Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 2 – movie review

Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 2 – movie review

Ensemble movies are all the rage now, and so are comic book based ones.

If you look at the top ten movies of last year, you will see that short list dominated by movies that combine these elements.

The first franchise was also the movie that propelled Chris Pratt from a relatively unknown and rather pudgy TV actor into an A list action actor, who is moving from one blockbuster to the next.

Guardians Of The Galaxy (GOTG) itself was itself a sleeper super hit. Coming out of nowhere to blast into the stratosphere of awesomeness in the middle of much larger comic franchises, which were also hitting their stride. So what does the second movie in this franchise have to offer?

Well it does subscribe to the bigger, badder and louder style that bears some similarity to the Fast and Furious series, but one big difference is how you can tease out a reasonable story amidst the mayhem and like the best of the action movies it has humor and romance thrown in. My gold standard of this genre is “Raiders Of the Lost Ark”, and a swashbuckling, devil may care Harrison Ford whipped, swished, kissed and leapt onto the big screen and into our hearts.

Here Chris Pratt isn’t Harrison, but he does try hard and manages to combine that magical concoction of being a superhero of sorts with the right added amount of comic relief, and a little sizzle with Zoe Saldana thrown in. There is genuine chemistry between the cast members, and they look like they are really having fun whilst blasting away the space monsters and villains.

Like the best blockbusters, despite a plethora of action to keep the fans appetite for blasts and booms happy, there is also a good plot, and we find out more about each character, both the bright as well as the dark side. And it’s often the latter which pulls the fans in. Movie goers enjoy seeing that these action heroes are not perfect and have little secrets beneath the veneer of superhero-ness. Kurt Russell adds a new dimension as Peter Quill’s father ego, whilst the turn of Mickey Rooker also adds more depth to his arrow whistling personality.


Little Groot is a hoot, and each character gets more meat in turn, which giving plenty of space (pun intended) for further development. 

We also see a few faces turning up near the end, which suggests that the ensemble will be expanded ala The Expendables. This series is destined for even more greatness.

For those home theatre fans, I would say that this one is a no brainer when the Blu Ray disc comes out. Run out and pre-book yours. The surround action, as well as the bass are all demo quality.

Finally the standout of the movie is often not the action, not the acting, nor the CGI, but the soundtrack. And this is what makes GOTG what it is. Volume 2.

GOTG would have been just another action movie in space based on a comic book, but it was significantly elevated to the status of stardom by the awesome 60&70s soundtrack, and that wonderful Sony Walkman. In GOTG 2, the music again adds that extra bit which makes it just that bit more wonderful and propels this movie into one of the best of the year. No doubt it’s early days yet in 2017, but I will put my money where my mouth is and venture to vote that this movie will be one of the biggest hits and most enjoyable movies of 2017. It’s no Oscar award contender, but it will certainly be one of the movies that I will take out of my collection and watch over and over again. I will certainly take out my old cassettes and play that funky music many times over.

Highly recommended.