So what is this movie about? What is the plot?
Peter Quill is riding high off of his rescue of the infinity stone, and life. Him and his team go on missions for others planets and species to take part in paid missions which only they can accomplish. His team is like his family and it includes Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and baby Groot. Along the way Quill finds out who his father really is and several interesting and unforeseen facts emerge.
Like the original movie this one continued to have several humorous moments and laughable jokes. Drax as a character seems more developed, and while he still has a somewhat flat demeanor, he has learned about humor and sarcasm. He is one of the standouts in this movie as he frequently has both serious moments but he also breaks up serious moments by adding humor and lightheartedness to these moments. Rocket is still as ornery as he was in the first movie, and continues to push limits of what he can do and what is going to be tolerated by the rest of the guardians. Gamora is a little less angry in this movie, and her heart shows through several times, creating more depth to her character. Poor Groot is still a baby and is growing into his size, very slowly. He will eventually prove to be the same Groot he used to be, but he was delightful and funny, and the young ladies sitting next to me kept commenting on how cute and adorable he was.
So, what is different in this movie that makes it stand out from the first one. For one thing, you already know the characters, and love the humor and the strength of them. There isn't as much action in this one as there was in the first one, but that is okay because the action is replaced by something else I was not expecting... Heart.
I was surprised at how much emotion this movie had. There were several times where I felt bad for the characters, and delighted. This movie is much more than another superhero movie, it is really about what matters, or should matter to everyone. It is a movie about discovering family you thought you had lost and realizing that the family you have created might just be the family you need. In the end, this movie is all about knowing when to stop searching for the things you think you are missing. It is about reconnecting to what really matters and realizing that you don't need what you never had.
I was touched by several scenes in this movie, from Drax describing his daughter to a new character Mantis, and the sadness, regret, and love he talked about his lost child. I was touched by Gamora and Nebula's attempts to be who they needed each other to be, and after seeing some of the trouble in their relationship I wanted to hug my own siblings and let them know how much they mattered to me. So to say this movie is really filled with orphans looking for family is not a far stretch, and they prove that family is the one thing not set in stone, or built in blood. Family is what you create it to be.
This was an excellent movie, deeper than most people probably think when they watch it. Summertime movies are known for being light, something to watch in an air conditioned room, getting away from the heat. This was not a typical summertime movie, it has depth, redemption, action, and it makes one think.
Go, see it.