Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

[Traveller519]

Before Rocket's need for "family" was overtly fleshed out by Yondu, I liked the little things we saw. Obviously we saw in Volume 1 how much he cares about Groot, but the impact Peter's music had on him also served as a nice framing device for the music in the film. Before the opening battle, he's the one rigging up the music, which he tries to pass off as something he's doing because Peter likes it. Then prior to the Ravager escape, he asks them to put on some of Peter's music. The Rocket of a year ago (in the movie's timeline) wouldn't have gone to such lengths, but it's obvious how much Peter's music has influenced him.

[jellysalmon]

I think overall I liked it, lots of laughs and the GotG themselves are all very endearing.

However had two major gripes:

1. Lots of telling rather than showing for emotional beats. I already knew from the first movie that the group is a family. You don't need to say it out loud. Conversely, all the Yondu stuff didn't work for me at all.

Spoiler

I didn't feel like they earned the emotional funeral scene or the "I'm your daddy" stuff. Quill and him barely interact and they threw in a couple flashbacks but I never bought that he was this heroic figure. It was especially out of tone with the scene where he kills like 40 people with his arrow. Side-gripe: That thing is way too overpowered. Why does he even need a gang if he has that thing?

2. Action scenes were weak. Some might say that this is a different breed of superhero movie that has a more comedy focus, but either do it well (True Lies) or do it less (Hot Fuzz). That last act in particular was such a bore to me.

And one minor gripe:

1. I couldn't follow or care about any scenes with Sly Stallone's character.

[raven]

@jellysalmon, Yondu needs a gang to steal, fight and fly the ship :)  I think the arrow was extra-powered because he was extra-pissed, and as he told Peter, he used it from the heart. 

I agree the action scenes were weak.  The opening scene with Baby Groot went on way too long and the Guardians flying around in the air at the monster looked pretty bad to me.  I did like at one point, Baby Groot is bebopping and Drax falls over (I think) next to him so Baby Groot stops moving his body and glances at Drax - similar to the scene at the end of the first movie, when Baby Groot is dancing in his planter.

I really liked the movie though.  I had zero interest in Nebula after the first one but she, and her relationship with Gamora, were handled well here and I ended up with sympathy for both of them.  Plus Nebula had some decent comedic moments.  Karen Gillian was good at the drama too - when she was fighting with Gamora, describing how Thanos would remove her brain, her eye...I could picture a little girl going through all that.  Good job by both the movie and KG for making more of Nebula than "angry, psycho chick".

Back to Yondu and Peter; I did get a familial feel to them in the first movie.  Yondu jumped in to save Peter and the galaxy and was amused (rather than angry) that Peter swapped out the stone for the troll.  I just felt affection there.  Michael Rooker does a lot with a little and the two actors worked well together. 

Ego was a good villain and I think he gave Peter's mother the tumor because he wanted to take Peter (that was when Yondu showed up) and probably thought he was doing her a favor since she wouldn't see Peter again.  Still, their CGI fight went on too long at the end - I did like the Pac Man though.  I noticed that when Ego was destroyed, Peter suddenly had dirt in his hands, so I wonder how his "god powers" would manifest in the future. 

Rocket is my favorite character and can really do no wrong for me - steal, whatever, I don't care.  I loved when he stunned Gamora because he didn't want to lose another friend.

The whole bit with Rocket, Yondu and Baby Groot bringing a desk, a severed toe and other various wrong items was a favorite.  I did wonder why the Ravagers were all sleeping in the same area?  The ship looked big enough for them to be spread out all over the place!

Quote

Also appreciated? That totally plot relevant scene of Peter taking his shirt off to change into another shirt near the beginning, with the camera lovingly focusing on Chris Pratts very impressive abs.

Very much gratuitous and appreciated!

[Jediknight]

16 hours ago, Proclone said:

4. Once again I'm not sure what the problem is?  And alien character has a different beauty ideal and no filter.  Besides the joke is how much of an asshole Drax is without realizing it.  It's not really a commentary of Mantis's character at all IMO.  It's just another variation of the joke of him being so blunt, just like him telling Peter he needs to find someone as pathetic as he is.  And maybe I'm really weird but I found Drax's "You're beautiful...on the inside," both funny and kind of sweet since you know he absolutely means it.

