The sequel is never as good as the original. Its an adage as old as Hollywood itself, and has very very few exceptions to the otherwise hard and fast rule. After the overnight success that was Guardians of the Galaxy then, there was a level of trepidation surrounding Marvel’s return to their band of space mercenaries.
Thankfully it picks up right where the first film left off from a comedic point of view, and from the exuberant opening sequence which sees Baby Groot dance to Mr Blue Sky while his friends fight an inter-dimensional space slug in the background, its impossible not be smiling, and the laughs just keep going and going.
Its not just the comedy that keeps on giving though. This film sees our heroes really grow as characters. Where the first film concentrated heavily on Chris Pratt’s Starlord, somewhat at the expense of his compatriots this new entry concentrates far more heavily on the background players, as we see Nebula, Yondu and in particular Rocket take centre stage.
After Rocket’s “I didn’t ask to be made!” explosion in the first film, he is desperately searching for a true family bond, but doesn’t know how to ask for it, and so ends up sinking deeper and deeper into his outcast role, arguing and acting out constantly, just hoping to be noticed. As the group constantly mock him as a “trash panda” or “triangle faced monkey” his dejection only grows, as does his descent into anger and depression.
Its heartwarming therefore to see his relationship with Yondu grow, as they realise they are effectively two sides of the same coin. Both are reckless loners who long for acceptance, but both believe themselves irredeemable. Its my favourite thread through what is an excellent adventure, and really helps to round both characters beyond their rather flat roles from the first outing.
Its not just the comedy that keeps on giving though. This film sees our heroes really grow as characters. Where the first film concentrated heavily on Chris Pratt’s Starlord, somewhat at the expense of his compatriots this new entry concentrates far more heavily on the background players, as we see Nebula, Yondu and in particular Rocket take centre stage.
After Rocket’s “I didn’t ask to be made!” explosion in the first film, he is desperately searching for a true family bond, but doesn’t know how to ask for it, and so ends up sinking deeper and deeper into his outcast role, arguing and acting out constantly, just hoping to be noticed. As the group constantly mock him as a “trash panda” or “triangle faced monkey” his dejection only grows, as does his descent into anger and depression.
Its heartwarming therefore to see his relationship with Yondu grow, as they realise they are effectively two sides of the same coin. Both are reckless loners who long for acceptance, but both believe themselves irredeemable. Its my favourite thread through what is an excellent adventure, and really helps to round both characters beyond their rather flat roles from the first outing.
Nebula too grows beyond her “generic evil super villain” role here too as we realise that Gamora isn’t the only daughter of Thanos to see the darkness for what it is. We find out that Nebula was jealous of Gamora, seeing her as Thanos’ favourite and that this feeling of abandonment even from her adopted father is what had turned her heart cold.
For all the love that the Avengers will get within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and their part in the eventual battle with Thanos come the Infinity War, it would only be truly fitting at this point for either Nebula or Gamora to deal the final blow that brings the monstrous tyrant down. As deep and sweeping as Thanos’ terror has been across the galaxy, it is these two above all others who truly have that intimate terror, and inextricable link to Thanos.
We are also reintroduced to a character who, despite only uttering 3 words, came to be the symbol for everything we loved about the first film: Groot. Long gone are the days of him being Rocket’s “resident houseplant and occasional muscle”. He’s now reborn from a single twig of the original, and is a hand sized Baby version of himself. Not only does this make him infinitely cuter, but it also brings a real change to the character, as the Guardians now have to look out for him, keeping him out of the fray of the darkest battles - a direct comparison to the first film. It was really interesting to see this evolution, and its wholly successful. You instantly believe that this is the same character, while equally understanding the shortcomings he now suffers. It will be interesting to see where Volume 3 goes, whether it will pick up from the post credits sequence with Teenage Groot or whether we will go back to his full grown form next time around.
I make mention above of Mr Blue Sky, and it would be remiss in any review of a Guardians film not to bring up Awesome Mix Volume 2. Like the first film, this has a pumping soundtrack at it’s heart, as Quill’s walkman brings the music of the 70s and 80s to the big screen. I’d say it's not QUITE as good a mix as the first film offered, but that was always going to be a hard measuring stick, and this is great nonetheless.
This film then takes everything which was great about the first films, these characters and their camaraderie, and boosts it up to 11, building on the universe with new characters, and really getting to the hearts of the characters we came to love first time around.
To put it simply, this is a sequel with real heart, proving what the first entry in the series suggested: the Guardians are Marvels best movie property. Now the long wait begins. Bring on Volume 3 and the long awaited entrance of the Sovereign’s secret weapon: Adam Warlock!
Yondu!! Daddy!! So much with the feelings!
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