Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2: A Sequel That Doesn’t Deliver

So many movies have what it takes to be a great sequel. In fact, some of them flat out surpass the originals.

• Captain America: The Winter Soldier
• Batman Returns
• Superman 2
• The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers
• Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Kahn
• X2: X-Men United
• Spider-Man 2
• The Dark Knight
• The Empire Strikes Back

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2…well, it doesn’t even come close.

My anticipation grew during the weeks leading up to seeing Volume 2. Volume 1 set fire to the industry and changed the comic book movie landscape. It stepped away from what traditional comic movies had done and forged its own path. I figured Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 would do the exact same. It had to, right?

Nope.

Don’t get me wrong, it was entertaining and followed the formula that the first Guardians of the Galaxy laid out, but that’s the problem, it only followed it. If I closed my eyes I could’ve easily been tricked into thinking that I had just paid to watch the original again. The same jokes, action sequences, and Groot humor. Nothing new and nothing exciting.

Perhaps I am giving it grief it doesn’t deserve?

There are a lot of people who did enjoy the movie. Go ahead. Talk to my brother, he’s one of them. I just didn’t. I sat there for what seemed like an eternity waiting for that one amazing moment that never happened. Instead, I watched a perfect copy of Volume 1. Granted, the effects were eye-catching but they weren’t what I went for. I went because a cast of misfit characters made me believe that comic movies don’t have to follow the same rules to be successful.

And therein lies the irony.No matter which way I dissect the movie, these misfit characters in Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 didn’t do anything special to differentiate themselves from Volume 1. Instead of being the leader that the franchise has proven itself capable of being, it surrendered itself to being the dreaded follower.

I will admit that Kurt Russell was a standout.

As if channeling his inner Jack Burton, Kurt Russel commanded the screen each time he was on it. Unfortunately, his performance was overshadowed by an easily predictable story. As I left the theater, I couldn’t help but wonder how this could’ve happened? How could a movie with a planet as its antagonist not capitalize on what it had? There were so many places that the movie could’ve gone and it didn’t.

Even Nebula, my favorite character from the first movie, couldn’t sway my thoughts.

Simply put, Marvel failed.

At least Stan Lee appeared.

The high point of the movie occurred in the always surprising end-credits scenes. If I remember correctly, there was four of them. Two of them had me upset that I was continuing to hold my bladder and the other two nearly made me lose control of it. Yes, they were that good.

If I have to watch it again, I’ll make sure I’m extra tired. This way when I fall asleep, at least I can say I needed a nap.

Excuse me now, I’m going to watch The Winter Soldier.

Cheers,

Joel

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