And keep in mind that Drax thought Peter and Yondu looked exactly alike.  So when it comes to appearances he doesn't notice it, he notices what's on the inside, whether it's beauty or honor.

14 hours ago, Traveller519 said:

Before Rocket's need for "family" was overtly fleshed out by Yondu, I liked the little things we saw. Obviously we saw in Volume 1 how much he cares about Groot, but the impact Peter's music had on him also served as a nice framing device for the music in the film. Before the opening battle, he's the one rigging up the music, which he tries to pass off as something he's doing because Peter likes it. Then prior to the Ravager escape, he asks them to put on some of Peter's music. The Rocket of a year ago (in the movie's timeline) wouldn't have gone to such lengths, but it's obvious how much Peter's music has influenced him.

Yeah, I was a fan of Rocket being a fan of Peter's music.  Don't forget he was also playing some of Peter's music when the Ravagers came after him while he was supposed to be fixing the ship.

13 hours ago, raven said:

Back to Yondu and Peter; I did get a familial feel to them in the first movie.  Yondu jumped in to save Peter and the galaxy and was amused (rather than angry) that Peter swapped out the stone for the troll.  I just felt affection there.  Michael Rooker does a lot with a little and the two actors worked well together.

Peter also said that Yondu was the only family he had.  And giving him that troll doll showed that Peter considered him family.  That was one of Peter's last remnants of his mother, he isn't giving that to just anybody, and he knows how much Yondu loves trinkets.  He made sure to give Yondu something that meant a lot to him, and that Yondu would like.

[starri]

I loved that they cremated the troll doll with him.

I felt a bit ashamed that I teared up a bit at a few points, but having read reactions elsewhere (including from a few critics), I guess I wasn't alone.

[Grace19]

On 5/8/2017 at 0:51 AM, VCRTracking said:

The fruit thing with Nebula still makes me laugh. I saw the payoff coming a mile away but I still loved how she acted all badass with "Hello boys." ate the fruit and immediately spit it out and said "It wasn't ripe". It's one of her few funny moments.

The line reading  "I'm gonna build some weird shit!" is one of the reasons I'm grateful they cast Chris Pratt in this part.

Nebula was a surprising sources of humor, the way she deadpans her lines were hilarious. 

"It's not ripe" and "get over it" were my favourites. I can't believe how much I love this character now.

3 minutes ago, starri said:

I loved that they cremated the troll doll with him.

I felt a bit ashamed that I teared up a bit at a few points, but having read reactions elsewhere (including from a few critics), I guess I wasn't alone.

Wow, I didn't notice that, so touching.

[Lantern7]

Here's the Honest Trailer for Fifty Shades Darker. The first two comments read by the announcer: "I'm Mary Poppins, y'all!" and "Trash Panda." Reminds me of the one "episode" from 2014, where every comment read was, "I am Groot."

[Lugal]

Anyone else get the feeling that if raccoons weren't known widely as "trash pandas" before they will be now?

[MisterGlass]

12 hours ago, Jediknight said:

And giving him that troll doll showed that Peter considered him family.  That was one of Peter's last remnants of his mother, he isn't giving that to just anybody, and he knows how much Yondu loves trinkets.  He made sure to give Yondu something that meant a lot to him, and that Yondu would like.

I agree completely, and I think Yondu had to have taken it in that spirit.  Peter left Earth with exactly one backpack worth of stuff, so Yondu likely knew that Peter had that doll, and that he kept it with him for 25 years right along with Awesome Mix Vol. 1.

[rmontro]

SPOILER SPACE

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I hear there is a scene with Stan Lee talking to the Watchers.  That sounds fantastic, but don't you think it's a little surprising that the rights to the Watcher didn't go to Fox with the Fantastic Four?

[Spartan Girl]

Another funny moment?

"You people got issues."

"Of course I've got issues!  THAT'S my freaking father!!!!"

[Browncoat]

I  saw this last night and really enjoyed it!  Maybe not quite as much as the first one, but the first one was more surprising -- I kind of knew what to expect with this one.  Obviously, I don't follow the Marvel Universe.

The Mary Poppins line was my favorite bit, I think -- Yondu really kind of did look like "him", floating down like that. 

