Bradley Cooper plays the voice of Rocket Raccoon. Groot’s laconic dialogue is voiced by Vin Diesel: “I am Groot!” Picture: ©Marvel Studios 2017
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 caught my attention from the beginning. If you really think about it, how couldn’t it? There’s an odd group of “guardians” – misfits of the galaxy: a raccoon, a small tree, a tattooed shirtless wrestler, a woman with a green face and Chris Pratt, whom I saw last year in a bad sci-fi triteness Passengers (2016) – and this group’s purpose is to defend the universe while attuned to classic old and folk songs played from an old cassette tape. On the side, Pratt, who plays Peter-Quill “Star-Lord,” is looking for clues that could unravel the mystery of his true parentage.
And while he indeed does find some, it’s not as interesting as the constant satirical dialogue and remarks the characters throw at each other. The humor keeps twisting and turning. The jokes are good! Pratt plays half dumb perfectly. And the action rides on the fumes.
The film is written and directed by James Gunn, whose work I (and probably most) are surely not familiar with from before (outside the GotG franchise) unless you for some reason have stumbled upon Scooby-Doo from 2002. The first GotG, however, scored massively in 2014 with the worldwide total gross of over 773 U.S. dollars, exceeding the budget of the Finnish government over 14 times.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is again another sequel where you don’t really have to watch the first one to understand it. You are also fine without having read the comic book from 1969. All you need is the right and light attitude.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 premieres in cinemas April 26.
