Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 — Blue Fairy Film Blog

James Gunn got his start contributing to films from Troma, the mischievous powerhouse studio that brought us such films as The Toxic Avenger and Tromeo and Juliet. From those humble beginnings Gunn has created a filmography that relies on the weird, gross, and extremely dark aspects of life as well as a good monster. In his sequel to the hugely successful and unquestionably entertaining Guardians of the Galaxy, Gunn not only continues the tradition of creating weird worlds, but tries to connect to a deeper, darker, more emotional conscience for every character. This is Marvel’s greatest character building film, without the petty drama of Civil War or the massive plots of Avengers film.

Now, I want to say right off that there is nothing wrong with having your action movie be emotionally devastating and most of your plot wrapped up in dialogue; but I was not expecting it from this film. While its predecessor did have some tender moments, and Star-Lord actually is a rather complex if goofy character, I was ready for more of an emphasis on action and humor. Instead the film delved into the psyches of almost every character. Yondu, the only character from the original Guardians comics, has a huge role in this film, something I didn’t know that I secretly wanted. Not only do we get to understand his character that much more, but he actually has the most badass action scene of the entire film. Other positive moments of the film: Baby Groot, the expansion of Nebula’s (Gillan) character, the humor (especially Dave Bautista’s performance as Drax which was hysterical), and the living planet’s design, which Gunn claims is the largest special effect in a film, ever.

What I just didn’t connect with was Ego’s motivation. Major spoilers ahead: Kurt Russell portrays Ego, who is a living planet and Peter’s biological father. It is revealed via his only ally (Pom Klementieff as Mantis) that he has implanted himself on every planet, mated with a female from that planet, and fathered multiple children in order to have an identical like-minded progeny to help him annihilate all living matter from the universe. Ego goes on and on about having a purpose, and that he can’t sleep at night because he is so bereft about not being able to find Peter, presumably for the task at hand. Does anyone buy that? Can we really believe that he finds a purpose, or ethos, in the destruction of every living thing? I could believe it if he was pure evil, through and through, and didn’t try to hid his evil nature, or if he actually could sleep just fine. Ego is too complex, too raw, to make sense. Maybe this is a mistranslation from the comics, or was better explained in a cut scene, but I really can’t understand his motivations. He seems both altruistic and spiritual, and yet also downright evil. It’s very much unclear.

Gunn perhaps created his Empire: Well-built story, creating characters with real depth and humanity, steering away from genre expectations, and building on the idea of finding your own family, especially when your father is an immortal living planet. In the five cut scenes after the film ended we get a taste for what’s to come, including Warlock Adam’s presence in Vol. 3, and Groot in yet another stage of growth. Nebula will probably take on Thanos, the gang will go on more zany adventures, and we will get to laugh along with Peter as he and Gamora perhaps finally see eye to eye. If this is simply a film that builds character development for later films, honestly I’m okay with that, but I wouldn’t say this is equal to its predecessor.