Peter's whole eulogy made me think of The Wizard of Oz.

[MaggieG]

I enjoyed the later scene between Baby Groot and Rocket when Rocket kept yelling for tape and you hear Peter asking everyone if they had tape.

"You're wasting a lot of time!" I'm so glad Groot pressed the right button

Edited May 10, 2017 by MaggieG

[thuganomics85]

Quote

I enjoyed the later scene between Baby Groot and Rocket when Rocket kept yelling for tape and you hear Peter asking everyone if they had tape.

"You're wasting a lot of time!" I'm so gald Groot pressed the right button

I also liked how apparently Drax asked Peter if scotch tape would work, even though he didn't have that either.  I guess he was just generally curious.

Actually, that entire scene past the test where even though I saw it a lot in the trailers, it still made me laugh in the actual film.  Rocket's exasperation and Bradley Cooper's delivery was spot-on. 

[festivus]

I got to see the movie today so I was finally able to catch up with this thread. It's been sitting there taunting me all week. 

 

While I don't think I'll ever love anything as much as I did the first one, this one comes as close as it can. Loved some of the great character moments we got in this one and Yondu ended up with a good story that was hinted at in the first one. I tell you what though and I thought this in the first one, his right hand man Kraglin just steals the show whenever he's on screen. I love that guy. I hope we get more of him in the third one. 

 

This may make me sound horrible but the saddest thing in the movie for me was when the Walkman got destroyed. I even said "Oh No" out loud. The Zune thing was funny but I'm already in mourning for the Walkman. 

 

The funniest thing was when Rocket kept blowing The Ravagers up in the air. I was crying. And as with the last movie, Drax remains my favorite.

3 hours ago, MaggieG said:

 

I enjoyed the later scene between Baby Groot and Rocket when Rocket kept yelling for tape and you hear Peter asking everyone if they had tape.

"You're wasting a lot of time!" I'm so glad Groot pressed the right button

 

The best part is that he wouldn't ask Nebula if she had any tape. That tickled the shit out of me. 

[Jazzy24]

I loved this, this was everything I ever wanted  

I loved during the final battle how all the Guardians(except Groot)were squading up it felt very Avengers like and I got so giddy. 

Mantis was so cute and I hope she gets more airtime in the next movie. 

Yondu, I loved him in this movie and his funeral by the Ravengers were so beautiful, Marvel does some gorgeous funerals. 

Thats all for now but I loved this movie so much. 

[Browncoat]

34 minutes ago, festivus said:

The funniest thing was when Rocket kept blowing The Ravagers up in the air. I was crying.

Me too!  Just a hilarious visual.

[anna0852]

I can't believe this is justnow occurring to me but I'm betting Gamora and Nebula have decently meaty roles in Infinity Wars, simply because of the insight they can provide about Thanos. 

[raven]

1 hour ago, festivus said:

The funniest thing was when Rocket kept blowing The Ravagers up in the air. I was crying.

He just enjoys himself so damn much.  This was so funny.  I loved when he told Baby Groot to leave the eye (when he and Yondu were trying to get BG to bring the fin) because the guy would wake up looking for it, and Rocket can't stop laughing the whole time.

The whole looking-for-tape exchange was hilarious and reminded me that when we saw Groot place the bomb, did it look like the "evil" button DID have tape on it?  I remember it looking a little bit different then the "good" button.  Maybe it was scratched because now that I think about it, Groot ran off with it while Rocket was talking about tape.  Never mind!

Maybe I should go see it again, to be sure :)

[festivus]

It was scratched but it sure would have been funny if Nebula had had some tape after all.

 

I forgot to squee over Ben Browder's cameo. I got the heads up from Joe over in the Farscape forums so I knew to look for him.

[Browncoat]

I have to add that Kurt Russell is still pretty.

Edited May 11, 2017 by Browncoat

[dkb]

On 5/5/2017 at 1:42 PM, Demented Daisy said:

One of the sources of comedic relief is a male character constantly berating a female character for her hideous appearance, even going so far as to almost becoming physically ill when he imagines having a sexual relationship with her.  One of the biggest laughs in my theatre was when he said that she was beautiful... on the inside.

 

I didn't like the way he treated Mantis when I watched it but now reading the responses, I get it; but while watching it came off really mean to me.

