Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: More is Not Necessarily Better
The team is back together. No longer a rag-tag group of strangers figuring out how to work with each other, the film makes it clear at the outset this team is a family, albeit one with growing pains. This theme will repeat itself throughout the film, though at some points in the film the story suffers to make this point. Minor warning – small spoilers about the beginning of the film lie ahead.
Let’s make these great characters do stuff again!!!
Peter Quill, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Baby Groot show up in the middle of a sticky situation, fighting some giant alien monster to protect a Macguffin because someone hired them to do so. Really, the scene is basically a funny excuse to showcase Baby Groot dancing again, freezing when Drax looks at him, and more of the ’70s and ’80s pop music that set the first film apart from other space adventures. However, what was first smile-inducing later becomes rote, if not distracting.
The first movie ended with Peter asking the team, “What should we do. Something good? Something bad? Bit of both?” He decided for the team they should do a bit of both. Consistent with that philosophy, after saving the Macguffin and returning it to the golden people who hired them, of course Rocket, demonstrating the same lack of awareness he showed in his exchange with John C. Reilly’s Nova Corps officer at the end of the first film, steals the Macguffin because he can. This sets off the B-conflict of the film, and sets the stage for the A-conflict for Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill.
As the team escapes, Kurt Russell’s character surfs in on top of an egg-shaped spaceship to save the team. The internet is full of analysis of what his character, Ego the Living Planet, means to the Marvel comic book universe and how he has been modified for the film. I won’t go into that here, nor will I spoil the rest of the story because I recommend everyone see it, just with managed expectations. Russell’s performance is excellent, even if he is ultimately somewhat let down by the story.
“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”
This quote is often attributed to Mark Twain, and it certainly applies to this movie, moreso in the beats of the movie than the story (unlike a lot of the other Marvel movies). Director James Gunn puts forth another visual masterpiece with a lot of heart and laughs. The biggest fault is that there is a little too much “wink wink, nudge nudge” going on. The first film’s incorporation of pop hits like “Come and Get Your Love,” “Moonage Daydream,” and “Hooked on a Feeling” is a major point that many viewers loved from the first movie. So, naturally, this film doubled-down on that, often to its detriment. Indeed, the film opens with Rocket trying to set up a speaker system to play “Awesome Mix, Vol. 2” before the team begins the fight against the monster. This felt like a shoehorned attempt to capture the same nostalgia the first film expertly utilized. The overuse of pop songs continued throughout the film, including scenes where other characters are apparently listening to the music without any discernible connection to Peter, his mother, or what those songs represent. It felt like kitsch for kitsch’s sake rather than driven by plot.
Similarly, the characters react humorously to their surroundings in a way that didn’t feel consistent with the characters from the first film. Dave Bautista’s Drax the Destroyer, in particular, seemed to be drastically different (and funnier) than he was in the first film. This should not, however, be viewed as a criticism of his performance – indeed, Bautista’s performance was fascinating and excellent. Maybe he grew a sense of humor, having achieved his revenge on Ronan he so desperately sought in the first film. In any event, his role in the film felt leaps and bounds from the Drax we met in the first movie. That being said, when the humor works, it works great (“I’m Mary Poppins, y’all!”).
GOTG Vol. 2, like many Marvel movies, is one movie dressed up as another. Here, James Gunn fully embraces – and tells the audience directly – that this film is a story about a family coming together. Family ties connect every thread of this story, whether it be about the individual Guardians’ pre-team family connections, or the team growing together as a family (together with their own child in Baby Groot). Every one of the Guardians has a moment to reflect on his or her family, and each character gets some added depth from exploring their external connections.
The focus on the families in the movie lead to a bit of a lack of focus on story. I don’t want to give away spoilers, but I think there were some serious problems with explaining various characters’ motivations for the actions taken. Additionally, some of the cameos (like Sylvester Stallone’s main-film moment and his post-credit stinger; and Stan Lee’s mandatory scene) seemed to be a little too inside-baseball for those not familiar with the fifty-year history of the Guardians of the Galaxy in the comics.
A fun ride that went off the rails at the end.
The biggest problem with the movie might be the end. First, the movie ends on a big emotional beat that felt like it wasn’t quite earned by the preceding 2 hours, or the first film in the series. It also frankly felt a little bit like it was trying to capture the Empire Strikes Back point that the second movie has to end on a down note. In addition to feeling unearned, the ending was tonally inconsistent with the rest of the movie (particularly the heightened sense of humor). While other Marvel movies balance humor and tragedy, often through Robert Downey Jr.’s flawless performance as Tony Stark, the end of this film just didn’t capture a sense of balance.
The movie is flawed, for sure. Indeed, it is a tall order to expect a movie to live up to the near-perfection of the first film. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 is a noble attempt, and well worth a viewing (or two). Just go in with managed expectations.
She says: A good film, with memorable music and entertaining characters. Not as good as the first movie, but an enjoyable date for a rainy Saturday afternoon. On the plus side, since we went to the film on opening weekend, the theater was packed with an energized audience that laughed on cue. The end of the film brought a theater of clapping that then jointly stayed to watch the expected Marvel credit scenes.
