Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Marvel’s superhero sequel lives up to the humor of its predecessor.

Amelie Lee, Asst. Feature Editor

A refreshing respite from the generic superhero movie, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” brings back the corny humor and unconventional heroes that fans fell in love with in the original. The movie’s perfect blend of absolute ridiculousness and action-packed fighting lives up to every expectation of what Marvel’s favorite alien space team can accomplish.

Having already saved the galaxy a first time, half-human, half-unknown-space-creature Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and his crew consisting of green-skinned Gamora (Zoe Saldana), mutant Drax (Dave Bautista), space raccoon Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and the baby tree Groot are now working on dealing with their complicated families and causing mayhem across the multiverse.

In the process of fending off unwanted space attacks, Quill meets his long lost father, whose celestial powers and selflessness are just too good to be true. Meanwhile, Gamora is dealing with her envious and revenge-obsessed sister, Nebula (Karen Gillan), and her murderous tendencies. Villain-turned-friend Yondu (Michael Rooker) also plays a part in the crew, providing companionship to the argumentative Rocket.

Together, the group is a mix of snarky comebacks, spontaneous violence and exasperation. The innocent Groot sharply contrasts the sadistic and often crude humor of the rest of the group, and he, along with the blunt Drax, provides steady comic relief throughout the movie.

Despite the fact that there are a large collection  of unorthodox characters to keep track of, at no point did this make the film feel overwhelming or confusing, particularly in comparison to the messy jumble of heroes Marvel incorporated in “Captain America: Civil War”.

While the strange features and overly flashy colors of the main characters may be off-putting to those unaccustomed to director James Gunn’s intergalactic world, those comfortable with space aliens and brightly hued skin tones will enjoy the eye-catching graphics and visual effects of the movie. Space travel in the Marvel universe bears some similarity to what one would expect from a “Star Wars” movie, with shots of lasers, jumps from one planet to the next and dramatic spaceship chases, complete with erratic steering from inexperience pilots and rapid shooting of laser guns.

While presenting an entirely new plot, the sequel still offers  the quirky humor of the first movie, keeping viewers at the edge of their seat and laughing at every other line. Throughout the movie, Marvel sets up the continuation of the Infinity Stone plot, but still manages to keep the beloved Guardians of the Galaxy from falling into the cliche superhero trope that fans have seen time and time again.  

Hilarious and just the perfect amount of bizarre, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” met every expectation in achieving the unique humor that the franchise brings to the Marvel universe, keeping viewers excited to see what comes next for this peculiar troop of heroes.