Cert: 12A Runtime: 136 mins Director: James Gunn Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn & Kurt Russell
Trash Panda
Who are the Guardians of the Galaxy? A question we all asked a few years ago. Now we can’t get enough of them! Probably Marvels biggest gamble, became loved by the majority of the planet and made Chris Pratt the star he is today. As expected a sequal was going to happen and here we are. This review should have been up days ago, so apologise for the delay! So what is GotG V2 about you ask? As they journey across the far reaches of the universe, the Guardians attempt to solve the mystery of Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt) parentage. On their travels, they cross paths with old foes, new faces and an enigmatic villain in Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki), but their biggest battle might just be to keep their newfound family together.
I will be blunt GotG V2 was a pure emotional ride! I had no expectations whatsoever going into the film but I was pleasantly surprised. It seemed like Gunn and Marvel had revealed too much in the trailers, but my days there are so many surprises. James Gunn truly wrote a beautiful script and it packs such an emotional punch. Some moments had me in tears I joke you not! The overlaying context of Guardians is family and how you realise that some people within your circle were always there for you. This is not what you expect from a comic book movie. But damm it was a humbling watch, I take my hat off to you James Gunn. You do question the point of the first 45 minutes but once the ball is rolling it makes pure sense. Again Gunn made Guardians colourful, vibrant and alive. He even fixed the CGI issues it wasn’t so busy and simplified.
Even with a great script you must always have a good cast! My main complaint cast wise was Dave Bautista, he does give great one liners. But that thesaurus of comedy just wasn’t as well executed as last time. He had developed a lot more as a character here too. Personally I understand his motives a lot more. Rocket Racoon has the same type of growth here, but with a class actor like Cooper voicing it helps even more. Chris Pratt for me takes a step back in Guardians he may be the leader but he shares the spotlight throughout. He does have some great dramatic moments with that Pratt twist and I as always adore him. Saldana also seems to take a step back here but when she has a moment she relishes it. Special mention to Michael Rooker you took me on an emotional roller-coaster. Kurt Russell’s inclusion as spectacular of a casting it was a bit meh if you ask me. He was just Kurt Russell! Over all Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 was emotional, bravo James Gunn.