Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

To call this another Marvel winner would be an understatement. Volume 2 is the best cinematic experience I've had in a long time. The action is great, the various cameos hilarious, the effects awe-inspiring and the laughs frequent and well-placed (one of the few gripes I had with _Doctor Strange_). And in the midst of all this, what really drives the story and keeps the audience interested is the character development. The heroes with which we fell in love in Volume 1 become deeper and multilayered, and the new additions add fantastic new dynamics. While still falling victim to some minor storytelling tropes, GotG2 is the epitome of the spectacle movie.

Watching this feels like watching two different movies. The first movie is one in which jokes are forced and music feels shoehorned in. It feels like the writers and director are beating you over the head trying to make the point of "look, look, remember us? remember how you liked music and jokes the last time?" For me the first half of this movie is a poor imitation of the first Guardians of the Galaxy. 6/10. All of this changes around an hour into the movie however. Once they actually started moving forward with the plot, this movie becomes something special. The second half of this movie is perhaps the best thing that Marvel Studios has put to screen. It is so heartfelt and moving, the comedy lands PERFECTLY every time, and the movie makers allow us as an audience to remember what we loved about these characters the first time around organically. The second half of this movie is almost flawless. Special mention to Dave Bautista's Drax... by far and away the character that stole the show. HILARIOUS!