014, the sequel was inevitable. The film continues to track the adventures of the band of misfits. This time around, the group becomes the target of the Sovereign race, after successfully eradicating a creature that was intent on destroying one of their most prized possessions. Old family issues come into play as our heroes try to flee their captors/persecutors. Peter Quill's father makes his appearance, saving them from a perilous situation, and allowing Peter to gain further information about his birth and how his mom came to meet his father. However as Peter quickly discovers, not everything and not everyone is what they seem to be.
James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy" managed to be a surprising and entertaining film, because it successfully married pop culture references, just enough character richness (which wasn't much to begin with) all tied under the bow of a great soundtrack, one that simultaneously brought a sense of nostalgia and irreverence, while also giving the whole outer space adventure additional context (and making the whole adventure more humane). Somehow that balance got lost in the second feature - the film suffers from rhythm issues (the film becomes at points tremendously tedious, with characters having emotional epiphanies every other scene), and the soundtrack, once a highlight to particular sections, has become something the narrative revolves around - it does not underline the scenes, it defines them. The overabundance of visual effects has also made the feature strangely hollow and lacking emotional depth - the characters (and by consequence the actors), are dwarfed by everything that surrounds them - though the film features a few beautiful sequences, and the humor prevails, the taste level throughout is questionable. The film comes across as an indulgent exercise, when restrain and more focus was needed to provide the characters with enough to do, an actual foe/villain to battle, one that wasn't excessively abstract or lacking personality. The fantastic cast doesn't have much to do, though Kurt Russell seems to be having fun in some of his scenes. A sadly missed opportunity.