On 5/6/2017 at 0:03 PM, Lugal said:

I liked it.  I thought it was just as good as the first one but different.  

^^^ I think describing it as different then the first is the best way for me to explain it. 

 

On 5/6/2017 at 2:03 PM, benteen said:

They didn't play as big a part as I thought but I liked the Sovereign and found them entertaining.  They were funny.

 

The ladies rolling out the portable carpet was hilarious.

 

 

On 5/6/2017 at 9:16 PM, MisterGlass said:

I laughed but then felt bad because Rocket was feeling his face self-consciously.

 

On 5/7/2017 at 7:27 PM, Grace19 said:

Rocket always pull at my heartstrings, I couldn't help simultaneously laughing at him and getting offended on his behalf with the names everyone kept calling him. I was touched when he shot Gamora and said he was not ready to loose two friends.


Last but not the least, Groot. I looooove baby groot, I just want to steal him away from the guardians and keep him forever. He was so adorable.

Funniest scenes for me were

Groot dancing
When Groot brought the severed toe, I almost died laughing.
When the camera did a 360 degrees and Mantis get knocked down on her ass
Drax wondering how Ego impregnated Peter's mom
I am Mary Poppins y'all

This movie is all around fun. Marvel is not easing up at all, they want to keep me their bitch forever. Bring in Spider-man: Homecoming.
 

 

On 5/8/2017 at 8:53 PM, raven said:

Rocket is my favorite character and can really do no wrong for me - steal, whatever, I don't care.  I loved when he stunned Gamora because he didn't want to lose another friend.

The whole bit with Rocket, Yondu and Baby Groot bringing a desk, a severed toe and other various wrong items was a favorite.  I did wonder why the Ravagers were all sleeping in the same area?  The ship looked big enough for them to be spread out all over the place!

Very much gratuitous and appreciated!

 

4 hours ago, festivus said:

I got to see the movie today so I was finally able to catch up with this thread. It's been sitting there taunting me all week. 

 

While I don't think I'll ever love anything as much as I did the first one, this one comes as close as it can. Loved some of the great character moments we got in this one and Yondu ended up with a good story that was hinted at in the first one. I tell you what though and I thought this in the first one, his right hand man Kraglin just steals the show whenever he's on screen. I love that guy. I hope we get more of him in the third one. 

 

This may make me sound horrible but the saddest thing in the movie for me was when the Walkman got destroyed. I even said "Oh No" out loud. The Zune thing was funny but I'm already in mourning for the Walkman. 

 

The funniest thing was when Rocket kept blowing The Ravagers up in the air. I was crying. And as with the last movie, Drax remains my favorite.

The best part is that he wouldn't ask Nebula if she had any tape. That tickled the shit out of me. 

Everytime I would come to the Movies page this thread was just staring me in the face.

I think Rocket is my favorite so I loved all the stuff with him. But like @MisterGlass I laughed at first when Nebula called him "triangle faced" but then a little aww when he was feeling his face, I felt bad for him. But Trash Panda is awesome.

I liked the end with Rocket asking about family and if they still were even though "someone" might do something like steal batteries.

Edited May 11, 2017 by dkb

[MaggieG]

17 hours ago, festivus said:

I got to see the movie today so I was finally able to catch up with this thread. It's been sitting there taunting me all week. 

 

While I don't think I'll ever love anything as much as I did the first one, this one comes as close as it can. Loved some of the great character moments we got in this one and Yondu ended up with a good story that was hinted at in the first one. I tell you what though and I thought this in the first one, his right hand man Kraglin just steals the show whenever he's on screen. I love that guy. I hope we get more of him in the third one. 

 

This may make me sound horrible but the saddest thing in the movie for me was when the Walkman got destroyed. I even said "Oh No" out loud. The Zune thing was funny but I'm already in mourning for the Walkman. 

 

The funniest thing was when Rocket kept blowing The Ravagers up in the air. I was crying. And as with the last movie, Drax remains my favorite.

The best part is that he wouldn't ask Nebula if she had any tape. That tickled the shit out of me. 

Yes!! And Peter says "I asked Drax and he was sitting right next to her" with Rocket getting mad that he didn't ask her directly. 

