Continuing the never ending Marvel juggernaut that seems to be able to keep churning out tales yet still keep the ideas from becoming routine, the Guardians are back and despite all bringing out the best in each other when it comes to the crunch, they are the exact same bickering bunch we left behind in 2014.

This time we find our heroes on a mission for a race of people called The Sovereign, who look a bit like they came out of a 70’s Doctor Who episode, but being the mischief makers that they are they inevitably manage to get themselves into hot water, end up fleeing for their lives and have to go on the run.

 

 

While the original movie was a story of how fate threw the group together and forced them to work as a team in order to survive, this time you get the sense that they have undertaken numerous missions since, so while still giving us adventure elements, this is much more of a character piece with less focus on the humour and action, instead giving us a deeper look into each of the individuals, revealing details which lead them to become the characters that they are which gives the movie a much slower pace but more depth than you may expect.

It’s very much a tale of dual bonding, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) finds himself dealing with finally finding out who his father is, why he was left alone with his mother and discovering just what he is capable of as a person, Gamora (Zoe Saldana) has to deal with her estranged sister Nebula (Karen Gillan) who’s constant attempts to prove herself the better sibling drift from the sly to the downright psychotic, Drax (Dave Bautista) is trying to deal with the loss of his family and finds solace through his interactions with Mantis (Pom Klementieff), a new character that the team meets, while Rocket (Bradley Cooper) is having to cope without his good friend Groot (Vin Diesel), who is still in his baby form, and finds a kindred spirit from an unlikely source. These themes make the film much more routed in the ideals of family and togetherness which in turn bonds the group to deeper levels than we have seem previously.

 

It is the Guardians Of The Galaxy though so you still get the expected space battles and witty dialogue. The CGI effects are excellent, never take you out of the moment and after the brilliant levels seen in Doctor Strange have set the bar very highly for future movies. Throw in some great pop culture references, a good soundtrack (not as good as the first though) and plenty of action sequences and it sounds like a winner but something was lacking and I think it was the fun and originality that the first movie gave us.

Kurt Russell, as always, played his part as Ego very well and really brought the idea of what the character is onto the screen when, in the hands of a lesser actor it could have been a disaster. The character of Baby Groot, while it could have very easily slid into becoming a cliché, worked well with some funny moments. Drax was arguable the most comic character of all getting some great lines, particularly playing off the innocence of the Mantis character, which were all delivered superbly by Bautista but it was a little disappointing that this warrior didn’t see an awful lot of hands on action. Pratt done what he needed to and his chemistry with Russell was good but the quick witted sarcasm which made the character was too sparingly used while the Nebula & Gamora moments gave a good insight into why their relationship is where it is and gave both characters some much needed depth.

The biggest surprise for me was the performance of Michael Rooker as Yondu, the side plot with The Ravagers, which ties nicely into the overall tale, gave him some moments to really shine and his was the best character arc of all with Rooker playing it all brilliantly. But it brings me back to an earlier point, with so much exposition and plot build all through the movie, this seemed like more of a character development piece for both the heroes and villains and it felt a bit like a stepping stone for the MCU leading towards Infinity Wars.

 

Let’s not forget that this is a Marvel movie after all so despite the flaws there is no doubt that this will find box office success, but maybe not to the levels of the original. Director James Gunn deserves credit for changing things up for the sequel and doesn’t just churn out a blueprint copy which would have been easy to do. The story has much more of a pull on the heart strings than I expected, with some great emotionally charged moments, so while it wasn’t a good as I expected and left a lot of elements which were featured in the first movie untouched, it’s still an enjoyable film, which will keep you amused and entertained in equal measure.

Don’t forget to stick around for the post credit scenes (all five of them) which hint at a lot of potential characters that are going to appearing in future and one scene, if you know your super hero tales, which may just explain what all these Stan Lee cameos have been leading up to.

I will end with one last statement, “I’m Mary Poppins Y’all” (You’ll understand when you see the film)

DJ Speaks Rating: 5.5 Out Of 10

©Darren Jones 2017