Plot: The Guardians adventures continue, as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill's true parentage.

I think like many, my excitement levels for this sequel were at critical level. The 2014 smash-hit of the summer made me see it more than once. I have only ever done that with one other film.

While some people feel that the superhero phase is slowing down and the stories have become ordinary. There have been the odd few that keep this machine moving. While I rarely give them an outstanding rating, I always have fun. However, its predecessor was one of the exceptions and it was one of my films of this genre.

I knew it was going to be a tough ask to emulate that level of enjoyment so many of us had three years ago. But I was certainly expecting a good time at the very least.

In the end, I was entertained. The first act sets us up for an interesting follow-up. The development was solid. But there were moments in the second act that gave the film a hefty lull. I think that was mainly due to the story not giving the romp that made the first one so good. Thankfully, the finale was satisfying and pretty enjoyable.

Chris Pratt was as good you would expect. He still has the charisma, charm and capability of leading this action packed blockbuster.
Dave Bautista was given a lot to do. He had a lot of comedic moments and became quite an integral part of the team.
Zoe Saldana felt a bit sidelined this time. It was probably due to the sub-plot that she was mainly involved in.
Bradley Cooper kept up the great voice work of Rocket. The charachter itself was given some good development and kept the misfits part of their team alive.
The character that was looking to be the big draw, was Baby Groot. Thankfully, he doesn't over-shadow the film and I felt had the right amount of screen-time. He is involved in some pretty cool scenes, both funny and bad-***.
I was glad to see Michael Rooker get more involved with this film, as I felt his character to be quite a scene-stealer in the first one. As did Karen Gillan’s character. She had well-rounded development and I'm glad director James Gunn gave them the chance to shine in the sequel.
Kurt Russell ended up being quite memorable in the end. He was slow at times. But by the end of it, his character was fairly engaging.

I must mention that there are a surprising amount of cameos in this. All of them served their function well. I obviously won't mention who to avoid spoiling your viewing.

The visual effects are stunning and is the films biggest strength. The use of colours was eye-catching. It's as if someone was shaking a rainbow quite viciously. That as well as the costume design I can see getting Oscar nominations.
The soundtrack goes without saying. We knew what to expect, and we got some great choices that had me smiling and nodding along. While the choices were great, the use and timing of them did not always work for me. There were times where the visuals felt meaningless to when the music was playing. It felt like the makers did not know how to mix the development of the story in with particular songs. Instead, they just used pretty imagery or slow-motion to keep it moving.

I think it's clear that I had problems with the pacing. It was nowhere near as romping as the first one was. It felt like it lingered too much on certain scenes and there were moments where it dragged. What made the first one so good, was that it never let up and it was memorable scene after memorable scene.
This one only had it in parts. The final act was a pretty solid entertaining pay-off. But I think with a shorter duration and a more snappy pacing, I think the ending would have had a bigger impact.

That being said, I still had a good time with it. It's good to see these band of misfits back together again. There are laughs in there, the action is solid especially in the final act and there are some cool easter-eggs to keep an eye on. But I think the story they went for forced the film to not be as exciting as high-octane as the first one that made its predecessor one of most enjoyable and exciting blockbusters of the decade.

It's obvious with it being a Marvel film. But I must mention that you have to stay during the credits, especially this one. They certainly make the most of the time they have with the credits, and it's pretty funny. Be sure to keep an eye around the credits, as there some cool moments in places that you wouldn't expect.

Rating: 7/10