[ChelseaNH]

The tape thing cracked me up more than anything else.  It's stupid, but the execution is aces.  My theater had surround sound, so when Peter went off to ask the others, his voice moved off-screen to the left.  I appreciate commitment.

[Proclone]

On 5/7/2017 at 4:50 PM, starri said:

I thought Zoe Saldana, who I like, even if she's not the most charismatic actress, was a lot more open this time.  Possibly because Gamora actually got stuff to do.

And the scenes between Gamora and Nebula were so CLOSE to passing the Bechdel test.

I'm agnostic on the topic of Saldana as an actor.  I've never seen her be bad, but she's never really blew me away either, but I saw Guardians 2 for a second time yesterday, and one thing I noticed that I didn't the first time was that Saldana gave some really funny reactions to other people's lines.  The biggest one was her reaction to Ego telling Drax that he did in fact have a penis and (paraphrasing) that it was a pretty good one.  Her eyes go wide and she seems to be thinking "I really didn't want know that, but I wonder if it runs in the family?"  I also really liked her interactions with baby Groot.  In the beginning when at first she yells at him to get out of the way because he'll get hurt, to immediately softening and saying "Hi," and waving back when he waves at her.  I also like the scene when she tells him that she, Quill and Drax with be back soon before going off with Ego, comforting him.

Someone else said they say they saw shades of Farscape in Guardians.  And I have to agree (and Farscape is one of my all time favorite shows).  There are obvious parallels between characters, and Gamora and Aeryn do have some similarities as others have pointed out.  One of them is, despite coming across as cold at first they are both kind and deeply protective of those they care about, especially those weaker then themselves.  I like that we got to see the kind protective side of Gamora in this one, as I said it takes he away from the one note badass green space chick.

Another parallel (and something I always like about Farscape) is that despite not actually being in a relationship with each other, Gamora and Peter are still supportive of each other and discuss things with one another.  I always like that John and Aeryn were always there for each other when the other needed them regardless of their current relationship status because they cared about one another.  To put it another way, they were always friends first.  Sometimes fiction gives us couples that seem to loath each other outside of wanting to get into each other's pants.  I like that Gamora and Peter don't seem to be going in that direction.  In the first one I wasn't thrilled with the idea of them being paired together, since Peter seemed to be attracted to her because she was female and she didn't seem to like him at all, but I've warmed up to the pairing now that they've shown that they've become close friends first.

Hopefully Gamora gets to focus on her daddy issues either in Infinity Wars or Guardians 3 and Peter can return the favor and be supportive of her.                  

Edited May 11, 2017 by Proclone
I only needed one actually

[VCRTracking]

2 hours ago, Proclone said:

Hopefully Gamora gets to focus on her daddy issues either in Infinity Wars or Guardians 3 and Peter can return the favor and be supportive of her.  

Me too.

I'm excited for Adam Warlock(crossing fingers for Nikolaj Coster-Waldau to be cast) appearing in either but also worried were going to have a love triangle and Gamora has to choose between Adam or Peter. I liked that we never had shipping wars in the first two Guardians movies.

[stealinghome]

I finally saw this today, and found myself underwhelmed. I agree with everyone who said the movie was a step down from the first one (and I'm not even a huge fan of the first one)--there were moments where it was mostly definitely trying too hard to recapture the first movie's magic instead of making its own. More than that, the movie had pacing problems, Ego was so obviously a supervillain I just couldn't get into his little arc with Peter (this may also be because I don't find Chris Pratt compelling), and the movie played some really dark scenes as if they were supposed to be funny. I hit my limit when Yondu was striding around murdering dozens of people and felt like the movie wanted me to be kinda cheering and laughing. That was not my reaction.

In fact, in general the movie had WAY too much Yondu. I wish they would have spent a good amount of the time they gave him on Gamora and Nebula (whose relationship was excellent but still feels underdeveloped) and also maybe just shortened the movie in general, because it did drag in some places.

