Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Score: 4 / 5

It's the only real way to start summer movie season.

Just a glimpse of the trailer or a poster for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was enough to indicate the colorful excesses of Marvel Studios' newest release. Loaded with eye-popping visual candy, relentless high-speed action, and jokes that could have been written for Deadpool, this smash-bang sci-fi circus has just about everything fans of the series could want. Others, though, may find themselves lost and annoyed pretty quickly.

Where the first Guardians broke the Marvel Cinematic Universe conventions -- its unbridled joy, vibrant style, and raucous humor sharply contrasted the dark, heavy Thor and Captain America sequels -- this one doesn't quite live up to the expectations. While it certainly follows its predecessor's aesthetic, it just fails to feel as fresh. Easy to see why: The last two MCU movies (besides Civil War) were Doctor Strange and Ant-Man, films that similarly broke conventions and staked out new visual frontiers. The bewildering cosmic candy-colored visuals of this film are awesome, but familiar in recent superhero-movie memory.

The bloated, occasionally gimmicky film, however, is by no means a wasted effort. Its dynamics may leave a bit to be desired, but when you have a rambunctious action-adventure this fun, who cares?

A sort of thematic extension of the first film, where we saw Peter Quill seeking belonging and purpose in the world around him, now we follow Peter Quill's search for himself. Who and what is he? The Nova Corps told him his father wasn't human, and while he and his team have been busy living up to their title, his curiosity only grows. One day, in the midst of an apparently unrelated battle, he is saved by a figure who identifies itself as his father. Following him to a nearby planet, the Guardians discover that all is not as it appears, that identity may not be entirely biological, and that power is even more dangerous than they expected.

Sound thematically similar to the first movie? It is, though here the focus is decidedly on Peter Quill more than the whole team (which is fine; I didn't think Chris Pratt could look any better than he did in Jurassic World, but I was so very wrong). Along the way, Rocket faces some tough choices and consequences for his actions which results in surprisingly interesting character development. Yondu, who I just couldn't stand in the first movie, becomes a gripping character here; then again, he is drawn sharply into focus as a central plot point. Nebula sort-of, kind-of joins the team, and her presence is welcome for us if not always her teammates. And while Gamora and Drax stay pretty true to what we already know, the movie is stolen time and again by Baby Groot, whose antics could surely fill their own movie.

You can feel director James Gunn's desperation here, and that's something quite different from the first. He seems to be urgently catering, making sure we laugh at regular intervals, gasp often, and even maybe tear up at the end. We can sense his manic machinations behind the scenes, pushing the pace, revving the energy, throwing every spectacle at us in an effort to beat awe out of us. Occasionally it works, too. Well, okay, maybe only once. The opening scene is the best in the film, and possibly the single best scene in the franchise. Baby Groot turns on a boombox with Quill's new mixtape and proceeds to dance during the opening credits, mostly oblivious to the violent battle happening all around him. It's a perfect example of the organized lunacy that makes Guardians fabulous. Riotously funny, infectiously sweet, it is the perfect introduction to another irreverent swashbuckler featuring our favorite band of freaks.

But dammit, where is Glenn Close??

PS: Stick around after the movie. No less than five tacked-on scenes featured during the credits explore all kinds of stuff. There's the silly and probably inconsequential moments of Kraglin experimenting with Yondu's arrow, Groot growing into a teenager (I can't wait for his antics the next time he's on screen!), and Stan Lee in an extended cameo that seems to wink at the fan theory that he's a Watcher in the MCU. There's the introduction of what were another incarnation of the Guardians of the Galaxy in the comics, led by Sylvester Stallone's character Stakar; I hope we're not going to have a standalone Ravagers movie, but the scene is a cool little nod to the fans (and any fan of Ving Rhames). And, finally, there's the cryptic introduction of what may be a new villain, Adam Warlock, who will probably show up big time in Infinity War or the next Guardians movie; his story often intersected with the Infinity Stones and Thanos.

IMDb: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Score: 4 / 5

I usually react badly when people try to argue that films are "simply" escapist ventures. Firstly, there's nothing really wrong with escapism, though I think a tendency for it leads to bad art. Secondly, there's nothing simple about filmmaking. Or film viewing, for that matter. And a desire to escape from reality into a world that becomes real to many viewers is a very complicated process. But as I watched smiling audience members walk out after Marvel's newest blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy, the first word that crossed my mind was "escapism". And I was smiling too.

Due, no doubt, to any number of circumstances, superhero movies seem to have been getting darker and heavier over the last few years. Blame Christopher Nolan, postmodern nihilism, or the degradation of American youth, but it's no coincidence that superhero films seem to be growing more tragic in nature. Besides the subject matter that always includes the extinction of humans or the dissolution of Earth, just look at the color palette for Thor and compare it to its sequel. Or Captain America. And consider the titles of these sequels: The Dark World, The Winter Soldier. They grow bleak, because for some reason each installment must be a bigger, "better" challenge to overcome, and one that invariably makes a lot of rubble.

So Guardians proved quite the surprise for me. I usually prefer the darker-toned films of the last few years to comedies, but frankly I've been getting tired of them. The sheer optimism and glee in this film had me smiling through the whole damn thing. And lots of that comes from the director, James Gunn, who handles the (no less threatening than in other Marvel films) presence of multiple scheming, destructive villains with grace and style. While he eventually gives in to weak battle sequences typical of superhero finales, he also has an eye for lovely visuals. And I'm not talking about colossal buildings falling down, nauseating battles in aircraft, or legions of alien armies hammering it out; these elements are in the film but are hardly the photographic focus. The camera views the proceedings with a particularly human eye (with a few spectacle-oriented moments of exception, of course), carefully focusing attention on the cast of characters. Granted, there are so many characters that it is a bit tricky to keep them all straight, but eventually I got the hang of it.

For an ensemble superhero film with almost too many special effects, the real joy here is the acting. While I have never read these comics and so didn't know any of these characters previously, the screenwriters and actors obviously worked together to create strong, sympathetic characters that are both touching and funny. Chris Pratt proves quite capable of heavyweight protagonist flair, and with a sizzling heroic body to boot (which he has sported before, people, in Zero Dark Thirty. Stop acting like this is a new thing). Zoe Saldana peers through her greenface with her usual zest, and even Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel shine in their moments, though their faces never show at all. My favorite moments, however, belong to Benicio Del Toro, who briefly shows his fabulous side in a turn as the Collector. While I worship Glenn Close, who plays Nova Prime, I don't entirely know why she was in the film; her role is so brief and unnecessary to the plot that she feels a little wasted, and for that matter, so does John C. Reilly. But I'll stop complaining because Close needs to be on screen more, period.

Amidst the sparkling energy and great comedic timing, we have a lot of empty visuals and tons of action without much accompanying drama. That seems to be the direction a lot of recent action films are headed, and that's why I usually prefer the darker stuff: the action has accompanying emotional weight and purpose, if sometimes a bit too much. But Guardians provides a truly giddy release from that, and it is Welcome, not least because its characters are assembled in a refreshingly queer narrative of appreciating and valuing individual difference. There isn't really the level of proud indulgence or selfish sacrifice that we find in too many other action-film heroes. Hopefully future Marvel installments can retain this sincere optimism while also providing just a little more emotional connection.


IMDb: Guardians of the Galaxy