Unlike most sequels, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” directed by James Gunn, did not disappoint, and provided a satisfying continuation of the original story with the same talented cast.
As soon as the film begins, there is a mysterious flashback with Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt) parents, which soon cuts off to a classic fight scene with the Guardians.
Quill, Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Groot (Vin Diesel), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), and Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) are hired by the Sovereign to protect their product. They defeat a beast and the sovereignty rewards the group with one of their prisoners, Nebula.
Gamora reacts quickly with her sister, and her next goal is to bring Nebula to jail. This plan is cut short when they are attacked unexpectedly by the Sovereignty.
The enemy ships are suddenly destroyed by an anonymous force. The Guardians crash land due to damage onto the nearest habitable planet, and the ominous force that annihilated the enemy fleet follows. They are introduced as Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Ego the Living Planet (Kurt Russell).
Ego claims that he is Quill’s father, but Quill is unsure of what to think. Gamora encourages Quill to take advantage of this opportunity and finally get to know his father. Ego invites Quill, Gamora, and Drax to come with him to his planet, and Quill accepts after lots of consideration.
Rocket and Groot are left to fix the ship and watch over Nebula while the Sovereignty hires a group of ravagers led by Yondu (Michael Rooker) to capture the group in order for them to be punished. Rocket almost has full control of the ravager situation when Groot releases Nebula, not knowing her malevolent intentions.
The ravagers mutiny against Yondu, so he is imprisoned along with Groot and Rocket on the ravagers’ craft. Fortunately, ravager Kraglin (Sean Gunn) frees the trio, and Kraglin joins them on the journey of finding the other Guardians before the Sovereignty does.
When tensions between Ego and Quill escalate, the Guardians have to work to protect themselves from both Ego and the persistent, vengeful Sovereignty.
Director Gunn did a remarkable job of entertaining the audience and answering the countless unanswered questions spawned from the first movie, yet leaving more questions for future sequels to explore. All of the humor, emotion, and action in the film fit together like puzzle pieces under Gunn’s direction.
Freshman Madison Allan says, “The movie gave a great insight on the true meaning of family, and that it doesn’t always need to be biological. It was clever, funny, and had the right amount of action for a superhero movie, while also having enough sentiment for people who don’t always enjoy action movies.”
The different sets and make-up were beautiful and awe-inspiring. The design of Ego’s planet was especially jaw-dropping, and it looked like true paradise. The character design was unique and the makeup looked incredibly real. Every character had traits that made them their own independent contributor. For example, Mantis was part insect and could control the emotions of others, characteristics unseen in others in the movie.
What’s a Guardians of the Galaxy movie without the fun soundtrack? Like the original, rock songs were featured in the film to add more feeling and emotion to each scene. Hits such as “Mr. Blue Sky” by the Electric Light Orchestra and “Father and Son” by Cat Stevens were included in the soundtrack.
The film’s cast worked to make the sequel amazing. Pratt brought more depth to his character and showed the audience how loyalty and morals are a huge priority to his character, Quill. Saldana and Pratt were also excellent at showing the complex relationship between Quill and Gamora, such as in the scene when the two are dancing and discussing if what they share is romantic or platonic.
Freshman Shibani Ambati says, “The movie definitely came at you with so many different emotions that had you laughing, crying, smiling, and overall leaving the theater with the movie in your head and the characters in your heart.”
Creator of Marvel Comics, Stan Lee, makes a cameo in the film as well. Lee’s cameos are common and appear in many Marvel films, exciting the audience every time.
“Guardians of the Galaxy 2” is overall very impressive and proved the negative stigma around sequels wrong. Those who give the sequel a chance will be met with a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience.
Sophomore Anshul Rana says, “With such a powerful cast, the movie is sure not to disappoint. I feel that the sequel will be better than the original. The original set up everything, now the sequel can build off in to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This expansion and availability of options will allow for a better movie.”
Why do people usually prefer the originals over the sequels? If you have seen “Guardians of the Galaxy 2,” what are your thoughts?
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