A couple years ago, Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy defied all expectations with not only what a super hero movie could be, but it also truly illuminated executives to what audiences wanted to see. As a super nerd myself, when I saw the trailer for the first film back in the day I was incredibly skeptical. I had never heard of any of the characters before and the film just looked entirely too whimsical, for lack of a better word. But, as any good geeks, my best friend Harman and I went into the theater with an open mind. Little did we know that our minds were about to be blown. Hell, the film shocked the entire world by redefining what a superhero movie could be. This was a few years ago. Now, in 2017, we find ourselves in the middle of the next evolution of Marvel films, and we have Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Again, I went into the theater with an open mind, not quite knowing what to expect. And once again, I had my mind royally blown. Welcome to Phase 3 of the Marvel Universe.

Vol. 2 picks up right where the first movie left off. The Guardians are now an intergalactic police force of sorts working for the likes of The Sovereign, who are genetically engineered gold-plated people. Throughout a series of events that involve Rocket stealing something that isn’t his, the Guardians are chased throughout the galaxy until crash landing on a distant planet. It is here that our story really begins.

A mysterious white ship arrives, and with it comes a grizzled Kurt Russel. This is the being known as Ego, a celestial god who has been around for millions of years. He transports the group to his own personal planet. Here, he informs Starlord of his past, his travels to Terra (a.k.a Earth) and the relationship he had with his mother. Starlord is so enthralled by this, that he falls easily for Ego and the history behind him. The film actually does a good job of keeping Russel’s character in the dark, which isn’t always an easy thing to do. The rest of the characters fall into their own little side quests, each with a perfect sense of personality and purpose. The addition of Baby Groot is also one of the most entrancing parts of the film, with the little guy stealing every scene he is in.

The film progresses, we find out Ego isn’t exactly father of the year after all, and the Guardians lead an explosion-packed adventure to escape the planet they are trapped on. This was the only part of the film I wasn’t a huge fan of, however. I got lost in the endless explosions, colors, and loud noises, which all kind of blurred together. It did feature an incredibly cool sequence in which Rocket, Baby Groot, and Yondu travel across a few hundred portals in space ‘jumping’ across time. It was fun, exhilarating, and pulled me right into the movie. But, at the end of the movie, I felt overwhelmed & started to zone-out a bit. I almost dozed off for a few minutes, but snapped back to reality confused with just exactly how the good guys escaped.

This section of the film throws a lot of emotion and themes at you, specifically that of friendship, family, and what matters most in life. Its a rollercoaster ride to the end of the film, ultimately finding an unexpected yet happy ending. We are also lucky to see that each and every character has a dedicated storyline and story arc. They all make progress and change and grow, truly bringing this film full circle. Its almost like GOTG2 set out to be 'Avengers in Space'. For the most part, this is exactly how it feels.

As a whole, the franchise feels to have improved and ‘beefed up’ some key aspects of the first movie, while still falling victim to some action movie tropes.

For instance, they swear A LOT in the film. Way more than I ever thought would be in a PG-13 Disney film. I enjoyed it, but sometimes it felt a bit forced. Like they didn’t need to swear every few scenes. It was fun to hear, but didn’t really add to the experience. There is still the same signature family-friendly dark humor from the first movie, as well. But, again, it felt like the filmmakers were so eager to make this feel like the first movie that some legitimately good scenes were cut short by jokes that were trying to make the movie funny. And finally, the huge end sequence - while creative in some respects - still threw entirely too many explosions and ‘awe-inspiring’ shots for my liking. Almost like the film was confident in its own unique style, but didn’t want to stray too far from the norm. Not bad, but it definitely lost something in my opinion.

Just as in the first movie, the soundtrack is also a character in its own, with a parade of 70’s and 80’s tunes filling our ears and adding an entirely one-of-a-kind flavor to the atmosphere of the movie. Definitely looking forward to jamming to Vol. 2 just as I did with Vol. 1.

As a whole, I really enjoyed GOTG2. It was fun, exciting, and still didn’t take itself too seriously. It was as much a ‘dramady’ as it was a true action/superhero flick. If you loved the first one, you will feel right at home with Vol. 2. From a critical perspective, it wasn’t perfect, and I did find things I wasn’t a fan of. But walking out of the theater I was once again pleasantly surprised. This franchise continues to pump life into the Marvel Universe when Captain America or Tony Stark are on paid leave. I can’t wait to see where Marvel goes in the future and how they execute Phase’s 3 and 4 of their masterplan. For everyone’s sake, I hope Starlord and friends are fighting right alongside The Avengers in films to come, making for a truly out of this world experience.