Nebula never failed to crack me up when she was so exasperated with the Guardians, and Drax had some phenomenal one-liners again ("she wouldn't even tap a toe. You would have thought she was dead." Ha!). This movie gave Zoe Saldana much more to do and she responded well. In this movie, she actually felt like one of the universe's biggest badasses--I lost it when she picked up the canon from the spaceship--instead of being talked about like a badass but damselled every other minute. Funniest sequence in the film was when Groot kept bringing the wrong items back to Rocket and Yondu--utterly hilarious. Baby Groot is the BEST and the post-credits scene that had Peter yelling at teenage Groot made me laugh as well. I also really enjoyed Mantis--she'll be a fun addition to the team. She and Drax cracked me up.

I would so watch a Ving Rhames/Michelle Yeoh/Sly/Michael Rosenbaum movie.

Quote

Speaking of all that slicing, my coworkers brought their kids to the movie and I can't help but think this is not a kid-friendly movie. There were some brutal scenes in it like the loyal Ravagers being shoved out an airlock or the mass murder scene that I thought was so cool. Plus you've got Drax asking if ego has a penis (and Ego confirming it!) and a lot of use of adult humor and language. Not kid-friendly at all, unless you want your kid telling people they're a bunch of conceited douchebags and asking them if they have a penis.

Same here! During several moments in the movie I was sitting there thinking "holy crap, I'm glad there are no kids in this theater." Given how family-friendly the first Guardians was, I'm surprised this one was so adult (it has to be one of the most adult Marvel movies made so far).

[festivus]

7 hours ago, Proclone said:

I'm agnostic on the topic of Saldana as an actor.  I've never seen her be bad, but she's never really blew me away either, but I saw Guardians 2 for a second time yesterday, and one thing I noticed that I didn't the first time was that Saldana gave some really funny reactions to other people's lines.

I've always liked her since I first saw her in Center Stage but she's never really blown me away either. I'm glad she got more to do in this movie than be a one dimensional bad ass space chick. Loved her stuff with Nebula and her friendship with Peter. They do remind me of John and Aeyrn. Speaking of Nebula, I think Karen Gillan does such a good job with her. Nebula is more machine than human now and Karen is so good at making her movements so machine like but showing the hurting human that's still underneath. 

[johntfs]

50 minutes ago, festivus said:

Karen is so good at making her movements so machine like but showing the hurting human that's still underneath.

Well, the hurting Kree anyway, but I get it.  I wonder if Gamora is a Skrull who lost her shape-shifting ability.  That would be exactly the kind of fucked-up thing Thanos would do - have his own Kree-Skrull war acted out in miniature by his "adopted" children.

[festivus]

Yeah I guess I should have used the word person.

[Raja]

On 5/6/2017 at 11:30 AM, Morrigan2575 said:

 

I'm curious about the Stallone appearance and the end credit scene. You don't cast Michelle Yeoh, Ving Rhames and Stallone in cameos for nothing. Are they planning a Ravagers Spinoff? Just setting them up for Vol 3?

 

While they were all Ravenger Captains they were more specifically along with Yondu  the original comic book Guardians Of The Galaxy team. It wasn't as bad as the first X-Men movie were that Marvel Universe got stuck with a mix and match of original characters being younger than the X-Men all stars chosen for the first movie who should have been the students and not the leaders.

[rmontro]

Saw this last night, and my initial impression is that I enjoyed it more than the first one.  That could just be a heat of the moment thing though.  I did think that it went on maybe a little too long, the final act could have been cut down quite a bit IMO.  But I liked that they were able to jump right in without having to explain how everybody comes together and forms the team.  Liked Mantis, Baby Groot, Drax, Blue Space Merle (Yondu).

I was VERY surprised to see the characters that were talking with Stan Lee, because I would have assumed those rights would have gone to Fox with the Fantastic Four.  Loved seeing them though.  Wish they would have had the courage to show Galactus in Rise of the Silver Surfer.

I had heard some rumors that they were going to put a female Adam Warlock/Magus character in this.  I guess people had seen the leader of the Sovereign, and just assumed that was who it was.  The Sovereign as an adversary were interesting, with their remote control devices.  Their "war room" looked kind of like a big spin class going on.

[johntfs]

On 5/17/2017 at 9:15 AM, rmontro said:

Their "war room" looked kind of like a big spin class going on.

Given what self-involved assholes they were, there was almost certainly also a big spin class going on.

