Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) ***½ /5: A visual treat with some weight and dimension added to the characters but still lightweight in some areas.

(photo courtesy of cinemablend.com)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a visual treat but ultimately a letdown because  all the mysteries have been revealed and there is not much to look forward to. I was really caught up with some of the visuals and this film does resolve some of the issues of the first film in the series. The problems I had with the first film are still here although some of the revelations do give the film some heft in terms of characterization. You do realize that there were some mysteries left to resolve. Now that all the mysteries have been revealed and some issues have been resolved then we’ll finally see the Guardians move forward as a distinct,  unified group.

The film stars Chris Pratt as Quill who comes to face certain truths that will give him a new sense of purpose when moving forward with his life. The usual cast returns:   Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Bradley Cooper as the talking raccoon, Rocket, Davie Bautista as Drax the destroyer and Vin Diesel as baby Groot.  Some of the other Guardians have to come to terms with their own “humanity”as well.

Positives

The primary positive for me were the visuals. They are really stunning in 3D. There was a bit too much colour sometimes especially on Ego’s (Kurt Russell) planet. I noticed from the first film that the visuals are really what make the world of the Guardians seems so distinct or unique. The visuals here are clearly the main standout of this series. I don’t mind more of the same in such a case.

The film does give the characters some heft that was missing in the first film. There are various revelations which can’t be spoilt here but the characters come to discover a lot about themselves following these revelations as they are confronted with the truth. The most important revelations obviously have a lot to do with Quill and his father, Ego, and Yondu (Michael Rooker). Some of the other Guardians also have to confront some harsh truths about themselves as well. It does give the characters some weight and they can no longer be seen as mere caricatures.

The film does resolve a lot of the issues and mysteries of the first film and so it does add something new. I don’t get why some critics are asking for something new when they already got that with the template for the first film. The first film already established the Galaxy and so it is the story that must continue and the film does add to the story of the first film. It can’t be remarkably new when it is a mere continuation from the first.

Negatives

The primary negatives are the same that I had with the first film (go and check out my first review). The film still has some lightweight aspects and it’s still very superficial in parts. A lot of superficiality has to do with the comedic aspects which trivializes a lot but this time there is more balance.

I wasn’t really caught up with the plot of the main villain. It was too big too soon for a film such as this. The villain could have definitely been more effective here but everything just seems rushed and trying to compensate for some areas that are clearly lacking. It does tie in somewhat but more subtlety was required at times instead of fireworks.