Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 2017
It was time to take a break from flat-pack furniture building, dubious paintwork and alternating runs to IKEA and the tip to dive back into typing loudly. Every DIY effort has been worth it as the Claypoles now have a house they can call a home. The previous Claypole Towers held loads of lovely memories and had lots of laughs permeating its paper thin walls but given that the pancakes are growing at quite an alarming rate, that's pretty much all it was holding without it becoming the first flat-pack tenement. Guardians Volume 2 was spied just on the cusp of the move and it has taken its time to convert it to type but here we go.
Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 has the five original Guardians continuing where they left off from the original. Starlord, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper) and Groot, now baby Groot (voice of Vin Diesel) have stayed together and are a team for hire. The plot revolves around the "family" theme for the second instalment as we see Quill reuniting with his interstellar father, Ego (Kurt Russell), adopted siblings Gamora and the returning Nebula (Karen Gillen) colliding off each other and Drax pining after his lost wife and daughter.
While all the elements are pieced back together form the original, unfortunately you cannot have another original but there are problems with Guardians Vol 2. Pratt is not nearly as charming and Han Solo-esque as he was in the first movie and seems to be bogged down with having to drive the emotion context of the movie. Rocket/Cooper is given very little to do, aside setting up one liners for Drax and Baby Groot and while the original's plot was light as a feather, Vol 2's plot is muggy and dense. Russell's Ego is bleugh and a bit of a non character. Coming from a huge Snake Plisskin fan, this is hard to say.
This is not to say this is not a fun movie, it is. It's just not as fun as the first. The relationship between Gamora and Nebula is fantastic. Not as much love/hate, more hate/kill. Saldana and Gillen play off each other with enthusiasm and underlying feelings that peep their head out then jump back underneath which is equally frustrating and enjoyable. Baby Groot and Drax are charming and, at times, side splittingly funny. Who knew an ex-wrestler and animated twig would keep this reviewer so entertained. The expansion on Michael Rooker's Yondu character is phenomenal and Mohawked head and shoulders above the other stories that are fighting for screen time.
The soundtrack, which was so interweaved in Vol 1, is not as good in Vol 2 and while there are some songs that hit dove tailed high notes such as ELO's Mr Blue Sky and The Sweet's Fox on the Run, most of the others seem flat and forcibly wedged in to the story.
I keep on having to remind myself this was a fun, entertaining movie but the standard was set so high in Vol 1 that I was expecting just a little bit more in Vol 2. The characters are all here, the soundtrack is revamped and the story moves us on from an introductory first instalment so what was missing? It's unfair to say the originality as this like so many sequels can't recreate the impact of the first story. What Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 is missing is a bit of playful charm and a cheeky wink to the camera. Am I in for Volume 3? Of course I am.
Rating 7.5/10 1.0 off for misplaced songs, 1.0 off for the Ego and 0.5 off for being slightly less charming
Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 has the five original Guardians continuing where they left off from the original. Starlord, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper) and Groot, now baby Groot (voice of Vin Diesel) have stayed together and are a team for hire. The plot revolves around the "family" theme for the second instalment as we see Quill reuniting with his interstellar father, Ego (Kurt Russell), adopted siblings Gamora and the returning Nebula (Karen Gillen) colliding off each other and Drax pining after his lost wife and daughter.
While all the elements are pieced back together form the original, unfortunately you cannot have another original but there are problems with Guardians Vol 2. Pratt is not nearly as charming and Han Solo-esque as he was in the first movie and seems to be bogged down with having to drive the emotion context of the movie. Rocket/Cooper is given very little to do, aside setting up one liners for Drax and Baby Groot and while the original's plot was light as a feather, Vol 2's plot is muggy and dense. Russell's Ego is bleugh and a bit of a non character. Coming from a huge Snake Plisskin fan, this is hard to say.
This is not to say this is not a fun movie, it is. It's just not as fun as the first. The relationship between Gamora and Nebula is fantastic. Not as much love/hate, more hate/kill. Saldana and Gillen play off each other with enthusiasm and underlying feelings that peep their head out then jump back underneath which is equally frustrating and enjoyable. Baby Groot and Drax are charming and, at times, side splittingly funny. Who knew an ex-wrestler and animated twig would keep this reviewer so entertained. The expansion on Michael Rooker's Yondu character is phenomenal and Mohawked head and shoulders above the other stories that are fighting for screen time.
The soundtrack, which was so interweaved in Vol 1, is not as good in Vol 2 and while there are some songs that hit dove tailed high notes such as ELO's Mr Blue Sky and The Sweet's Fox on the Run, most of the others seem flat and forcibly wedged in to the story.
I keep on having to remind myself this was a fun, entertaining movie but the standard was set so high in Vol 1 that I was expecting just a little bit more in Vol 2. The characters are all here, the soundtrack is revamped and the story moves us on from an introductory first instalment so what was missing? It's unfair to say the originality as this like so many sequels can't recreate the impact of the first story. What Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 is missing is a bit of playful charm and a cheeky wink to the camera. Am I in for Volume 3? Of course I am.
Rating 7.5/10 1.0 off for misplaced songs, 1.0 off for the Ego and 0.5 off for being slightly less charming
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