I also liked this one better than the first one.  With the coming together/origin stuff out of the way, the movie got to get into the characters a lot more.  Nebula went from "weird psycho blue chick" to heart-breaking vulnerability.  I loved some of the smaller scenes.  Peter playing super-powered light-ball catch with Ego.  Gamora threatening Mantis with broken limbs if her feelings were revealed.  Baby Groot bringing back random objects.  Drax and his sore nipples.

While Baby Groot was of course adorable, I still love Rocket, poor fuzzy klepto-nutso bastard that he is.  I'd want to pet the little trash panda too if he was real and I wasn't utterly convinced I'd lose the majority of my fingers.

With Ego, Marvel finally got a clean hit and run in the villain department.  Even the so-called better ones like Loki and Ultron, were just adequate.  Loki didn't come into his own until Thor: The Dark World  where he was more anti-hero than anything else.  Ultron only succeeded because Marvel FX failed to fuck up James Spader's voice.  Ego was charismatic, charming and somewhat sympathetic until he showed the true extent of his horrifyingly selfish evil.

Edited May 18, 2017 by johntfs

[anna0852]

3 hours ago, johntfs said:

 

While Baby Groot was of course adorable, I still love Rocket, poor fuzzy klepto-nutso bastard that he is.  I'd want to pet the little trash panda too if he was real and I wasn't utterly convinced I'd lose the majority of my fingers.

Yeah, Rocket is only amusing on screen. Wouldn't want to deal with him up close in real-life.

For something that could have so easily fallen into the 'make it cute for marketing category' (ala ewoks), Baby Groot turned out surprising compelling. 

[frenchtoast]

12 hours ago, johntfs said:

Ego was charismatic, charming and somewhat sympathetic until he showed the true extent of his horrifyingly selfish evil.

Yes! I was unspoiled, didn't know he was the villain, but kudos to Kurt Russell because despite the charisma and sympathy, my alarm bells were still pinging pretty much immediately. (Mantis's body language exiting the ship certainly helped with that) And yet, I completely understood and felt it was earned why they would go along with him for so long. Especially Peter. And I liked how it was all the thematic issue of family. And even at the end, I could see why someone that's a Celestial, that doesn't have the mere bonds of mortality would not value those at all. It wasn't mustache twirling for effect, it's just who he was.

8 hours ago, anna0852 said:

For something that could have so easily fallen into the 'make it cute for marketing category' (ala ewoks), Baby Groot turned out surprising compelling. 

I think baby Groot works as a character other than a marketing ploy because we've already met the mature Groot. But it worked really well in this movie because of how the team related to him--he was still Groot, someone they loved and cared for, not just a cute prop. Also, I think the scene of him being tormented by the Ravagers helped, too. 

In other words, I really loved this movie. 

[rmontro]

16 hours ago, johntfs said:

I also liked this one better than the first one.

Great, I've heard so many people say it isn't quite as good as the first one.  I'm glad to see someone agree with me.  You're right, this movie gets much more in depth with the characters, and that's a good thing.  

I'm going to destroy my credibility here, but my favorite movie out of the Iron Man movies is the second one.  Maybe the first one is technically a better movie, I don't know.  But I have no interest in watching Iron Man again, but I will stop and watch Iron Man 2 anytime it is on.  Part of it is they don't have to go through the origin thing - and that helps GOTG vol. 2 as well.  I underappreciated Whiplash the first time through.  I like the race car scene with the suitcase armor.  I like Justin Hammer's goofy dancing.  Scarlett Johansen's Black Widow is never hotter than in this movie, with the long, flowing red hair.  Tony shows some evidence of a drinking problem.  I really don't understand why people dislike that movie.

I also liked that scene where Mantis tries to pet Rocket, lol.  And her and Drax together are gold.  I never expected Dave Bautista to play that character as well as he does.

If there's a GOTG3 though, it's going to suffer from not having Yondu in it.

[johntfs]

1 hour ago, rmontro said:

 I really don't understand why people dislike that movie.

So here's a partial cast list of Iron Man 2.

Robert Downey Jr. ...

Gwyneth Paltrow ...

Don Cheadle ...

Scarlett Johansson ...

Sam Rockwell ...

Mickey Rourke ...

Samuel L. Jackson ...

