I don’t tend to be fond of giving films 10 out of 10. I have this… mental block, I guess, around the idea. Can a film really be so good as to get a perfect score?
With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, the answer is an emphatic yes. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and I think I’ll run out of superlatives for it long before I finish this review. I won’t go into too much detail of the plot, but suffice to say, the story manages to be reasonably interesting, with some nice little nuances, whilst the film is jam-packed with visual treats, a lot of humour, and a surprising degree of emotion, particularly toward the end.
For all the outward signs of an epic space-faring advventure, Guardians 2 manages to feel quite intimate compared to the first film. It feels like the film takes place over a small radius. Central to the film is the theme of family, with various characters facing feelings of abandonment, sibling rivalry, and loss. Woven in are some great jokes (the trash panda reference is particularly funny), and some very amusing visual gags. The villian is probably one of the most interesting seen in the MCU to date, and Guardians 2 manages to tell a stand-alone story that isn’t influenced by the impending Infinity Wars films – as with the first film, the Guardians are who they are, without compromising for anyone else.
Every character has moments to shine – Quill, despite having spent most of his life in space, is still in many ways quite wide-eyed and, ahem, innocent, in some respects. Gamora is still seeking to put her past to rest, starting with her relationship with Nebula. Rocket is still looking to belong somewhere. Drax still harbours pain from his own past. Groot… well, Groot is just adorable.
Would I take children to see this film? That depends on the child. My own daughter would probably find some elements of it overwhelming and frightening, as Guardians 2 does move a touch more in that direction than the first film. The jokes are pushing the edges of what’s appropriate for younger children to hear. There is plenty of fantasy violence. It’s fair to say the 12A certificate is well-earned.
As a final thought, Guardians 2 continues to show us the length and breadth of the variety in the MCU. From the somewhat serious Civil War, to this, and all the steps inbetween, Marvel have crafted various films with completely different characteristics, and yet you can see how they all fit together, more or less seamlessly. You want to see morre of these characters, and you want them to succeed.
Like I said, this film gets 10/10. It is, quite simply, brilliant.
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I’m with you, completely. My constant for all movies nowadays (things were better back when I was a kid, dagnabbit!) is still true: it could’ve been a great movie & been 15-30 minutes shorter.
That could be because I shared a large drink & had to use the restroom for most of the film, though. (I still stayed to see the final “Easter egg,” then power-walked past everyone lol)
A lot of people left – we were stunned! Had they not seen a Marvel film before?! Do they not understand the rules?!
Maybe they don’t care? I don’t know. The final egg was pretty boring, in my opinion, but the others were intriguing & worth the wait.
In our showing, a good number of people stayed. Oddly enough, some of them stayed for a few of the extra scenes, but then walked out before the end, end.
What I wanna know is how you saw it on the 4th? Was it released early in the UK??
It came out about a week ago here! Now we need Spiderman! Though I might skip that one and wait for it on dvd!
A week ago?! Yet another reason to go to the UK. LOL
Yeah, I’m not sure about the new Spiderman either. I mean, I’m a huuuuge Marvel fan, but it’s not as thrilling-looking for me as Thor Raganorok (I’m sure I spelled that wrong lol). OMG… WANT! 😀
I’m with you, completely. My constant for all movies nowadays (things were better back when I was a kid, dagnabbit!) is still true: it could’ve been a great movie & been 15-30 minutes shorter.
That could be because I shared a large drink & had to use the restroom for most of the film, though. (I still stayed to see the final “Easter egg,” then power-walked past everyone lol)
A lot of people left – we were stunned! Had they not seen a Marvel film before?! Do they not understand the rules?!
Maybe they don’t care? I don’t know. The final egg was pretty boring, in my opinion, but the others were intriguing & worth the wait.
In our showing, a good number of people stayed. Oddly enough, some of them stayed for a few of the extra scenes, but then walked out before the end, end.
What I wanna know is how you saw it on the 4th? Was it released early in the UK??
It came out about a week ago here! Now we need Spiderman! Though I might skip that one and wait for it on dvd!
A week ago?! Yet another reason to go to the UK. LOL
Yeah, I’m not sure about the new Spiderman either. I mean, I’m a huuuuge Marvel fan, but it’s not as thrilling-looking for me as Thor Raganorok (I’m sure I spelled that wrong lol). OMG… WANT! 😀