GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 REVIEWED
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” made me admire what James Gunn wants to do with these movies. Somewhere between hiding Steve Agee and Richard Christy as Ravagers and Yondu declaring his self-admiration for Mary Poppins, I realized that I love these movies more than any other Marvel series. Well, except for Captain America. Chris Evans is the heroic acting torchbearer for this generation. But, while Evans mirrors the Christopher Reeve aesthetic, the Guardians don’t need it.
These films succeed by embracing the mainstream’s lack of knowledge and matching it with love. A deep love of an ever-expanding Marvel Cosmic Universe with new treasures around each corner. Sure, they can’t use things like The Enclave or Star Lord’s comic parentage…but it doesn’t matter. The issue with adaptation is finding a way to translate without regurgitating. People that skew too heavy in one direction or another fails fans and casual observers.
Some people flock to the toxic fatherhood via Ego. Others flock to the fact that it feels like Age of Ultron in space. Others just want to hear another stellar soundtrack. I showed up for the film due to actually liking the character. Having been a Cosmic Marvel fan since I was in Elementary School, it’s weird seeing names like Yondu and Drax roll off kids’ tongues. Most of these guys were unknowns to comic fans due to being in lesser books. Hell, half of the casts of these movies didn’t come back into play until Jim Starlin brought them back in the early 1990s.
That old axiom of a comic being someone’s first comic holds true here. It’s a pleasure to see people discover characters like Mantis or Starhawk. Hell, people are getting excited about Howard the Duck again. They don’t need to be throwbacks, but they have to have that emotional hook that made these characters ring true at their point of creation. James Gunn gets that better than any other Marvel director. Others get close, but they keep falling back into the plot machine.
Does anything happen in this film? Star Lord learns about his true parentage and the Ravagers reorganize. Other than that, it’s a hang out movie. American cinema is at a point where we can afford a Cosmic Marvel hang out movie. If you can’t get behind how cool that is, then that’s fine. Wait for Spider-Man in July. If that doesn’t work, Thor is coming around Thanksgiving time. That’s the beauty of Marvel. These guys live in your head and wallet.
FILM STATS
- 2 hrs and 16 mins
- PG-13
- Disney/Marvel
