Movie with Abe: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Directed by James Gunn
Released May 5, 2017

Sequels are everywhere these days, and when they follow an astronomical hit, expectations are high and audiences are usually disappointed. The key to a successful sequel is to include all the elements that made people enjoy the first film so much and to expand upon the characters and their adventures in a way that mimics the excitement of the original endeavor. Marvel is churning out movie over movie, producing so many sequels each year that it’s almost impossible to keep count. The second chapter in what might best be described as its lightest franchise is quite the production, and fortunately it’s even better than the first effort.

Fresh off their exploits from the first film, the team of Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) are hired to protect batteries for Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) and the Sovereigns, resulting in their acquisition of Gamora’s sister Nebula (Karen Gillan). When Rocket decides to steal a few batteries after they complete their mission, they must flee to a nearby planet, where Peter meets his powerful father, Ego (Kurt Russell), who encourages him to embrace his true potential while the team is pursued by Yondu (Michael Rooker) on behalf of the very angry Sovereigns.

This is a film that knows exactly what it is, a science fiction epic which emphasizes humor over everything else. Baby Groot opens the film dancing to the song “Mr. Blue Sky” to properly set the tone for this adventure, which includes many jokes and all of the characters giving each other a hard time, even in the heat of a potentially fatal battle. These personalities have now been well-established, and getting to see them for a second time shows how great they truly are.

The plot of this film provides a fitting setting and setup for its characters to go about their latest shenanigans, demonstrating how well they can work together when they actually get along and how rarely they try to get along. All of the actors are superb, with Debicki, Russell, and Chris Sullivan from “This Is Us” as the humorously-named Taserface proving to be worthwhile additions. The Oscar-nominated visual effects certainly deserve praise for their creation of so many different creatures and places in the galaxy. The glimpse of this team at the end in the trailer for “Avengers: Infinity War” shows just how anticipated another outing with them is, and for good reason. This installment proves that this franchise is definitely one that earn its sequels.

B+