Review written by Christian Garcia
Today I’m looking at the sequel to the 2014 smash hit, Guardians of the Galaxy with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Whenever the Guardians films come into discussion, I always hear people say they either loved the first film and thought the second was just okay or that they thought the first film was just okay and that they loved the second one. I personally loved both films upon my first viewing, so I always found this split in opinion to be very interesting.
This is the first time I have watched Guardians 2 since seeing it in theatres back in 2017. Does it still hold up all these years later? Has my perception of it changed? Which of the two do I prefer? Let’s take a deeper look.
The Guardians' Journey
An ongoing theme of this film is of family and the impact they have.
Quill finally meets his long-lost father.
Gamora and Nebula’s rivalry continues to boil over stemming from the way their adopted father, Thanos treated them.
Yondu is exiled from the Ravagers community for past actions and is later abandoned by his own crew because of his unwillingness to turn over Quill, whom he raised.
Quill’s long-lost father, Ego reveals himself to him and invites him, Gamora, and Drax to his home planet. At first, Quill does not know how to feel and is hesitant to go but after a talk with Gamora, he agrees to give Ego a chance. At first, things seem great, as Quill learns about his parents’ relationship and discovers his abilities as a half-Celestial. As the film progresses, however, Ego’s true intentions are called into question as Gamora does not trust him. Quill and Ego bond and it seems that Quill finally has the family he has been longing for. Sadly, it is not meant to be when Ego reveals his entire plan to Quill, as well as the fact that he planted the tumor that killed his mother. This leads to a battle where Quill must kill his own father to save the universe. During the battle, Yondu gives Quill advice that makes him realize who his father truly was. Quill is left with a newfound appreciation for Yondu as his father figure especially after he hits him with the line, “He may have been your father, boy, but he wasn’t your daddy.” Sadly, their reunion is short-lived as Yondu sacrifices himself to save Quill. Quill is dealt a great deal of loss in this film as he is forced to kill his biological father for the greater good and loses the man who was a real father to him in the process. However, the experience does not leave him jaded but more grateful for the family that he has with the team.
Gamora and Nebula are at each other’s throats. In the beginning of the film, the Guardians complete a job for the Sovereign in exchange for Nebula. Gamora is at first intent of delivering her to the Nova Corps to answer for her crimes. Gamora always believed that Nebula wanted to be better than her. Their adopted father Thanos always made them battle each other and Gamora always came out on top. This resulted in Thanos adding upgrades to Nebula which caused her great pain and anguish. When Nebula escapes captivity, she travels to Ego’s planet to fight Gamora again and they do battle once again. In the battle, Gamora saves Nebula from certain death, but Nebula puts her in a choke hold immediately after. Instead of killing her, she cheers at the excitement of finally beating her sister. Gamora tries to argue against her win, but Nebula then tells her that Gamora always wanted to win, while all Nebula wanted was a sister. This is an important moment in their relationship as Gamora finally understands Nebula and this is where they start to come together as sisters. The moment is solidified when Nebula saves Gamora from certain death at the hands of Ego. When Nebula chooses to leave to pursue her desire to kill Thanos, Gamora admits that she never considered what Thanos was doing to Nebula and gives her a hug before she leaves and tells her that she will always be her sister. This is the moment where they finally come together as sisters and Nebula gets what she always wanted.
Yondu’s tale is one of redemption. In the beginning of the film, he is exiled from the Ravager community because of child trafficking he had done, although it’s later revealed he wasn’t aware of what was going on when he did it. His gang begins to question his abilities as a leader given his constant weakness for Quill. He and his gang are hired by the Sovereign to capture the Guardians after Rocket steals their valuable batteries. Yondu tracks down the Guardians and at first is ready to make a deal with Rocket for the batteries rather than turn Quill in to the Sovereign. His gang finally calls out his weakness and a mutiny ensue. Yondu, Rocket, and Groot are captured and while in captivity they begin to bond. Rocket asks Yondu why he didn’t deliver Quill to Ego and Yondu tells him because he was good for thieving. However, Rocket sees through this and when they escape, he makes a course for Ego’s planet to save Quill and the others. When they arrive, Yondu calls Rocket out for his attitude and tells him that they are similar. This is a moment of Yondu being a fatherly figure to Rocket so he won't repeat the same mistakes as him.
