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minaminokyoko · 7 years

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (Spoilertastic Review)

This is definitely the right film to kick off the summer movies of 2017. It’s so nice to be able to just sit down and have fun at the movies. Marvel really has nailed the sense of wonderment and escape, although we do get more serious subject matter this time around. I’d say that while I really enjoyed this film, I don’t quite like it as much as the first one. However, that’s not to say it’s not as good. It’s just personal preference after the premiere. I’ll decide further after I see it a second and third time.

Naturally, spoiler alert.

Overall Grade: B+

Pros:

-Man, can I just say how much I appreciate the cinematography for these films? So few people can properly tackle a space epic and make the weird worlds out there in the galaxy feel foreign, but still believable. I love the visuals. I love how clean and creative they are. What I found impressing me the most was probably the effects for Ego (Kurt Russell)’s various forms and as he deteriorated or got destroyed. It was incredibly impressive. I’ve always enjoyed how immersive the Guardians films are and how they make a point to look different from other space flicks, which is a feat in and of itself. It’s easy to fall into traps borrowing from older works, but they do a fantastic job of keeping things fresh.

-Like the first movie, gut busting lines are perfectly sprinkled throughout the film. There is always something to break up the heavy subject matter at just the right time.

-I really like that they explored Peter’s backstory a bit more, especially when we saw a handful of flashbacks with him as a kid and little side adventures with him and his team members during that last scene in the final act. It’s good to humanize Peter, since it would’ve been easy to just make him cavalier like Tony Stark. I also love how he immediately stuck to his guns (literally, holy shit) the second that he realized that Ego wanted to wipe out all life and that he killed his mother. It takes a lot of nerve to rebuke a small-G god and I was really proud of him for having the balls to stand up to his father.

-Although I wish there had been pay off for it (will discuss that below in the Cons section), I also like that we get to see a little more of the developing relationship between Peter and Gamora. I know I’m in the minority fandom-wise, but I ship the crap out of them and I really liked the scene where they go for a walk and she talks him through his feelings. I love the idea that she’s his confidant and that she’s actually invested in how he feels even if she does have a bad case of the Lady Doth Protest Too Much. It was really sweet to see that she listens to his stories and she cares about not only his physical well-being, but his mental well-being too. Plus, little things like the lack of personal space between them (one of my favorite things about a ship, honestly) or how she indulged in a little dancing just for him was truly sweet and it showed that she’s not just a conquest to Peter, but a friend and someone who provides a unique relationship instead of just being a love interest.

-A more in-depth look at Gamora and Nebula’s relationship was brilliant. Not only does it pass the Bechdel Test, it’s fantastic because I always sensed in the first movie that there was a larger history at work, but the film didn’t have time to explore it. I’m glad they did. It lends much more sympathy to both characters and lets you in on how strong both women are to have survived Thanos and each other in the meantime. It gives an all new meaning to that line, “Of all our siblings, I hated you least” and it shows why Nebula was so damned intent on killing Gamora the first time around. I can’t imagine what it had to be like to be tortured every time you lost a fight and all you ever wanted was to be left alone or have someone in your corner, and it’s even worse that Thanos did that since it was beyond Gamora’s control. Lose and get tortured, or win and someone else gets tortured instead. I really hope Thanos gets what’s coming to him.

-It was a pleasant surprise to see them also focus on Rocket, who I believe was the runaway favorite character from the first movie, on a real level discussing what a complete and total asshole he is (mostly) and bringing up the fact that while it’s not totally just an act, he’s hiding insecurities under all that venom. I certainly didn’t expect to see that in this film and it’s quite refreshing that they could surprise me this way. Especially when they did a comparison to Yondu, which was also a surprise to me, but again, we’ll get into that below.

