Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2: Action Packed & Also The Funniest Movie of The Year! (Review)
Mark Miller
I’ve been looking forward to the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel for a while now. I loved the first one and the second one looked awesome. And I’m here to tell you: it was. And that was even after the whole ordeal that comes with seeing something everyone else wants to see right away – we had long waits, the line cutters, the seat savers (actually that one was almost me), the guy with the crying baby who wouldn’t leave. Even with all those, I still had a wonderful time.
Set to the backdrop of Awesome Mixtape #2, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ continues the team’s adventures as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill’s true parentage.
You know, funny thing. When I saw Guardians of the Galaxy the first, I thought Groot stole the show. He’s so funny! Turns out I hadn’t seen anything yet – baby Groot is all that I need out of life. It’s a small spoiler but the opening credits feature Baby Groot heavily and it alone was worth the price of admission. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is 136 minutes long and it didn’t feel a slog. What is it that GofGV2 got right that other lengthy ensemble epics (*koff koff – X-Men: Apocalypse) got wrong? I’m not exactly sure but I do know that the action was well paced and the laughs didn’t stop.
GotGV2 was funny from beginning to end. When was it the last truly funny movie come out? National Lampoon’s Vacation? When did movies stop being funny? And why? Humor is powerful. It’s entertaining all by itself and it also stops us from thinking critically for a moment. I’d be willing to bet that there’s all kinds of weak points in the plot and logical inconsistencies (people will point them out later) but all I can remember was one seamless hilarious whole. Yes there might have been moments (not many) where characters seemed to be reduced to their catchphrases but I believe that can easily be justified by one simple line from the movie: “I am Groot.”
Not only was it funny, but the whole thing was visually amazing. The character design, even for minor characters, was top notch. Colors, explosions, wonderful camera angles and most importantly: shirtless Chris Pratt. Thank you Fan Service! He is perfect for this role, even with a shirt on. And his supporting actors were fantastic too. I loved Dave Bautista and Bradley Cooper and Michael Rooker was fantastic as a Yondu. Elizabeth Debicki was very fun as Ayesha, the leader of the golden skinned villains. Kurt Russell was good as as Quill’s dad as well, he and Chris Pratt worked so well together.
So is Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 worth seeing? Yes of course it is. I’m going again in the theater, you know, after things quiet down a bit. I won’t be sitting through the numerous after credit scenes again. (Why is it the longest movies make you watch through the entire credits as well? It’s obnoxious.) I think this will be one of these movies you can watch again and again. I’ve got to shake this Baby Groot obsession somehow – he bypasses all logical thought. And hopefully the success of this film will make more funny movies; I haven’t laughed that hard since last year.
