A guarded Guardians return

Film review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

MANILA, Philippines - When Guardians of the Galaxy first burst onto the scene in 2014, I must admit I was one of its most rabid fans. I loved director (and writer) James Gunn’s heady mélange of verbal comedy and visual action in a futuristic sci-fi setting. It was a blend so unexpected and delivered with near perfection, that I even heralded it as the Star Wars for the teenagers and kids of 2014 — noting how there were parallels; the wise-cracking Peter Quill like a mix of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, while the tandem of Rocket and Groot echo CP and R2 and Drax, a slightly more articulate Chewie. While Star Wars purists would roll their eyes and howl in protest, given the runaway success of the Marvel comic book adaptation, I know a lot of kids saw the film as something fresh they could “own” — as opposed to having to share Star Wars with their parents.

And so now, in true Awesome Mixtape #2 fashion, we get the Guardians sequel, without the element of surprise. Thematically, the film is more like “the further adventures,” with the twist of Quill’s provenance thrown in via the appearance of Kurt Russell as Ego, Quill’s father. And to be honest, without this element of surprise, the first half of the film relies heavily on the expansion of well-loved characters such as Drax (Dave Bautista) and Baby Groot (again voiced by Vin Diesel). It’s with the appearance of Ego and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and the interaction between Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and Peter (Chris Pratt) that the second installment manages to stand on its own feet and throws off the shackles of safety and familiarity.

The sexual tension between Peter and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is still a recurring shtick, but it’s how the film also brings Yondu (Michael Rooker) onto the center stage that gives new ballast to this second outing. Given the success of the first film, it comes as no surprise to find such heavyweights as Sylvester Stallone on board and the requisite Stan Lee Marvel cameo. The end credits are a riot and I enjoin you to stay glued to your seat as they will come in droves; i.e, not just one or two end credit “gifts.”

As with such franchises as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc., it’s just really difficult to top the first film, as too much expectation always spoils the broth. If you’ve followed Gunn’s career, films such as Slither and Super show how he can really bend genres via dark comedy and subversive handling of revered themes and rules of the genres he takes on. While the second installment will most likely slay at the box-office and satisfy most critics, I hope the true rebel spirit of Gunn will emerge as we continue the franchise. In the film, Rocket and Drax best exemplify how Gunn can expand on his riffs and deliver on nuances that harp on the black humor Gunn excels in.