HAZED RECOMMENDS: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2
by Hazed
I’m a sucker for Marvel’s superhero films. One of my favourites was 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy – a rollicking space opera which was just so much fun. I recommended it when it came out on DVD and you can read my review here: http://www.ibgames.net/fednews/2014/141214/official03.html.
Now it’s time for the sequel, and the worry is of course that the director could not possibly live up to the previous film. After all, part of the joy of that movie was the sheer surprise at how different it was to Marvel’s previous offerings.
But guess what – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 takes all the good stuff from the first volume and builds on it to produce something that’s just as enjoyable, and which develops the story and the characters.
In case you didn’t see the first film (and why not?) the Guardians may have a pretentious name but in reality they are a rag-tag group of mercenaries who zoom around space getting into scrapes and occasionally saving the galaxy from peril.
The main plot of the sequel involves the leader of the gang, Peter Quill (aka Starlord) discovering the identify of his alien father, who turns out to be a living planet, played brilliantly by Kurt Russell.
But what the film is really about is family. Peter is torn between his biological father, and the family he has formed with his crew of misfits. The rest of the gang spend their time bickering and falling out, but that’s just part of being a family.
The film is beautiful to look at. It’s brightly coloured, with rainbows and bubbles and sparkles and glitter everywhere. The planet of Peter’s father looks like the cover of an old prog rock album.
The film is great fun, and engaging throughout. There’s the funny one-liners you expect, but also moving scenes as the characters develop, and several shock twists which I won’t spoil for you. The soundtrack is fabulous, continuing with the 80s classics used in the first film.
I loved this film, and I can’t wait for Volume 3.
