Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

            May is the unofficial beginning of the summer movie season. Marvel Studios and Disney’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the quintessential summer movie. It’s fun, funny, and most importantly knows that the key to a good summer blockbuster is simple—be entertaining.

            Unlike the other Marvel seemingly endless parade of Marvel franchise movies that solely exist to set up the next installment, the Guardians Vol. 2 succeeds as a stand-alone film. While the plot of the film has universe-wide implications, writer/director James Gunn keeps things relatable and personal. There’s the snarky Star-Lord, played by goofball Chris Pratt, who meets his father for the first time. Each of the other Guardians has some issues to work through. Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) has to decide if he wants to go through life as a jerk, knowing that everyone hates him. Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) has a burgeoning crush on an alien woman. He’s also the film’s comedic MVP, both for his reactions and his one-liners. Gamora and Nebula (Zoe Saldana and Karen Gillam) are sisters trying to work through their relationship, while also wanting to kill one another. Everyone has to look after Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) who can still only say “I am Groot” and has the intelligence of a small child. Unlike the other Marvel movies where the characters barely grow or have discernable conflicts with one another, Gunn’s writing has infused life into a robotic raccoon, a talking tree, and two different green hued aliens.

           Gunn has also given Guardians Vol. 2 a distinct visual style. Far too many of the other Marvel movies shy away from the stories’ comic book influences and instead favor a color palette of tans and grays. Gunn, on the other hand, populates the Guardians corner of the universe with a playful use of bold colors. Yondu, one of the villains of the previous movie, takes out his revenge on his disloyal crew as a gold-accented arrow whistles across the screen in a humorous blending of color and sound. Gunn has presented the stars, planets, and other space ephemera in the colors from a Skittles bag. He also fills the screen with golden palaces, vibrant looking deserts, and a snowy pirate outpost populated by Sylvester Stallone and Ving Rhames. There’s a sequence where Rocket lays traps for a group of pirates and relishes in tormenting them in various ways. Gunn stages a videogame-esque chase scene through an asteroid field. One group of the film’s villains are portrayed in exquisite gold space pods.

           The movie, however, relies on its soundtrack a bit too much at times. The film’s strong opening sequence features Baby Groot dancing to ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky” while the Guardians fight a multi-tentacled space monster just out of focus in the background. Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” begins at the appropriate moment in the film’s climatic fight scene. Other uses of the soundtrack are  too heavy-handed. Cat Stevens’ “Father and Son” plays at an entirely obvious moment. Star-Lord and his father offer some rather clunky analysis of Looking Glass’ “Brandy.” Even quoting the song extensively as they explore each other’s motivations. Looking Glass probably didn’t put in as much effort to write the song as Gunn did to deconstruct it. Part of the fun of Guardians is Gunn’s affection for 70s and 80s pop culture, but the film suffers when it relies on it too much.

            The plot that anchors the movie isn’t particularly noteworthy or dramatic. We know that the Guardians will save the day and the group will head off to their next adventure. Gunn, however, instills such fun and personality in the film that you walk of the theater thoroughly entertained. And that’s what really matters from a summer blockbuster.