Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was one of the most hyped releases of this year from Marvel and the main reason was the supreme success of the first part which scored hugely with its irreverent humor. That cheekiness in the treatment is still there for sure and that’s the only thing which helps this long and comparatively dull sequel in being a onetime fun watch.

This time we have our guardians of the galaxy fighting against a monster to protect some valuable batteries and at the end of that fight a series of events happen which ultimately ends up in a war like situation. In the midst of this, Star Lord Peter Quill happens to see his father who has built a planet of his own and Quill’s old friend Yondu is now in search for Quill and his friends. Even though a lot of things are happening in the backdrop, the main focus here is Ego, Quill’s dad. Who he is and what are his plans are what Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 dealing with.

The movie opens in that signature way where we get to see our main protagonists doing the best thing they know in that quirky fashion and it creates that vibe one would expect in a Guardians of the Galaxy movie. But soon after the introduction of Ego and his planet, the film sort of gets in to a lazy mood and is kind of stuck inside a bloated idea. Too many family agendas are happening including the one between Gamora and Nebula. All these sort of derails the film until James Gunn manages to put them back in track in his largely visual effects aided yet comical final act where you get to laugh along with some clichés.

Chris Pratt with his timing creates laughable moments and the guy performs with ease. Zoe Saldana was fine as Gamora. Dave Bautista gets more exposure in this segment of Guardians of the Galaxy. Rocket powered by Bradley Cooper is cool but not as cool as in the first part. Groot is amazingly adorable. Kurt Russell was a great choice to play the dual shaded role of Ego. We get to see Sylvester Stallone in the movie and hopefully he will have a key role in the upcoming sequels.

James Gunn’s first attempt with the guardians wasn’t this complicated. That movie helped the genre in finding a new way to approach stories and it stayed simple. In order to push it further Gunn adds a lot of sentiments in to the content which only makes it pointlessly longer. Unlike the first part, the movie is trying to be a visual treat rather than being a repartee fun ride. The visuals are stunning and the set pieces along with the 80’s kind of music looks appealing.

In comparison with the first part, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is not up to the mark. Let’s hope James Gunn brings in more fun and less cheesy drama next time. Let me put it this way, in a film that is supposed to make you laugh out loud with its irreverent jokes, the most memorable bit was the one where Drax talks about the brighter side of ugly people’s true love.

Rating: 3/5