Many people enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. From talking with moviegoers, my overall impression was that the film was liked as much, if not more, than the first Guardians of the Galaxy. However, I did not. Just having seen other films in the meantime, I can tell you Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 failed to keep my attention. But, how, do you ask? It has the charming Chris Pratt, the beautiful Zoe Saldana, the guy who is paid way too much money to play a tree Vin Diesel and the enigmatic Bradley Cooper. While writer-director James Gunn does an admirable job of putting together another film with this gang of misfits, the obvious flaws come out very quickly.
The film starts off with Peter Quill, Pratt’s character, and the gang working to protect batteries for the leader of the Sovereign race, Ayesha. However, when they complete the task, Rocket Racoon, played by Cooper, steals some of the batteries for himself. This leads to a drawn out chase sequence eventually leading to the first interactions between Ego the Living Planet, played by Kurt Russell. Ego is exactly what you are told he is. He is a living planet who creates a humanlike form for himself in Russell. This is where the problem comes in. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 relies way too much on this one plot point to push the entire film forward.
The surprise that comes in the movie is that Ego was Quill’s mysterious father figure, referred to and hinted at in the first Guardians of the Galaxy. What is most confusing here is why they never leave Ego’s planet at all. After the chase with Ayesha, half the cast remains on that planet throughout the entire movie. Now, I can appreciate Quill’s conflict with his father, who ultimately turns out to be the eventual villain, but it makes me yearn for the previous Guardians film much more.
Since most of the other characters, outside of Quill, are not really given any of their own storylines, the film fell flat for me. It felt campy compared to out of this world, Star Trek and Star Wars-like first installment. I miss their prison escape and crazy funny banter on their ship. Will we see a return to that? I am not interested in spending $10 for another Guardians installment where all I do is spend time on a living planet.
About the author: Tommy Zimmer is a writer whose work has appeared online and in print. His work covers a variety of topics, including politics, economics, health and wellness, addiction and recovery and the entertainment industry.
