Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – After a narrow escape from some former allies, The Guardians of the Galaxy – Peter Quill, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Baby Groot come across a man, Ego, who claims to be Peter’s father. Forced to split up due to their damaged ship, Peter, Gamora and Drax go with Ego for some answers and Rocket and Baby Groot stay with the ship. With the Ravagers attempting to find the Guardians and mutinying against their leader, Yondu, Rocket and Baby Groot are quickly put into extreme danger. Can the Guardians come back together to find out whether Ego’s plan for Peter is as wholesome as he appears to be?

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) – Director: James Gunn

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52041243

Rating: 12

Running Length: 136 mins

Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel

Genre: Science Fiction, Comic Book, Comedy

REVIEW ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2’

The second instalment of the hugely popular ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ franchise (also part of the behemoth Marvel Cinematic Universe) brings back favourites Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and (currently) Baby Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) getting into scrapes, mishaps and adventures together.

With a fantastic soundtrack (who can’t get behind a movie that plays ‘Mr Blue Sky’ by ELO while mayhem happens in the background?), ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ certainly wants the audience to have a feel-good experience. With the focus being firmly on Peter’s mysterious parentage, his discovery that his biological father is more than he ever thought possible brings with it another, more unlikely father-figure so that Peter see what being a son is all about. More depth is given to Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Yondu (Michael Rooker), secondary characters who before were mainly there to move the plot along, resulting in making them more well-rounded and much more likeable. Of course, the extra touches (like a fleet of spaceships being remotely controlled in an environment which is very reminiscent of a 1980’s arcade) also help to make eagle-eyed audience members extra happy. It is a shame that, although it is a plot-point, Rocket and Peter don’t see eye to eye; especially after their hard-won relationship in the first movie. Luckily, their separation for a decent proportion of the movie ensures that this doesn’t get too grating.

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ maintains the high quality that fans have come to expect from the Marvel Universe and, with such a beautifully poignant core, makes this comedy movie much more than it ever needed to be. Still sweeter than other Marvel entries, and still (somehow) feeling like the underdog, ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2’ wins our hearts all over again.

CONTENT: IS ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

In one scene, several alien women are seen. They look much like human women but have bright yellow skin, they are likely to be prostitutes. They entertain numerous men, either being in the same room as them or draping themselves over them. They wear revealing clothes but nothing in the dialogue suggests prostitution and therefore many kids won’t understand who these women actually are.

A large group of men walk through a forest and fall foul to booby traps. In one, several darts shoot out from trees and four or five of them stick into the faces of each victim; this is shown fully on-screen and the men scream in surprise and pain. In another, a character runs around putting devices on the foreheads of several men, before they can react they are electrocuted, they shake and convulse while crying out in pain, their bodies flash with the electricity so that their skeletons are seen.

A man is dragged through a ship by aggressive and violent men. They put him in a small room. He appears a little scared and bangs on the window. A man on the other side of the door presses a button and the door behind the man opens, he slowly floats out into the vacuum of space. There is a close-up of his face which gradually hardens as he dies and the camera then pans to the side, showing numerous other bodies floating in space. Another man is dragged towards the door who is terrified and begs another character to help him, he is then dragged away and not seen again.

One character tells another that in childhood, whenever they lost a fight their father would replace a body part with machinery. Later in the movie, this character says ‘(he) pulled my eye from my head, my brain from my skull and my arm from my body’.

One character creates a huge spear out of light and stabs another character in the back with it. This is unexpected to them and they gasp in pain and surprise; the spear lifts them off the floor. This happens again later but with several more spears stabbing the character all at once and they cry out in pain.

A character reveals a terrible truth to another and in their anger, they shoot them over and over again, each time they are shot, parts of their body come away so that and transparent skeleton is seen underneath their skin. Later this character is seen entirely in skeletal and their muscles and skin gradually build up so that they appear ‘normal’ again. This character also appears as a huge disembodied face with glowing eyes and mouth, they are angry and shout at  another character.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2’ FOR KIDS? 

With a range of fantastic (and relevant) music throughout, plenty of edge-of-your-seat action and a surprisingly tender emotional focus on the father-son dynamic, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ ensures there is something for everyone without compromising its integrity. Due to some violence and infrequent but moderate swearing, we recommend this movie for ages 7 and over.

• Violence: 3/5 (a character uses an arrow to kills hundreds of men, the men scream and flee in terror but none escape)
• Emotional Distress: 3/5 (a character sacrifices themselves, another character who cares for them desperately tries to save them but when they are unable to, they sob for their loss. A character tells another that their parents sold them as a baby into slavery. One character tells others ‘they killed all my friends’)
• Fear Factor: 2/5 (two characters come across a cave full of skeletons with a pile of skulls)
• Sexual Content: 2/5 (some innuendo)
• Bad Language: 2/5 (infrequent mild to moderate cursing)
• Dialogue: 2/5 (A character tells another that something ‘would make (my) nether regions engorge’)
• Other Notes: Deals with themes of family, friendships, what makes a father, pushing your loved ones away because of your past, seeing inner beauty, the seduction of power, forgiveness, understanding the reasons behind other people’s actions and love.

Words by Laura Record

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