GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 Review
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
A Review By Ben Hunter
3/5 Stars
GET TO THE POINT
BEN!
Still not on the
bandwagon, but thankfully, this ride was enjoyable!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 month before the big release, studio tracking,
prescreening, and testing skyrocketed through the roof and a greenlight was
dawned for a sequel on an unknown, unorthodox comic book property that the
average moviegoer had no idea was even in existence. 3 years later, here we
are, “Guardians of the Galaxy” or “Guardians” for short, is now a household
name. Mind you, primarily the name of the group. The hats are off, the
attention spans piqued, and the crowd is ready for another “fun time at the
movies”.
Writer/Director James Gunn returns to scribe and helm
another adventure where our precious Guardians have accepted their role in this
galaxy they guard that co-exists in Disney/Marvel’s cinematic universe. Delving
into the mold of these beloved characters more, we reach further to uncover the
make-up of our heroes, particularly Peter Quill/Star Lord (Chris Pratt), the young
and aspiringly promiscuous in adverted leader of the Guardians. The meat of
this second volume revolves around him and his history while uncovering more of
the psyche of the rest of the team and why they tick sprinkled in. Let’s just
say there’s a lot of family issues to go around. Which makes sense as they all
are rebel-like space vigilantes with no real clear upbringing. So in this new
chapter, we dive more into why that is.
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The Guardians of the Galaxy are back!
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And kind of sort of like our beloved Avengers, where they
purposely come together, our Guardians realize fate brought them together
without their consent and now they’re just going along with that to see what
happens. All in an unorthodox tone, heavily laced in irregular humor, to
attempt yet again at delivering an unexpected welcoming of a “fun” time at the
movies. And by gosh does that "unorothodox nature" shine through with the music of this film! The one consistency that knocks it out of the ballpark ... "except for Rocket".
Okay, so now that we know to expect this unconventional
nature, we can see the mean left-hook trying to surprise us with a non-prepared
for fun time, what is the material really made of? I didn’t buy it the last time and I still don’t buy it now. All throughout my particular screening I
witnessed a disdain from the story, not really a connection but still an
enjoyable time. Which sums up perfectly how I feel about the world of
Guardians. It’s a decent, good time, and nothing more. You laugh a little, you
smile a lot, which is all we should take from it. But everyone wants to take
that aspect and have it supersede every other aspect … and then blow it out of
proportion times ten. “It should be nominated for BEST PICTURE at the Oscars!”,
all because “it was so much fun!” Doesn’t matter if the development of the
narrative doesn’t truly connect to give us real insight into the characters,
because there were some I truly couldn’t have cared less about. Who cares if
the comedy isn’t fully developed and established so the story can truly
flourish? “It was fun” and that’s all that matters. I hung my head more times than
I would’ve liked just like last time, but thankfully not as much. But because
it was so much fun, yet again, I’m going to be told to “lighten up” and just “learn
to kick back and enjoy movies”. It’s “just a fun flick not to take seriously”.
Fun overrides story and everything else because it’s all about touching the
human spirit (Gravity all over again), yada yada insert more Hollywood liberal group think here, and then
cringe some more. To then hear the name of Guardians get a strong push come
Oscar season “BECAUSE it’s so much fun!” when I was told to let things slide
and give it a well-deserved and truly earned high grade back at its release … “because
it’s so much fun!” And THAT’S why I dislike Guardians! It wouldn’t be that big
of a deal if all of this hadn’t been blown out of proportion (ditto Disney's Moana). But since it’s
being made out to be something that it truly isn’t, garnering way more
attention than it deserves, all because of the emotional aspect with nothing tangible
with real longevity to sustain such emotion, I lose respect and can’t give
credit where it’s due. Emotion fades and doesn’t hold the movie up in the long
run. I’m witnessing that now with Creed (2015).
And all this perked up in my memory when lo and behold Sylvester Stallone made
a small appearance in the galaxy of the Guardians.
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So here’s hoping this likable experience this go round for
me stays in the realm it deserves to stay within and doesn’t take over the
galaxy. But rather knows its place within it, which is to protect and serve it
as the Guardians OF the galaxy, not the Guardians OF EVERYTHING TO HEAR OF in the
galaxy.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Action/Adventure, 136 Minutes, PG-13
Written & Directed By: James Gunn
Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley
Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillian, Pom Klementieff, with Sylvester
Stallone, & Kurt Russell
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