(I liked but didn't love GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, so if you went nuts for it, we probably didn't enter VOL. 2 with the same expectations.)

This is the definition of a tale of two halves: the first is both meandering and overly-familiar. There are good jokes, but it's apparent early on that every single joke is going to be undercutting whatever action just occurred, so punchlines are obvious well before they're dropped. VOL. 2 also uses the EMPIRE STRIKES BACK structure without actually having the characters go anywhere. Quill, Gamora, and Drax sit around with Kurt Russell for half the movie with no real goal in sight.

But around the halfway point, when the stakes (danger and, more importantly, emotional) are allowed to develop without being undercut at every turn, the film develops a pulse and really works. Solid emotion! A villain that I gave a damn about! An abundance of heart over explosions!

In the end, it evens out and I liked it pretty evenly with the first film, so it's a solid B from me.

Also? First Stan Lee cameo I've liked in years.

I did not like it. It was way too overstuffed and movie was way too long. Pratt was great as Quill/Star lord. Rooker was good as well. Did not care for rest of the guardians. I did not care for Kurt Russel except the 1st scene(another awesome CGI to show young kurt). Of the new characters only Mantis was good. Sly's character did not have much to do but they will build on his character/team in the next one.

Overall will rate in the bottom tier of Marvel movies(better than IM2/Thor2 but about as good as AOU). I am surprised by the strong reviews its getting.

The story is simple we are only concerned about Peter's true parentage throughout, which makes this a good character study and while it brings the saving Galaxy theme, surprisingly there are not any side-stories this time around. The last movie did a great job bringing these characters together by conflict due to their own side-stories. This time around we are in the same boat where the old team members still storming among themselves while conflicting with the new team additions by way of redemption in Nebula (Karen Gillian and Yondu (Michael Rooker). The main story is ofcourse Peter's father Ego (Kurt Russell) who is a celestial being and can create islands but for some sinister reason needs Peter's presence in his life. Ego along with his sidekick Mantis (Pom Klementieff) takes a part of team with themselves and this separation brings along new team additions. The last movie worked for not only its visual flair but the confident energy along with constant emotional conflicts that it throws at the audience in a hilarious way. As expected the humor is sharp and the soundtrack great (though not as great as last time) but where Vol. 2 lacks is bonding between characters outside the original team and the use of visual spectacle trying to over-compensate for the lack of energy and substance. The ending tries to be emotional but it is far too late by then and we haven't invested in the new team members enough by that point. The actors do all great sharing a great chemistry and comic timing with each other, the cameo of Silvester Stallone as Stakard Ogord is clearly a setup for next installments.

7/10

C+

Yeah the first half bringd this down a lot

I didn't hate the movie but I am surprised at those high RT numbers for the movie.

Didn't the Age of Ultron also have high RT scores?

AoU was mid 70's this was till yesterday mid-80's and already certified fresh.

All over the place but overall I enjoyed it. Glad the trailers lowered my expectations.

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
2. Avengers: Age of Ultron
3. Captain America: Civil War
4. Guardians of the Galaxy
5. Captain America: The First Avenger
6. The Avengers
7. Iron Man 3
8. Iron Man
9. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
10. Thor
11. Ant-Man
12. Doctor Strange
13. The Incredible Hulk
14. Iron Man 2
15. Thor: The Dark World

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2

I was very happy with the film. After having it blabbed that the film was more standalone and less "connected" to the continuing overall Thanos buildup storyline I was a bit hesitant about how this would turn out. However, after watching this I'm totally fine with it. It's all happening in the same universe and the Guardians will eventually play their part in the fight with Thanos so just because there wasn't a credit specifically tying it that did not bug me in the end.

I thought this was more of an adventure roller coaster ride film. It really climaxed in the end and was actually a bit emotional. Was kind of like a Fast n Furious film actually. All about family as Dom might suggest. I loved how vibrant the colors and visuals were. The 3D+IMAX was really fantastic. Totally worth the 16$ ticket. The opening was hilarious, all the easter eggs were great, seeing Howard the Duck AGAIN [loved that]. It was almost like a video game too. You had this boss fight in the beginning, boss fight at the end. Overpowered Yondu so guess he kind of had to die in the end. Liked Stallone and the gang. It was ridiculous seeing Rhams and Yeoh of all people in there. I would definitely watch this again. It's very funny, lots of action and a nice adventure.

