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The Rotunda
Tuesday, July 29, 2025

The Reel Life: "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2"

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Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Marvel Studios.

With an abundance of 80’s songs, pop culture references, colorful visuals, colorful language, and not-so-nice characters, “Guardians of the Galaxy” was a movie that shouldn’t have worked as well as it did. Especially when comparing it to all the other much more serious and story driven Marvel films. So now, we have the inevitable sequel, the cleverly named “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.” How nicely does this new record play?

First and foremost, this is a fabulous film because it manages to do something that the best Marvel films do; this is a character story. This team really grows throughout the course of the story, and it’s a joy to see what happens to them. There are so many wonderful scenes of intense emotion that bring the film to a spectacular level.

A problem though is that, while these individual story arcs are satisfying, there just isn’t enough time to give them all equal attention. What's there for the side plots (Gamora and Neblua, Mantis and Drax) is good, but it isn't as fleshed out as the two main arcs. The movie mainly focuses on Starlord’s arc with his father. Yeah, Marvel didn’t bother hiding it in the trailers, so it isn’t really a spoiler.

Rocket Racoon and Yondu, the blue skinned whistling guy, get the other half of the screen time, and not only does their arc hold up to Starlord’s, it’s surprisingly deep and emotional. There is a lot of depth in this film, not just for Rocket, Yondu or Starlord, but for everyone. It’s very satisfying to see it all play out, despite the films focus on each arc being very uneven.

Visually, this film is incredible. It does all take place in one giant CGI set, but it manages to avoid the same faults of a film like “The Phantom Menace” because it establishes a physical presence for its characters within all of the CGI action happening.

Also, this soundtrack kicks ass; featuring songs like “Mr. Blue Sky,” “Surrender” and “Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl).” Like the first film, a handful of these songs are embedded into the plot, but some of the ones used purely for set piece moments feel forced. Instead of letting the music play naturally, sometimes characters will say “Hey, Quill, crank up those tunes” or “You got any of Starlord’s old music left?”

There are quite a bit of pacing issues as well, especially in the second act. The pacing isn't awful, but compared to how upbeat and action packed the first and third acts are, it feels like it slows down, in the second act, a lot more than it actually does.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” manages to live up to its predecessor thanks to some great action, a thoughtful and emotionally grounded character arcs, and a great sense of fun and joy, despite an uneven plot and pacing issues.

It feels like hanging out with a new friend for the second time. You had a blast the first time, but now you can have some of those deep, emotional talks. And still listen to some great music. 4/5

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Marvel Studios.