For the concerned, this is a SPOILER FREE review.
Ever encountered those people outside a movie hall who go on about sequels being better than the original? I didn’t find any the premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2.
You know it, MARVEL reeks of success. With their fan-loved and critically acclaimed superhero blockbusters, we can only agree to agree that they have given us The best franchise of all time. But let’s face new facts: Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2 is that one fun ride you are only going to take on a spin just once.
And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Getting nostalgic for a moment, the predecessor Guardians of the Galaxy was MARVEL’s first film which truly felt it could stand alone, creating a whole other universe within the franchise. With no relation to the main heroes like Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and the others, they are all scavengers and criminals that came together to pose as the ultimate threat to foes of the galaxy. With its cast almost hitting their Oscar finishing lines respectively, we’ve grown to love the characters they have built along with their worlds. It’s true, most of us didn’t even know about them up until the film’s release. Space wars and their outrageously sarcastic humor, we’ve might have seen it all, but not the way director James Gunn sung it to us.
The dynamic five are back at it again, with the stakes being much higher this time. Or so they say. Peter Quill aka Star Lord and his fellow guardians continue to circle the galaxy looking for ways to live up to their recently earned title. Things appear to be so as they battle their troubles out with comedy up until they meet Peter’s father, the egoistic Ego.
So why did Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2 turn out to be a glorified rainbow of a film?
The answer lies in the past. Over the years, like everything that adapts with time, the visionaries behind films have done what they can to keep up with the times. Let’s face it, we as movie goers are quite demanding. Our attention spans have declined along with the need to escape our lives and enter worlds that are far more explosive and fantasy-driven than our own. While it has been a gradual change, this sequel takes a plunge into a space some of us aren’t just yet ready for.
With blockbusters consistently coming out for the past decade from both MARVEL and DC franchises, you can see not only tonal shifts, but where their investment and time takes them, usually towards weak scripts, and showcasing heavily induced, over the top CGI . Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2 has almost managed to do the latter, feeling like it’s light years ahead of its time.
Even with its tonal and color palette shifts, it does so without fully compromising on a compelling journey.
Here’s where things went sideways – mishandling a perfectly flawless formula. The arising questions as to how does one outdo its predecessor always comes up, just the way it did with sequels like Iron Man 2 and Avengers: Age of Ultron.
No one likes a show-off. Sure, if you want a money crunching blockbuster, ambitiously larger, stylish explosions comes with the territory. But all this came at the cost of watching the audience grunting at the number of mushroom clouds and giant-fitted cannons used.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2 is a bit much at times, especially when you are expecting something a bit more, mellow.
Amidst the entertaining characters and their qualms as they continue to defend the galaxy lies more giggles than you anticipated, which almost feels you’re binge watching Just For Laughs which are on several re-runs. Sympathetic smiles are just for you in times like these, for you are reminded they are just as funny as the original’s gags. But how far will you take it?
With a mixtape that’s ever increasing, they might’ve hit the volume button too high this time. The introduction of a playful soundtrack upped their game the first time, and proves this time that too much of anything is overkill, especially old rock and roll.
Underneath this highly-contrast filtered film lies a twist in the storyline, which came as quite a shock, seeing how tied together other MARVEL films are. With little to no connection to the other films, it’s surely debatable as to how this one’s feels like a no brainer tale. And yet it was quite refreshing to see something else that didn’t revolve around scenarios we’ve seen before, making it truly feel like a standalone and a spinoff.
With more team players including questionable, small time characters on the chess board, there’s always talk of who goes first. Fortunately, the film reveals the true, cliched nature of team support and the occasional family and past issues. That and the fantastic new trend of women on the frontline, along with raccoons teaming up with 6’4 aliens on high protein diets and tree babies. Oh, the Avengers have got some serious competition.
Beautiful cinematography is another win for this inflated sequel, even when it runs mostly with CGI, so all you aspiring visual-naires, take notes.
The Guardians of the Galaxy wander in this universe alone, as of now and might not necessarily need to cross paths with the Avengers. But then again, it was a foreseeable future with MARVEL always trying to do new things, even if they were quite unorthodox. An acquired taste no doubt, the debatable filler takes a break from the main storyline, the one that lead will up to the final showdown.
Guardians of the Galaxy’s volume is too loud and is an overly bloated sequel that tries too hard on most occasions, lacking that solid flare the original came to us with. While that may be the case it still manages to interact and engage with the audience in a way that’s feels quite different from previous films with its ambitious spectacle.
With director Gunn having conflicts in the writing room, one can only empathize, knowing the struggles of working with an adamant client. With studios slowly steering the creative ship, it makes it almost impossible for a director to deliver a movie the way it was originally envisioned.
Yearning for audience chirps and their green paper, it compromises on a lot but not at the expense of losing its fans. Capturing great performances whilst exploring fascinating new worlds, the guardians of the galaxy face a lot more than a Sarlac looking octopus, rest assured. Being the second one in what looks like a glossy and final third phase, it brings up questions on how MARVEL is going to approach future films, especially this year’s Spiderman: Homecoming and Thor’s third run Thor: Ragnarok.
Atleast they’ve all got awesome collectable posters and art. Definitely catch Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2 in IMAX, you won’t regret it!
