Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (***)

2017 may prove to be Marvel's most fruitful year to date. In the past 4 months they have already released their best film to date (Logan) and they still are slated for 2 more releases before New Years. Guardians falls in line as mere filling, a movie that fails to match the energy of the original nor contribute anything else to the overly-saturated genre. The original charm was a comedic meshing of 4 vastly different characters. Here, they use the same approach, and in the end, who really cares anymore?

The film opens with the gang battling a slug alien while Baby Groot (the marketing team's dream) dances around to "Mr Blue Sky." What a blast. The set up comes shortly after when we learn that the aliens who hired the Guardians to kill this monster (a tall, slender race of gold men and women) want revenge on the raccoon named Rocket (Bradley Cooper) who stole some valuable batteries from their inventory. This sets into motion a chase that leaves them stranded on a deserted planet with a broken ship and little hope of surrender.

Never fear! As you may have seen, the guys have been tracked by Ego, a god-like man played by Kurt Russell who we learn is Peter Quill's (aka Star-Lord aka Chris Pratt) dad. We learn the history of Quill's life on earth, how his mother and father met, and so on and so forth. Ego takes them to a beautiful planet that seems partially inspired by Heaven in "What Dreams May Come" and a father-son bonding experience begins.

Meanwhile, Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is being hunted by her ruthless sister, Nebula (Karen Gillian) who seeks revenge for a childhood of abuse and torment. Als,, Rocket and Baby Groot are kidnapped by a crock of space pirates who wish to earn a bounty from those gold aliens earlier mentioned. There's a lot happening at any given moment in this film, and I have to admit that none of the storylines were particularly invigorating.

The appeal of the original film was it's originality, it's spontaneity. Casting Chris Pratt (the overweight star of Parks & Recreation) at the time proved to be a brilliant move, and his likability coupled with the over-the-top sights of a talking tree and raccoon set it apart as one of Marvel's riskiest (and most endearing) films. The sequel, while at times funny ("I'm Mary Poppins, y'all" is without a doubt the funniest one-liner) fails to match the energy of the original. Also, characters like Drax (Dave Bautista) laugh and laugh throughout the film, oftentimes unprovoked, oftentimes very loudly. It's as though filmmakers believed that in order to make a comedy, the characters must laugh at least once per scene. I am here to attest to the fact that this rule is far from true.

In the end, Guardians is still likable, and I would assume that fans of the comics may find a better appreciation in the material than a lay-person like myself does (these 'after-credits' scenes are practically cryptic to me). In comparing the first to the second (which isn't always a fare activity - we all know that it's a rare sequel to surpass the original) there isn't a contest. Between going to the movies and not going to the movies, this movie still (barely) makes it worth the trip.