When Guardians of the Galaxy was first slated to be made, I was hesitant. I had never read the comics so I wasn’t familiar with their story or how they fit into the Marvel universe. But once I was in the theater for the first film, I was sold. The music was great, the story was fun, and the dialogue was just enjoyable to listen to. On top of all that, the visual effects were so well done. The original was so well received that Marvel bumped up the premiere of the second film by more than a year.

When the second film arrived, I was way more excited. I have become more of a Marvel fanboy than I was a few years ago and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next to the Guardians.

The trailers made it look like so much fun, I just had to go see it. So I gathered my team at work and took them all to the theater in the middle of the day…on a Tuesday…because it’s cheaper. The perks of being the boss, right? With the movie still fresh in my mind, I just had to sit down and write out my review of the film. This is going to wander into spoiler territory, so be warned: SPOILERS AHEAD!

Plot Summary (Seriously, SPOILERS!!!)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 is the story of Jesus if Jesus and his God-father disagreed with each other on the purpose of life and got into a planet-crushing fight. The film starts out with Ego, Peter Quills’ immortal father impregnating his mother and planet Earth. It’s a god-like man coming to earth and impregnating a woman. That woman bears a son that eventually “gives” his life to save the galaxy. Or at least he would have if not for the help of his buddies. Does that make Rocket Raccoon Peter’s Paul? Probably not, but it’s a fun idea to think of.

Flash forward 34 years and Star-Lord and his buddies are protecting an energy source from an inter-dimensional octopus in a truly epic battle. After the battle, the group offends their would-be employers which then send an entire armada after the Guardians. Enter Ego—god with a little g. That’s not a penis joke, but there are a few of those in the film, thanks to Drax. Thanks, Drax.

Ego takes his half-human, half-god son to a paradise planet that he constructed himself. It’s a beautiful place that the crew soon come to realize hides a dark secret. The Guardians soon realize that Ego is a crazy person and that they must destroy. Fighting ensues and five post-credit scenes later, the movie ends.

My Thoughts

The story was fun. I had to laugh at the Jesus parallels throughout the film. While I don’t think the director was trying to offend anyone, the god-father/immortal-son trope is not a new one. And it’s subtle, so if you are easily offended, then you probably won’t even notice it. Unless you’re reading this and you now know to look for it. In which case, it’s still not that bad.

There were parts of the film that were slower than others. I know that not every moment of the movie can be packed with action. Some of the slower bits in the film were actually really well timed and helped viewers like me—who don’t have a solid grasp of characters—to better identify with those who we don’t know as much about. Characters like Drax, Yondu, and Nebula were all developed in this film way more than they were in the previous.

The action was fun, the music was on par with the original, and the story was believable in the realm that it was told in. Keep in mind, I have not been a fan of the comics, so if I am way off base, please let me know in the comments below.

Guardians’ Cast

As always, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 boasts an all-star cast. Listed below are just some of the big names that grace the screen in this movie.

Final Score

At the time of the writing of this post, Rotten Tomatoes has given Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 a score of 82 out of 100, which certifies it’s fresh, and IMDB has given it 8.2 out of 10 stars. I give GOTG Vol. II  7.5 Baby Groots out of 10. It was a fun movie that anyone can really enjoy. What did you think of the movie? Leave a comment in the section below.