2017: The Year in Film: "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" Review

2014's Guardians of the Galaxy was one of the most pleasant movie surprises in years. Readers of this blog will (or should) know that I'm something of an all-around Marvel enthusiast, and the original Guardians flick was one of the absolute best that Marvel has done. Equal parts fun, heartwarming, charming, and crazy, the 2014 original raised the bar for what a comic book movie could do, in that it was just so off the rails from your typical superhero fare. It had almost a sitcom feel while mixing sci fi with classic 70's pop songs, trippy visuals, and massive action sequences. So, expectations were high for the follow-up. Would it be more of the same or represent a regression for director James Gunn, Chris Pratt, and the rest of the cast?

Following the events of Guardians of the Galaxy, our titular heroes are out there taking jobs and basking in the glow of being renowned... galaxy guardians.  In between petty squabbles and rivalries between the crew, the larger mystery of Peter Quill's parentage is hanging out there as an unresolved mystery from the first installment.

The Good: the cast is incredibly likable and they all clearly have great chemistry. If anything, this flick is even funnier than the first installment and as the universe of the Guardians expands, familiar characters are brought into the fold in ways that make the whole film all the richer for it. It's irreverent, charming, funny, and occasionally touching, and ultimately the plot is a self-contained tale about family... what's not to like? All the first film's strengths are present here, and this is absolutely the most laugh-out-loud funny of any of the Marvel movies, including the original Guardians. The cast is solid, especially Pratt and Michael Rooker, with Kurt Russell continuing his tour through summer blockbusters as Starlord's mysterious father.



The Bad: Ultimately, I think the surprise of the original film was always going to be impossible to duplicate. In making efforts to top the original, this one occasionally comes off as trying TOO hard TOO often, with Baby Groot and Drax especially crossing the line into straight up crowd pleasing territory as opposed to actual characters as both were in the original film. There's a lot to like here, but ultimately the film's disparate plots don't all work and leave the film feeling at once overstuffed and also rushed, with some story lines and characters drawing the short straw because there's just so much going on all the time. Plus, I have to say it, the music just isn't as good here. The music is such a key part to these films and this time around it feels less inspired and more forced in. It's also very weird how expanded director James Gunn's brother's role was this time... I don't like nepotism, guys.

Ultimately, if you liked the original, you're going to like this one. It's not quite as good, but still an absolute blast, and the charming cast, great visuals, and rapid-fire dialogue won't leave you disappointed. Where the original Guardians is in the discussion for the best Marvel movie of all, this one is "merely" in the top half, but still well worth watching.

8/10.

2014: The Year in Film: "Guardians of the Galaxy" Review

So Marvel, at this point, can do no wrong as a movie studio. Everything it touches has become gold, and it's been so long since they've made an even mediocre flick (hi, Thor!) that when the studio announced that they were making an actual movie based on the obscure, Star Wars meets superheroes sci-fi characters of "Guardians of the Galaxy", everyone's first response was "wow, that sounds really cool!" instead of what it probably should have been, something like "Is Kevin Feige on MDMA?".  Even me, a dude who's been reading Marvel comics for as long as I can remember, had never heard of "Guardians of the Galaxy" prior to Marvel making the announcement that they'd be making a movie based on these characters. Even the fact that the entire endeavor was going to be put in the hands of the goofy guy from NBC's Parks and Recreation and the writer of the live-action Scooby Doo movies starring Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar didn't seem to do much to hamper the enthusiasm. Personally, I was extremely skeptical, as were many of the media types who care about things like "will _______ movie coming out in 2 years actually be good??". In short, Guardians of the Galaxy was going to be Marvel's biggest test as a studio since it hit the bigtime, an effort to establish wholly unknown characters in a weird space setting. It was destined to either fall flat on its face or be a gigantic success.

So, the Marvel comic universe isn't merely limited to the earth. There are superheroes that stay on earth, others that leave, others that are aliens themselves (like Thor), and still more that stay in space and rarely, if ever, actually come to earth. Marvel has been setting up alien threats in its movies since Avengers, and that part of the universe really gets fleshed out here. In Avengers, we were introduced to Thanos, a character whose villainy and thirst for power threatens everyone in the universe. In Guardians, we learn that this threat isn't just limited to Earth and Asgard, but to other worlds and civilizations as well. We're introduced to a vibrant, Star Wars-esque universe of many worlds and aliens, one where an unlikely human from earth, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) operates as your standard Han Solo-type charming rogue. Various characters find themselves thrust together against an existential threat, and in the process discover friendship and an unlikely heroism.

The Good: this flick is, in a word, fun. It's a freaking blast. It manages to expertly hop back and forth from the hilarious to the absurd to the heartbreaking skillfully and breathlessly. Largely on the back of Chris Pratt's charm, the quality of the CGI and the obvious chemistry between everyone involved, what could easily have been a silly waste of time becomes a clever, relentlessly witty, surprisingly smart and occasionally touching sci-fi romp. Bradley Cooper voices a CGI raccoon named Rocket who manages to be one of the most memorable characters of the year, and Vin Diesel voices a CGI 10 foot tree that brings home the most the single most emotionally touching scene in any Marvel movie yet. That's just the type of film that this is.. it's constantly subverting expectations, turning convention on its head, and managing to show that in the right hands, superhero movies can be anything you want them to be. I was constantly reminded of the first Star Wars film throughout Guardians, and I mean that in the most flattering way possible. This is a universe that feels vast and lived-in, and doesn't dwell on exposition or nonsensical explanations, choosing instead to bring you along for the ride. Perhaps most impressively, and uniquely among all of the Marvel films to date, no knowledge of the other films is necessary to enjoy this one, but Marvel uber-nerds and fans will find plenty sprinkled around Guardians to inform and enrich the unique shared universe. WWE wrestler Dave Bautista makes his film debut as Drax the Destroyer, an alien utterly unable to understand sarcasm or idiom, and he turns in a surprisingly charming and often very funny performance. Michael Rooker plays a scene-stealing version of his character from The Walking Dead, and most of all, every single person involved is pretty obviously having a blast, and that sense of joy and wonder really shines through.



The Bad: I have two complaints, neither one of which is a dealbreaker, but both of which slightly annoyed me. First, the film occasionally drifted too far to the side of sacrificing itself for a joke. I'm not sure that it ever necessarily goes that far, but it gets dangerously close at times, and that is distracting. The second is that some great actors appear in tiny roles that appear to waste their talents. I'm not sure if the plan is to save them for the inevitable sequels, but Glenn Close, John C. Reilly and Benecio Del Toro probably appear combined for a grand total of 15 minutes of screentime. That seems like a waste, but I'll withhold ultimate judgment until I see whether there's a larger plan at play.

Ultimately, this is my 2nd favorite Marvel movie (which is saying something, because I love almost every single one of the Marvel movies), and it manages to expertly tread the line between touching, hilarious, smart, and thrilling. As legitimately fun as any movie that I've ever seen, and I can't wait for it to come out on DVD so I can see it again. Say goodbye to Andy Dwyer, guys... Chris Pratt is a freaking star.

We Are Groot.

9/10.