During the final battle, Quill thanks Yondu for not delivering him to his father. Yondu finally admits that he didn’t deliver Quill to Ego because he found out what Ego had done to the other children he delivered and couldn’t just hand him over. When Quill is about to be killed by Ego, Yondu tells him that he doesn’t use his head to control his arrow, but his heart, which inspires Quill to fight Ego. When the rest of the Guardians get in the ship to escape, Yondu chooses to stay behind so he can help Quill. As the planet begins to implode after Ego’s defeat, Yondu rescues Quill and seals his redemption by sacrificing himself to save Quill. This was the emotional highlight of the film and one of the saddest deaths in a Marvel film.
The Villain
Ego is a Celestial, God-like being, and the biological father of Peter Quill.
Wanting to find a deeper meaning and purpose in his life, he created a humanoid extension of himself and traveled across the cosmos visiting different planets. His journey brought him to Earth where he met Meredith Quill and through their relationship, Peter was conceived.
When he is first introduced, he is charming and likable and has a similar wit to Quill. Quill is at first dismissive of him and wonders what his intentions are. As they get to know each other, we start believing that they are very alike and that their relationship is a genuine and loving one. However, it is not the case as we soon learn that Ego has ulterior motives.
His journey left him unimpressed with the other lifeforms he encountered, and he decided that his purpose was to recreate the universe to improve it. He plans to remake the entire universe through an event known as the Expansion which will cause the eradication of all other life in the universe. To achieve this, he needs another Celestial which is why he went from planet to planet and mated with the natives to create an offspring that could help him achieve his goal. He hired Yondu to kidnap the offspring and bring them to him and upon discovery that they did not carry the Celestial gene, he had them killed, unbeknownst to Yondu. When Yondu discovered the fate of the other offspring, he refused to bring Peter to Ego.
Of the Marvel villains, Ego is one of the more complex and interesting villains. Kurt Russell’s performance is great, and he gets across the charming yet twisted mind of Ego. He is likable and charming upon first site and makes the audience want to root for him and Peter’s relationship. Upon his true colors being revealed, he is one of the most despicable and diabolical of the Marvel villains. The way he describes his genocidal plot in such a calming manner to Quill shows how he truly believes what he is doing is the right thing and that he cannot see otherwise.
His name is appropriate as he believes himself to be the only thing that matters in the universe, and he does not care what or whom he harms to get what he wants. He reveals to Peter that while he did love his mother, she posed a distraction to his purpose and to prevent any further distractions, he implanted the tumor in her brain that killed her. This revelation made him my girlfriend’s most hated villain. Although he did love Meredith, he did not love her enough to put her before his self-appointed purpose.
By the end of the film, my girlfriend was heavily rooting for Ego’s end and was very happy upon his defeat.
The Film's Pros
Character Growth and Emotional Moments
An important responsibility of a good sequel is to take what the original did and add to it. The first film set up a great crew of characters and this film grows them even further. The Guardians’ journey through this film takes them from good characters to great characters. Quill’s journey and loss evolves him from a lovable goofball into a well-rounded hero whose experienced hardships but has come out better. Gamora and Nebula go from bitter rivals into sisters who love each other. Rocket goes from a scared hot head to a creature who truly cares about others.
This film packs more emotional moments than the first film. From Yondu’s sacrifice, which again is one of the saddest deaths in a Marvel film, to Gamora and Nebula’s hug, this film packs a lot of emotion. Another great emotional moment is when Rocket makes the choice to leave Quill and Yondu behind. It’s a suspenseful and gutting moment. Gamora tries to leave to save Quill but Rocket shocks her and says, “I’m sorry, I can only afford to lose one friend today.” Meanwhile Drax is screaming at Rocket asking where Quill is. The look on Rocket’s face shows how tough that decision is for him to make.
