Sequel to Marvel fan-favourite blockbuster delivers

Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (M) - Rating 9/10

After the triumphant, instant fan-favourite which was Guardians of the Galaxy, returning writer and director James Gunn had huge expectations to live up to with the franchise’s second instalment.

And boy did he do just that.

This time around, we see the development of each character in the rag-tag group of misfits as they once again find themselves saving the galaxy along to the soundtrack of awesome mix #2.

Picking up soon after they first left off, the “family” are now guns-for-hire, tasked with the mission to protect The Sovereign’s power supply from an inter-dimensional interloper monster. Rocket (Bradley Cooper) doesn’t get the memo that the perfect race of gold people are “sensitive” and steals some of the batteries as a gag.

It is not long after they receive Gamora’s (Zoe Saldana) sister Nebula as payment for their efforts, they are set upon by a swarm of battleships to recover the highly volatile items.

With the Guardians’ ship suffering heavy damage – made worse by Peter (Chris Pratt) and Rocket’s fight for the controls – it appears to be game over for the gang before The Sovereign’s ships are all simultaneously destroyed.

Crash-landing on a planet, it is revealed the mysterious man who saved them is in fact Peter’s long lost father and celestial being Ego (Kurt Russell).

Peter, Gamora and Drax (Dave Bautista) are invited to visit Ego’s home planet so Peter can discover his demi-god potential, while Rocket and Baby Groot are tasked with staying behind to fix the ship and watch over their captive, Nebula.

Peter finally has the father he had always missed, but the turn of events is too good to be true.

The 136 minute sequel has you engaged from the delightful opening scene of Baby Groot dancing his heart out to Mr Blue Sky (while the remaining four are pummelled by the monster), to the heart-wrenching final scenes.

Just like the first, this film is charming, but also seeks to further explore each character’s inner workings, development and their unity as a group.

Just be sure to stay to the end of the credits, where no less than five bonus scenes await.