Mary Poppins, Y'all | Review - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

I feel like we should talk about director James Gunn’s fascination with Howard the Duck. Another Guardians film; another cameo. Is a remake coming? Will he be directing it? Or is this just one of several memes to be associated with future appearances of The Space Avengers.

The biggest meme in regard to The Guardians of the Galaxy – even Volume 2 – is that, for lack of a better term, they just do shit. The Avengers managed to save New York and by extension the World, only after screwing it up the first go-round. The Guardians saved the Galaxy on their first try, but mainly for their own benefit.

A few years ago, they were a bunch of jackasses standing in a circle. As the movie begins, we see them as a bunch of rich jackasses standing in a circle; prepared to defend the Sovereign space colony from a giant monster that wants to feed on their power source. Rocket is not a giant space worm, but he is a scoundrel and also shows interest in the Sovereign's batteries.

The ensuing chase and space battle leaves the team stranded on a distant planet where they meet Kurt Kenobi Russell, Peter Quill’s long-lost dad who left his only son in the care of space pirates as the boy’s mother slowly succumbed to a brain tumor.

The rest of the movie only vaguely resembles the Super Space Road Trip that the first movie did (subsidiary plot line notwithstanding). No, Vol. 2 in the Adventures of Star-Lord and Pals is all about family and the lengths we are willing to go for them.

Is this different? Yes.

Is this good? Also yes.

It’s a bit more of an introspection, this flick. As a sequel, it definitely feels like one. It’s bigger and it’s longer, but its themes are largely its own. Peter and his dad have catching up to do. Gamora and her sister Nebula have a score to settle. Rocket has his own issues and Captain Yondu is reeling from a mutiny on his own ship.

Whether or not you can get through that might decide what you think of this movie, because once we get to the action, dammit, it’s time for action.

Now, some notes from my screening.

Full disclosure: I am from Missouri. It’s where I saw this movie, and so when the first shot of the movie is of young, CG Kurt Russell driving through what the movie has titled as “Missouri” 1980, the theater promptly loses their minds. I had to look over to my friend in question. What exactly were we cheering for?

The crowd was active the entire night, just like when I saw the first Guardians. The movie was funny and they responded throughout. Midnight Movie Madness takes a bit to recover from, especially when I decide to write directly after, but it’s always a treat with films like this.

The soundtrack, once again is great to listen to and Big Dave Bautista continues to be a revelation as Drax the Destroyer. Having watched him for a decade as a pro wrestler, I can safely say that this is my favorite version of him. After his run with Marvel is through, I hope we haven’t seen the last of him on screen.

I’ll get into a brief spoiler discussion after the jump below (beware!) but I had fun with this one. It’s not as good objectively as the first movie – it’s cartoonish to the point of absurdity and some of the performers really seem to ham it up with that in mind – but it’s not without its own merits. If your selling point for the original was the characters and the humor, you’ll love this, because you’ll get to spend a lot more time with the Guardians: the jackasses who get to save the Galaxy twice.

3.5 Stars out of 5

So, Star-Lord’s dad Ego (a bit on the nose, huh, folks?) is revealed to be a celestial being of unimaginable power. He tells Peter he is immortal and has been alive for eons, quite literally spreading his seed amongst the stars.

Right away you know something is off. Never mind he calls himself Ego. He is depicted in the movie, as I said earlier, by the veteran Kurt Russell – grey beard and all. But if he’s immortal, why come to Peter in the shape of an old man? Wonder Woman is immortal, too, but she never ages more than her prime years.

Sure enough. Ego’s plan is akin to dimensional genocide. He looks to spread his “light” throughout the cosmos, at the cost of countless lives. However, he makes the same mistake General Zod did in Man of Steel when he was convincing Kal-El to let him destroy humanity.

Ego, terrible pitch man that he is, reveals he was the one who put the tumor in Peter’s mom. Peter responds by breaking himself out of the trance and promptly shooting Ego to pieces. This hit home, as I have also only seen my dad three times; the last of which involved him being a giant asshole to my mom for no discernable reason. Star-Lord had the appropriate response. I can tell you I’m a better person now because he did not live with us.

Also, sit tight after the credits roll. There are a number of stingers in this one. Most of them are just funny slice-of-life gag reels but there is one that has significant bearings on the future of the MCU. I had to do some research myself, and just happened to find an article that puts things into perspective from a comics standpoint. 2018, here we come!