He came on a summer’s day
Bringin’ gifts from far away
But he made it clear he couldn’t stay
Nor harbor was his home
~ "Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass

If they were right, I’d agree
But it’s them they know not me
Now there’s a way and I know that I have to go away
I know I have to go
~ “Father and Son” by Cat Stevens

When it was first announced that we were going to meet Star-Lord’s father in the sequel, there was a small sinking in my stomach because I didn’t want Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 to turn into yet another “long-lost parent” film. I couldn’t help butwonder, “Is this going to be a Star Wars or a Kung Fu Panda 3 situation?”

The answer is neither—in truth, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 begins somewhere with Looking Glass and ends with Cat Stevens. But I might be getting ahead of myself, so let’s back up a bit.

The film opens in Missouri, 1980. A man drives a convertible down a country road as a woman waves her hands in the air, singing along at the top of her lungs to “Brandy” on the radio. They pull into an old Dairy Queen, and they run off into the forest where the man shows the woman a glowing blue orb nestled into the earth—our introduction to Meredith Quill and Ego (Kurt Russell), Peter Quill/Star-Lord’s parents.

Flash forward a few decades and the universe’s favorite band of misfits are once again on a mission: protect batteries from a flying octopus-like monster. Nothing much has changed—Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) still listens to his Walkman; Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is exasperated by the childish male competitiveness surrounding her; Rocket (Bradley Cooper) refuses to break kleptomaniac habits; Drax (Dave Bautista) always seems to have a socially embarrassing comment at hand; and Groot is…well, now he’s Baby Groot.

What has changed is that they’re no longer strangers bound together by necessity. Now, they are a family. (Though some might argue that’s the same thing.) So when Rocket steals a couple batteries they were supposed to protect and has the whole Sovereign race after them, they face it together as a [dysfunctional] family. And when Ego appears, drudging up old ghosts for Peter Quill, they handle it…um, not well, actually. There’s a lot of explosions, some exiled space pirates, skeletons in the closet, awkward romantic revelations, and baseball.

In the words of Baby Groot: welcome to the frickin’ Guardians of the Galaxy. (Only he didn’t use “frickin’”.)

Unlike the first chapter, which bounces from one action sequence to the next, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is pretty light on the plot. Instead, every unresolved character arc from the first movie gets—well, not resolved—but put inside a blender and mixed together until it produces heartfelt character development. Gamora faces off against her sister Nebula (Karen Gilllan); Drax talks about his dead family; and Rocket (my favorite character) learns to accept being accepted. This means there’s more time focusing on just the characters interacting with other, exchanging witty dialogue and snarky comments, and the major action is condensed into a few epic moments.

Personally, I was more than happy to give up more action sequences if it meant bonding with the characters more. The sequel doesn’t lose the comedy or the intensity as the original; if anything the family dynamic amps up both. Perhaps some of the screenplay is a little cheesy—the film feels the need to beat you over the head with Mjølnir (okay, wrong trilogy but I couldn’t resist) until you understand that Ego is the sailor in the song “Brandy”—but it’s still a fantastic adventure featuring an amazing cast and soundtrack.

Rating: B+ | 3½ stars