GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2
Marvel’s interstellar a-holes hit sell-through. Would you let a trash panda in your home?
released 4 SEPTEMBER (out 21 august on download) 2017 | 12 | Blu-ray (4K, 3d, standard)/ dVd/download Director James Gunn Cast Chris Pratt, Zoe saldana, dave Bautista, Michael rooker, Kurt russell, Bradley Cooper
The first Guardians Of The Galaxy movie had stealth on its side. Aside from the fact it was set in the unexplored reaches of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, all most people knew was that it featured a talking raccoon, an Ent with attitude, and some guy from Parks And Recreation who’d grown a six-pack. Expectation was non-existent – until it became a hit of cosmic proportions...
Returning writer/director James Gunn’s solution to dealing with the hype is to give us what we think we want by wheeling out more of the same. It’s the movie’s trump card and its Achilles heel.
Realising it was the chemistry between the ragtag band of antiheroes that made the first movie tick, Gunn gives the whole ensemble plenty of satisfying material to play with. Vol 2’s so densely loaded with hilarious one-liners that the opening half hour has a strong claim to being the most entertaining of the year, with several characters vying for the title of Most Valuable Comedy Player. Rocket’s hilarious mockery of Taserface’s name (yes, he is a real Marvel Comics character) and Baby Groot’s spectacularly cute goofball act come close, but it’s the wonderfully literal Drax who takes the crown. It’s a good thing he’s “extraordinarily humble”...
There’s genuine heart here, too, as Gunn delivers some first-class relationship drama. Whether it’s Gamora and Nebula’s sororal feud or Star-Lord’s efforts to bond with his newly found dad (Kurt Russell, an ingenious piece of casting as Ego the Living Planet), you feel these are real characters with actual issues. If only all blockbusters cared so much about the people (and aliens) in them.
So why isn’t Vol 2 a five-star classic? Put simply, it’s too complacent, too happy to recycle the tropes established in the first movie to allow its worlds to evolve. There’s a point about halfway through the movie, as Star-Lord wanders around Ego’s utopian world with his dad, when you suddenly realise there’s a gaping big hole where a plot would normally go – and from there it’s an aimless descent towards the usual clichéd CG-fest of a denouement. Okay, an underwhelming villain is hardly a first for an MCU movie – secondary baddies the Sovereigns are only marginally more
The film delivers some first-class relationship drama
threatening than Star Trek’s Ferengi – but there’s no excuse for a big-budget blockbuster to feature so little actual threat. In fact, Vol 2 may well be the ultimate popcorn movie – enjoyable at the time, but far too insubstantial to leave you genuinely nourished.
Extras The standout on the Blu-ray is Gunn’s commentary. Even if his claim that Vol 2 is “an independent film, just with a lot of explosions” is a stretch, he’s as close as you get to an auteur on a summer blockbuster – and he really gets stuck in as he fires off nuggets of insight into his decision-making process. How many filmmakers, for example, would devote time to explaining the “space candy” that Baby Groot eats? Or admit to using the Spy Vs
Spy cartoons as inspiration for the face-off between Gamora and Nebula? Gunn does such a good job, in fact, that the five-part “Bonus Round” Making Of (37 minutes) feels redundant.
Four deleted/extended scenes (five minutes) include an extended stay in teen Groot’s bedroom, and a proper introduction to the MP3 player Star-Lord gets to replace his busted Walkman (mix tapes won’t be the same without it), while a gag reel (four minutes) shows off behind-the-scenes capers. Meanwhile, most of the cast (including David Hasselhoff ) get dressed up in ’70s garb for the “Guardians Inferno” music video (four minutes), a discofied version of the movie’s theme.
Download purchasers also get breakdowns of three scenes and a sneak peek at Disneyland’s new
Guardians ride. Buy the DVD and you just get the film. Richard Edwards
The registration plate on young Ego’s car used to belong to James Gunn’s highschool ride – most niche Easter egg ever?