Now that earworm's firmly entrenched, let's talk movies. Specifically,
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the sequel to 2014's Marvel Cinematic
Universe, about a group of spacefaring superheroic misfits. The original
movie was a surprise hit, with a colorful blend of memorable
characters, great visuals, an eminently quotable script, a phenomenal
soundtrack and a goofy charm that made for a refreshing addition to the
summer blockbuster pantheon. It was, of course, no great shock that
there'd be a sequel, which has now arrived at your local megaplex.
This latest addition bears "Vol. 2" as a cognomen, and it's apt,
because the sequel is very much more of the same. This is both good and
bad; good in that it includes the same cast of likeable characters and
humor - bad in that it feels very much like a formulaic retread. Much
of Vol. 2 feels as though director James Gunn and co. looked at the
original, picked out bits that worked, and then did their best to get as many of those exact same bits into the sequel. So while that does make for a consistent aesthetic, it
means we end up with a film that lacks the sparkle of the original,
and is thus somewhat bland.
Dancing Baby
Groot? Check. Goofy opening credits? Check. Heavy on the '70s/'80s
soundtrack? Check. Banter Banter Banter? Check. Unnecessary love
story? Check. Multiple cameos and post-credit scenes? Check.
That's not to say that any/all of these elements are bad in and of themselves- but I can
promise you that if you've seen the original, then the sequel is bound to be rather
predictable.
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| Ego Mania! |
I'm going to assume that you
*have* seen the original movie, and are therefore familiar with the
characters. Whereas distribution of development was fairly well-balanced among the
characters in the first go-round, the sequel is far more uneven. Drax in particular gets shorted, reduced largely to a source of extremely rote humor, and of a
few moments of repetitive 'deeper' dialogue that fall flat. Gamora, for
all that she is not lacking in screen time, is really there merely to fill
role of the token female heroine - even a subplot with her sister
doesn't really do much to deepen or build her character, and her personality gets no growth.
On the other hand, Rocket and Yondu get much
broader roles than either had in the original. They're responsible for
many of the stronger character beats, as well some genuinely hilarious
bits that are far and away the best parts of the movie. Nebula also
gets a larger part this time around, but the filmmakers can't seem to
decide what they want her to be, so her function in the movie is
somewhat erratic. Baby Groot has minimal bearing on the plot, and is
mainly there to be adorable and silly.
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| I'd pay to watch a movie that's nothing but these three. |
As
before, Star-Lord is the main focus of the film, with this entry providing more to do beyond being a swashbuckling wise-ass - though there
is plenty in the way of buckling of swashes and wry comments.
Unfortunately, the movie continues to reinforce the idea of Star-Lord as
a less brilliant Tony Stark in space. Still, Chris Pratt holds his
own, and his likability helps keep Star-Lord from coming across as
insincere. Plus, I never get tired of '80s-related humor...one
shout-out in particular earned Vol. 2 a few bonus points from me.
For new characters, we get a
rather fun turn by Kurt Russell as Ego, Star-Lord's hitherto absent
father, and Ayesha (Her/Kismet) as played by Elizabeth Debicki.
Ayesha's the means by which the plot of the movie gets going, and I suspect she and her
gold-hued people will be popular in cosplay circles this year. The
Guardians also acquire Mantis, a character who in the source material is powerful, dangerous and enigmatic, but who is here played by
actress Pom Klementieff as a rather disappointingly stereotypical
geisha-esque servant. Sylvester Stallone has a small but
important role in the movie, which I won't spoil here, suffice to say
that he - along with a few other notable cameos - offers a very, very
cool nod to long-time comic fans, which may bear some fruit in the
eventual Guardians vol. 3.
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| "For a golden girl knows when he's kissed her...it's the kiss. of. Death!" |
Speaking of
spoilers - I have to be very careful how to say this so I don't ruin
anything - but I want to address one element of this movie that I found to be a
considerable improvement over most of the previous MCU entries. One
of the things Vol. 2 gets right is that it finally gives us a
worthwhile villain. Comic fans will likely know exactly what's coming,
but for anyone not familiar with the source, it may be a surprise, so I
won't get specific. But as I've made no secret of my ongoing
frustration with ill-defined, easily-beaten throwaway big bads that have
no development or emotional depth, Vol. 2 gives us an exception to that
trend, with a well-written character with clear motives, a defined agenda, with serious consequences for the hero and impact that
while I wouldn't call it sympathetic exactly, is at least compelling. Yes, it does delve into the typical "Mwahahahah I want to destroy
everybody 'cuz reasons" plot, but at least the villain's arc lets them have a
personality before that. So that's progress.
Another thing I have to mention, specifically in light of ongoing
complaints with the MCU, is that Vol.2, much like the original, does not
feel like a commercial for the rest of the Marvel movieverse. It's
almost entirely stand-alone in its own corner, with the exception of a
clever little meta-cameo at two points in the film.
It allows the world to exist on its own merits, without the
nudge-nudge-wink-wink-coming-soon of the most of the related Avengers
movies. That will go out the window with Infinity War, of course, but
for now, it's nice to be unencumbered. And no, outside of one
reference, the Infinity Stones do not factor into Vol. 2.
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| Gardens of the Galaxy? |
If you liked the first Guardians, odds are good you'll like this one
as well. It's certainly entertaining...it's genuinely funny and the
characters are engaging, and the special effects are of course
phenomenal. By nature of its existence, though, it's not novel,
which was one of the biggest appeals of the first film, and so a
significant portion of this movie feels rehashed or recycled. It's rather like
leftovers from a particularly good meal....it's all well and good, but
you've had it before and you know what to expect, and it doesn't taste
quite as fantastic the next day.
There are
five (5!) post-credits scenes, by the way, and they do imply some
interesting directions for the already-announced Vol. 3, though we'll be
seeing the Guardians crew next in 2018's Avengers: Infinity War.
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