Cons:

-Yondu’s redemption arc was pretty damn abrupt. Now, keep in mind, I am a casual comic book fan so this may have been a nod to all the hardcore readers, but as someone going into the film with zero prior knowledge, this was a big heel turn for me. Keep in mind, I went to the double feature showing and so I saw the first film immediately before the sequel and that’s why it felt so sudden for it to be revealed that Yondu had a code of honor and was part of a larger organization. He felt completely cold blooded and self-serving in the first film, so it’s hard to swallow that he had a heart this whole time when I’m kind of convinced he would have killed Peter in the first movie. I just don’t feel as if they provided enough evidence to prove otherwise, even with the noble sacrifice in the end. Now, this is not to say that his redemption arc was unsuccessful, but it sorta feels like a retcon. His actions don’t match each other from film to film, though his actions are clear when you watch the films separately. I was genuinely touched when he saved Peter, but I just think it doesn’t quite gel with the evidence provided in the first film.

-The Taserface gag was a little flat and it took up a lot of time that I think it didn’t need to, honestly. Most of the lines and jokes in the film are genuinely hilarious, but I think they tried a little too hard with that one. Plus, they still haven’t explained how much of Terran culture the aliens are aware of or where we are relative to them. I think it raises too many questions and it wasn’t that hilarious to begin with, it was more distracting than anything else, but keep in mind that I’m an author and I think too much.

-The music was good, but I think the first movie has a stronger soundtrack.

-I wish the payoff for Peter and Gamora had been a little stronger. I’m not talking about just the fact that we didn’t get a kiss. I think that Gamora had a realization towards the end, but it would’ve been nice for them to hold a whole conversation rather than just reference that “unspoken thing” trope. (Although I’m kind of laughing because I made a post about the Held Gaze trope between them and it almost feels like the movie brought that up, but I’m just being dumb.) I wanted a kiss, if only because it sounds like everyone’s gonna fucking die in the Infinity War movie and I like having closure before we get to the apocalypse of the Marvel movies. I know I’m just a shipper and shippers gotta ship, but it would’ve done me a world of good for a sweet moment like that after shipping them for three straight years.

-Baby Groot is a bit overused. I know that large franchises like to push mascots or characters that they know they can capitalize on, but he did start to wear on my adult brain after a certain point. I just don’t find him that irresistible, personally, and while it wasn’t as bad as something like that goddamn useless fucking snowman from Frozen, it did make me slightly disappointed that they leaned so hard on him for comedy and for screentime. Thank God unlike the stupid snowman from Frozen, he was useful throughout the film, but I do think it’s worth mentioning that they made no bones about his marketability here and maybe I’m not okay with it.

-I’m kind of bummed that almost everyone but Peter got sidelined in the final act. I called it earlier when we found out Ego was evil and I was trying to figure out how the team would defeat him, but they didn’t, it was all Peter. I regret that a lot since they didn’t get to contribute the awesomeness we saw in the first film. I loved Yondu with the save and the sacrifice, but it sucks Gamora, Nebula, and Drax didn’t get to directly stop Ego. Rocket, Yondu, Peter, and Mantis basically did the work and that’s a bit underwhelming from a storytelling standpoint, especially since they were so essential to the victory in the first film.

-This is a bit nitpicky, but it bugs me that Rocket tasered Gamora to prevent her from going back for Peter, and ignored Drax as well. Now, I do agree that it’s a bad thing done for a good reason, but my beef is that the film skips to after they find Peter and the late Yondu. I think Gamora would have gone fucking ballistic on Rocket when she woke up and it would have been more pay off for the blossoming romance between Peter and Gamora for us to see Gamora mad with grief that she thinks Peter is dead and even though she couldn’t have hoped to save him in under a minute, the fact that Rocket made that decision for her was just awful to think about. She’s a very strong, active protagonist and I think it robs her of some weight by not showing us her reaction when she wakes up and Peter is presumed dead. Honestly, it bugs me so much I’m going to probably write that scene myself. I feel as if it’s a missed opportunity, nothing more.

As always, Marvel always delivers a good time and I look forward to our next installment!

#Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 #Guardians of the Galaxy #movie review #film review #spoilers #spoiler alert #Marvel #MCU #Marvel Cinematic Universe

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