Another great moment is where Yondu calls out Rocket for his attitude. Rocket tries to brush him off, but Yondu tells him that he knows exactly how Rocket feels and why he acts that way because he was the same way. This is where Yondu and Rocket come together, and we see how it changes Rocket and makes him change his attitude. But of course, there is Yondu’s funeral at the end of the film. This is a tearjerking moment that caps off the emotional journey of our heroes in a beautiful looking and touching spectacle. The growth of the Guardians in this film takes them from the funny Marvel heroes to strong characters with more emotional baggage for the audience to sink their teeth into.
The Music
When the first Guardians of the Galaxy film came out, everyone loved the music. While I did enjoy the soundtrack to that film, the music in this one is even better.
I love the soundtrack for this film. I remember after seeing this film, I would go on drives blasting this playlist and it fit that vibe so well. The song choices fit perfectly well with the scenes in which they are used. For example, the use of “Father and Son” by Cat Stevens at the end of the film perfectly encapsulated the film’s theme of father figures and the way that Quill was feeling after the experience he endured. The use of “Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass did a great job of highlighting Ego’s relationship with Quill’s mother and drawing parallels between it and Quill and Gamora’s “unspoken thing.” The opening scene with “Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra fit the chaos and fun that comes with the Guardians of the Galaxy and of course it was fun to see Baby Groot dance around to it.
James Gunn once again created a great playlist of songs to compliment the fun, epic and emotional journey he created.
The Film's Cons
Not as Funny as the Original
This is more of a nitpick rather than a full criticism that hurts the film. Before I continue, I am not saying this film is not funny. It still has the funny stuff that the Guardians of the Galaxy are known for, and I found myself laughing at it. But I didn’t laugh at it as much as the first film. Where the first film was focused on the comedy and character interactions first and the story second, this film focuses more on the story and less about the comedy. While I see the focus on story as an improvement, fans of the humor of the original will probably be turned off it.
The first Guardians of the Galaxy stood out amongst the other Marvel films because their focus on humor made them feel different and fresh. Marvel films can be described as superhero films with comedy sprinkled in there. The first Guardians film was a comedy that featured superheroes. Since the first film, Marvel films have adapted to include more humor along with the hard-hitting action and the emotional moments. Guardians 2 feels like it is following that trend rather than setting its own trend and die-hard fans of the original may not get as sucked into this film as they did with the original. That change in focus is the core of the split opinions on this film and the original that I mentioned earlier.
It does not hurt the film overall and is more of a nitpick that honestly depends on your taste. If you like a Guardians film with more focus on story and character building, then you’ll prefer this film. If you’re more of a fan of a focus on humor, then you’ll probably prefer the original. But as they say, different strokes for different folks. Both are still great and whichever you prefer is entirely up to you.
Final Thoughts
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 does everything that a great sequel should do. It takes what made the original great and adds to it to make it even better. It further develops its characters, heightens the look, and feel of the film, and makes for a fun and more epic adventure. While the comedy does take a backseat to the more emotional moments, the emotional moments are so strong that they’re worth that sacrifice. Vol. 2 takes the Guardians of the Galaxy from what one could dismiss as comedic relief and turns them into fully developed and well-rounded characters to the level of the Avengers.
If I had to pick which film that I preferred, I would have to say Vol. 2. From a storytelling perspective and a character-building perspective, it is the superior film. However, the first one will still stand on its own as a classic and for being the original. They say that sequels are never as good as the original. They are either better, worse, or a retread of the original (therefore making it inferior). Guardians 2 is a case where the sequel is better because it grows and evolves from the original. If you loved the first Guardians film, the sequel is even better and one worth checking out. May not have as many laughs but it is still a great ride with your favorite group of misfits.