Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2 - All good fun

Even though I really enjoyed the first 'Guardians of the Galaxy' movie, for some reason it didn't leave me wanting to watch the next instalment straight away.  I sort of got the feeling that it would be more of the same.  And it was.  And I tried really hard not to like it.  And I failed.  Yes, it's effectively not that different to the first instalment and yes there's a lot of CGI, making it look like an extended cut-scene from a computer game, but it's just too much fun to really hate.

The story carries on a little while after the first ended and our team of 'Guardians' are in the middle of some computer-generated space combat, generally saving the galaxy from one beastie or another.  However, the main story is kicked off by a plot thread that was left hanging from the original, namely regarding 'Starlord's' father.

People often use the term 'Avengers in space' to describe the 'Guardians' films and I can see why.  It's technically (another) superhero team-up movie.  Starlord is 'the star,' but the rest of the screen time is shared between the five or so other main cast members, giving each just about enough room for a little character development.  And it's because it's an ensemble that it words so well.  I guess for all its obvious flaws that I tried to dwell on, it's the sheer 'interaction' between the characters that makes it so enjoyable.  Yes, the action is - by today's standard - pretty generic in that you'll probably have seen stuff like it before in any other modern sci-fi movie, but the way the characters bicker is a joy to watch. 'Mantis' is a welcome addition to the team, as she's a 'superhero' that doesn't really have (what you could call) 'offensive' powers, i.e. she's not running around with guns shooting people.  Her skills are more 'passive' and the character's 'innocence' plays off Dave Bautista's 'Drax' perfectly. 

It's also nice to see Michael Rooker's character getting extra screen time, along with fellow 'blue' alien Nebula (a practically unrecognisable Karen Gillan), but the big surprises were the 'big names' of 'Tango & Cash' getting back together for their respective roles (or should I say Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell if you're not familiar with that *ahem* 'classic' buddy-cop movie from yesteryear).  There's even a bit of genuine emotion thrown in there at the end which I won't go into for fear of running into 'spoiler' territory.

Because I didn't watch this film straight away, I did read a lot of online reviews saying how it didn't really live up to the original (ala so many sequels!).  However, I've now watched 'Part 2' twice now and I reckon that it actually - in my opinion - is better than the original. 

Ultimately, if you're familiar with the current 'Marvel Shared Universe' then 'Guardians of the Galaxy 2' isn't anything you haven't seen before, even coming across like other similar modern space epics (like 'Valarien' only people actually went to see this film!), but if you're looking for something which is pure 'fun' then you'll definitely find it here.  It's not really that necessary to know what went on before and I was pleased to see that this film wasn't one long lead-in to the upcoming 'Avengers: Infinity War' movie.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that