Guardians of the Galaxy II

by Smiley 23 March 2017

In 2014, the Marvel cinematic universe expanded into outer space, and introduced us to the Guardians of the Galaxy, which (until Deadpool) was their best movie so far. Yes, just when you thought you could hear the sound of the bottom of the barrel being scraped, it turned out that it was just the sound of director James Gunn’s rag-tag bunch of scrappy misfits, morally questionable anti-heroes, and anthropomorphic plant life, cutting through the base of the wooden keg to steal the show. And frankly, it was about time, because it was just what was needed after the tales of Captain America and the rest of the goody-two-shoes Avengers had started to wear a bit thin.

Well, now it’s 2017, and following on from the “Civil War” that was more like an ethics club for idiots, the Avengers have disappeared so far up their own moral high ground that even professional bad-boy billionaire Tony Stark is more of a Tory boy than an Iron Man. So thank God for the return of the space cowboys, as this April sees the most eagerly awaited sequel from the MCU (until Deadpool 2). Yes, Star Lord and the boys (and girl) (and Racoon) (and, er, walking oak tree) are back in town for Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

There’s another odds-defying mission, another bad guy trying to take over the worlds, and another mixtape of awesome tunes. But other than that, what’s new? Well, there are some new faces, as Kurt Russell, who’s always fantastic, turns up as Star Lords absent father, Ego. Tommy Flannigan (Sons of Anarchy) will also be joining the cast as the new member of the Ravagers, and apparently there’s also a little bit of Sylvester Stallone in there. There have been cynical whisperings from some corners of the net that bringing fan favourite Groot back as an itty-bitty cute little sapling is nothing more than a cheap ploy to “cute” up the whole thing and sell toys, but y’know. He’s hardly the fucking Ewoks, so I’m still calling this for film of the month.