Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Blockbuster equivalent of the 90th TV Nova Saturday variety show, too colorful, trying to be funny at all costs, but it´s simply not funny. It´s excessively long, dull and relies only on famous people making faces. Perhaps only Petr Novotný was a better villain than these ones. The characters themselves are not that bad, but the way they are (not) uses in a confusing coloring book digital is hopeless. The first hour can keep up with the first movie in terms of quality, put the second one destroys the whole "feel good" concept. (05/06/2017)

“You're like Mary Poppins.” Especially during the middle part, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is more soap opera than space opera, but after the first film, which ended with the founding of the “family”, the shift to family values seems to me like a logical development. In fact, the filmmakers laid the groundwork for the emotionally powerful climax and, sooner or later, most of the motifs that seemingly hold back the narrative are meaningfully brought into play (we know in advance, for example, that little Groot really should not be entrusted with important tasks). At the same time, the narrative of disgruntled parents (both real and surrogate) and unhappy children is in line with the nostalgic tone of the film, which seeks (and finds) its true quality through songs and pop-culture references to the past (just like numerous contemporary Hollywood films enchanted by the 1980s aesthetic). The modern and egotistical treatment à la Minecraft (create your own world) doesn’t work. The search for a place where you will feel good (in the end, of course, it turns out that it’s not the place that matters, but the people) forms the main storyline of the outwardly episodic and, compared to the first instalment (where everything was held together by a single MacGuffin), rather tight narrative. For example, the organisation of the plot through the use of songs from Peter’s cassette tape, or the possibility/impossibility of listening to them, works better. Of course, the film is most entertaining when it doesn’t take itself seriously and makes its disdain for the conventions of superhero mega-films ostentatiously clear to us (the opening action sequence, when we don’t actually see the action, is the funniest one in the whole film). Gunn again tries out ways to approach a massive action scene without it being confusing. He had a somewhat bigger budget to accomplish that, so he could have dispensed with even more (several scenes overtly reference old video games – Space Invaders, Galaga, Pac-Man – and there’s a space variation on the famous air-raid scene from North by Northwest, and a cameo from David Hasselhoff and an allusion to Mary Poppins are incorporated into the epic action climax). Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a high-octane summer blockbuster that, thanks to its action sequences, soundtrack and inimitable heroes, retains enough personality to make it stand out among the many, many other comic-book movies and make you forgive it for its greater predictability and occasional loss of pace. 80% (05/06/2017)

It was successful. True, once Kurt Russell’s character is introduced, at least the somewhat knowledgeable viewers will miss one surprise, but not that it would particularly matter - there are still quite a few surprises left. Once again, Guardians of the Galaxy is all about entertainment, and this time they mix it with compelling personal stories and, during the finale, believable emotions, which makes you feel like you're not just watching an ordinary sequel that has to have more to it, but rather just a good movie. Although it may be obvious to some, I would highlight, in addition to the script, the special effects, which again incredibly rejuvenated one actor, and again a great song choice - I could probably watch the scene with “My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison all the time. (05/08/2017)

David Hasselhoff and his talking car meant a lot to me too… volume 2 of Guardians of the Galaxy plays on a family note (did Vin Diesel drag this in from Fast and Furious?) and an emotional cartwheel. An evil bastard can have a heart of gold and, vice-versa, a golden bastard can have a heart of evil. The continuing storyline revealing Quill’s origins is convincingly perverse and the idea with the living planet is sufficiently unusual. A welcome return of Tango and Cash, parody of the USA’s drone policy, Drax’s humorous interjections and Groot’s cute smile. Nothing changes in terms of acting, everybody is having a great time, Gunn’s childhood dream with rainbow bubbles comes true and nostalgic music creates gallons of good feelings with an emotionally draining ending even more intense than volume 1. Absolutely happy with this. (05/09/2017)

I now have a peephole wheel of blockbuster backlogs, and after a series of infinitely boring, footage-bloated and emotionally collapsed balloons, this colorful overkill is like a dose of a euphoric drugs. Gunn doesn’t have try so hard with the jokes. Sometimes they miss, but to be honest, this surprisingly sensitive story about the imperfections of fatherhood and friendship gripped me from the first second. Marvel manages to humanize most the figures who are furthest from humanity. I clung to the Guardians of Galaxy to the point that I won’t bother making silly remarks this time. It gave me what I missed on the screen this year – fun, and the feeling that I care about the digital turmoil. It's just that a magnetic tape of something real goes after terabytes of calculations. Father issues for two hundred million have not been this cute for a long time. (09/30/2017)