Previous Post I saw this at an early screening last night and it was a fair bit of fun. It was not as good as the first film, but it is pretty entertaining. The character dynamics are pretty great and the story is pretty solid. It picks up on the themes of the first film with the meaning of family etc. Which was nice. The soundtrack was pretty solid again and the visuals were pretty great. We get to see Rocket go sort of Rambo and take on an army himself. Well, a large group of Ravegers at any rate. The depiction of Ego was pretty good. He is a living planet and is the antagonist of the film but that is not entirely clear until a little ways into the movie (it is but he is not overtly hostile until that point). Ego, and the others, refer to himself as a celestial or god of sorts. And he is pretty powerful in the movie. We are starting to see more and more of the big god sort of guys like Dormammu and in this case Ego (we saw a Celestial in the first film for a moment). During a battle between Ego and Quill at the end, we get a giant stone warrior vs giant stone Pac Man for a minute. It is funny. There are numerous after credits scenes. Most of the mare just comedic except for one that sets the stage for Warlock to finally show up in the films. If I had a main gripe it would be Ayesha and the Soverign race come off as too goofy for me, but it does not take away from things. The movie does drag a bit in a few spots, an issue the first film did not have, but they do not last too long. Overall, it is a fun movie and return of characters I have grown fond of on the big screen.

Overall, I had a good time. Here's what's rattling around in my brain as I think about what I just watched...

I REALLY wanted to see more of Ego as a planet. We saw the big purple-faced planet once, which was neat. I wanted to see it talk!

Why on Earth did Gamora think it was a good idea to travel with Ego to his planet, just on that one conversation where he says he's Peter's dad? Gamora, of all people, ought to have enough issues with father figures to be wary.

Why did the Ravagers all go to sleep and leave Groot alone unsupervised? Did they not think he'd try to spring Rocket?

Teenaged Groot was really funny. I'm glad they aren't keeping him as a baby any longer.

Stan Lee talking to the Watchers was great. Kind of blowing my mind that they basically stated he's been the same guy in all those movies.

I feel like the writers forgot that Kurt Russel was just a physical manifestation of Ego. Once he figured out there was a bomb, Ego should have ignored Quill and focused on getting rid of the bomb. At that point, if Kurt Russel dissipated to deal with the bomb, what would Quill have done? I really dislike the "I've had these powers for 5 minuets, but because of righteous indignation I'm suddenly your equal/superior in using them" moments that come around in movies like this.

I feel like Guardians is straying from the source material more than most other Marvel movies, with Yondu and the original Guardians/Ravagers, and with Ayesha and Adam. So far so good, but it makes me nervous. Sticking to the source material is what made the early movies work, in my opinion.

Howard the Duck was fun. If only they could have snuck in Cosmo...

I bought the Nebula/Gamora reconciliation more than I thought I would...