Grade - A

Good and enjoyable sequel, but also quite the drop-off from the great first. It's the story that hurts the film the most. Even though Kurt Russell fills in the role of Star-Lord's dad well, the whole plot just feels simplistic to me and I'd rather have experienced something more meaningful. Even tough we spend more time with the characters I felt very little character development taking place. Positive points though are excellent visual effects, another great sound track although the first here also still has the better songs and it's a fun cast overall. The strength of the film is it's humor and while I find them often trying harder this time, there's still plenty of fun moments making it overall an enjoyable watch. Baby Groot is of course super cute but all the characters have a schtick that still sticks in a pleasant way. Ultimately it's good fun with even an emotional turn, but it's not that engaging that I'm jumping for another sequel.

B

I agree with every word. There's no way around it: I'm pretty disapointed. While I liked Vol. 2, it's such a far cry from the first.

As much as I enjoy broad camp humor, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is just too much. It is so broad that it's flat. Almost everything that was great about the original GOTG has been watered down to make it palatable to a lower common denominator. Not only did the trumped up emotion not land, I didn't laugh out loud once. Very disappointing. *C+*


__________________

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 - A+
2. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - C+

It was enjoyable, but not as good as the first movie and also kind of a unfocused mess. I'm going to agree with Magnus here that it is saved mostly by the fact that it's just funny enough and these characters are still very likeable and fun to watch. However, I will say the best thing about this movie is easily Michael Rooker. Yondu's arc in this was handled perfectly and the emotional bits with him towards the end got me the most. I was honestly way more invested in his scenes with Rocket and Baby Groot with the Ravager's than the weak family drama with Ego/Quill although Kurt Russell was pretty great in the role because he brings a lot of charm and presence to the character.

The first half of this movie was pretty damn sloppy though. The gold people had no reason being in this except for misleading the audience as fake out villains, but I will say Elizabeth Debicki was oozing hotness and I'm curious to see what they will do with her in the next movie. Also even more annoying is that the Guardians, especially Drax didn't actually kick much ass in this movie. He had like one brief fight in the opening scene and that was about it. His interactions with Mantis were gold though, but other than that they mostly just stand around in the middle portion and that was disappointing to me.

I did really enjoy the cameos from Stallone, Ving Rhames, Michelle Yeoh and Hasselhoff. That Stan Lee cameo was one of the better one's too. The post credit scenes were alright, but teenage Groot was the best and no IW setup was kind of lame.

Its very funny and beautiful to look at. Its also still a blast to be a part of this world. The story has no momentum though and it results in a good chunk of the movie being a total bore. I don't think any of the characters, besides Yondu, changed from how they were at the start of the movie. Not terrible, just very disappointing.

Totally


Hasselhoff's was the best and most effective one, thought it was great how they included him and the references to him.

Also, about Drax, Bautista does really well with the character, his comic timing is great, but it also could have a done with a bit less of him falling out in laughter. He further had very little to do, I didn't even understand why he also had to join the trip to Ego's planet, but sure the dialogue bits with Mantis worked.

I think an easy fix woulf be to get rid of the gold people and just have the Ravers take that role. Any extra 15 minutes on characters that matter would have gone a long way.

Zippy, off-color and entertaining much in the same way the first film was, the sequel nonetheless loses a bit of spark and drags in spots. Still, these movies are really fun in general and a nice change of pace from the "traditional" Marvel movies. B

This one made me tear up a couple times.

A-

It's technically a decent movie and I did enjoy many aspects of it, but wow this is such a disappointment and a major step down from the first movie (which was in my top ten of that year and my second favorite Marvel film overall after Winter Soldier). There are a few fantastic aspects. Elizabeth Debicki ran away with the movie in my opinion and she should have been the main villain. She was hilarious and every line of hers was perfectly delivered. Her whole planet/universe was awesome. Karen Gillan also gets a lot more to do in this installment and shines as well. Pom Klementieff is also great as Mantis. There are so many scenes that really work and capture the vibe the first movie did. The ensemble cast continues to be strong. Dave Bautista is probably the standout this time around. But then the negatives. First off, this movie is way too long. It feels endless and many scenes repeat themselves. Kurt Russell is well cast in theory but his character sucks and the whole climax with him is stupid. Michael Rooker is good but the final bit with him, while moving in theory, doesn't feel earned. I don't know. The magic of the first movie wasn't there for me this time around. It's not a bad film by any means. It's well-made, colorful and has moments of excitement and wonder. It does not have the urgency of the previous film and I really don't think the cast had as much chemistry. It's second tier Marvel for me, better than the Thor movies and the first Avengers but well below the original and the Captain America films. I hope Debicki returns in future installments. B/B-

MY friends and I were going to see this on this Thursday, but someone said it would be possible to stream the film online. Does that sound like it could possibly be legal to any of you? Sounds sketchy to me. Unless I'm unaware of a new program that lets people watch films in the theater at home.

Well... what do you think? Does that sound legal?

I mean.... if you're into shitty, dark cam pirated movies.