That's not even including Garry Shandling, Leslie Bibb, Kate Mara and others.  That is a high-octane hugely talented cast that made a pretty by-the-numbers superhero sequel movie.  It's like taking a Lamborghini El Diablo for a Cheetos and Beer run to the local grocery store.

[tennisgurl]

9 hours ago, frenchtoast said:

It wasn't mustache twirling for effect, it's just who he was.

I think one of the reasons that Ego worked so well as a villain was because he was one of the first aliens we have met that really seems truly alien. We have met plenty of aliens in the MCU (just in the Guardians movies, every character but Peter is an alien from various alien cultures), but they all seemed to be more or less human in morality, perception, and personality. Yeah some of them have cultural things that make them different, or powers and abilities that make them act different than humans, but they have very human wants, needs, and personalities. Even Ronin from the last movie had very human motivations in his evil. Take away the blue paint and space ships, and he's any human zealot with a booming voice. I'm not saying that's bad, it makes sense because we have met aliens that are very humanoid, and have human style life spans and cultures together. Ego is truly different than humans, beyond just being extremely powerful and old. He is not only a living planet in his true form, he just looks at the universe differently than any other villain we have had in the MCU so far. In his millions of years of life as the only members of his kind (that he knows of) and with unlimited powers, he really sees all other beings as just minor sparks in his eternal existence, and the horrible things he's done? Really not a big deal to a being like him. He truly thinks in a different way than humans or the other aliens we have met, and doesn't understand our morality or connections to each other. I just love the performance Russell, especially as he starts making his speech about how he slept with all these women on all these planets and how he killed his countless children when they didn't have the power he needed. He wasn't doing an evil villain monologue, he was just explaining his plan, and he really just didn't seem to get why this was such a big deal to Peter. I mean, he understood it enough that he didn't lead with "I sure hope my powers were passed onto you or I will kill you instantly like your brothers and sisters, oh and btw had to kill your mom, you understand right?" because he understands that that would bother humanoids, but he doesn't get why, he just doesn't think any of those feelings apply to him, and when he saw Peter had his powers, he just assumed it wouldn't apply to him either. Its honestly a really interesting villain type, and it was so great to finally have a bad guy in these movies with a more unique motivation than Take Over the World or Destroy the World. He has no goal but to advance his existence.

It reminded me a bit of some fairies in old stories. They weren't exactly evil, just extremely selfish and could not understand love or empathy, and would do anything to anyone if they felt like it. They just didn't think like people, and it made them almost impossible to deal with, which sucked because they had a whole lot of power. Ego is a lot like that.

Edited May 18, 2017 by tennisgurl

[JustaPerson]

I agree with all of that @tennisgurl. I believed Ego when he said he truly loved Peter's mother, but to him her life didn't matter very much. To someone like him -- as he himself said -- everyone, everything, all life is temporary except for him. So what did it matter if she died? She would've have died eventually. 

Edited May 20, 2017 by JustaPerson

[Maelstrom]

Tennisgurl, your post is spot on and as cool as Mary Poppins ;)

Edited May 19, 2017 by Maelstrom
Stupid autocorrect

[tennisgurl]

Oh @Maelstrom you just made my day :)

[starri]

[rmontro]

On 5/18/2017 at 3:32 PM, johntfs said:

That is a high-octane hugely talented cast that made a pretty by-the-numbers superhero sequel movie.  It's like taking a Lamborghini El Diablo for a Cheetos and Beer run to the local grocery store.

Sounds like the biggest criticism of it is that it had a great cast.

Starri, that's an awesome picture.

[starri]

3 minutes ago, rmontro said:

Starri, that's an awesome picture.

I love that he's leaning into the meme.  I don't know if he'd be better recognized for this or TWD, but it's got to be cool to have the biggest years of your career when you're in your late 50s/early 60s.

[rmontro]

2 minutes ago, starri said:

I love that he's leaning into the meme.  I don't know if he'd be better recognized for this or TWD, but it's got to be cool to have the biggest years of your career when you're in your late 50s/early 60s.

And playing practically the same character too.  It must be cool to be so successful late in life, although I suppose you could argue that you might be able to enjoy it a little more when you were younger.  But I'm sure this way he can enjoy it smarter.

[starri]

Just now, rmontro said:

And playing practically the same character too.

When we saw the first movie, my husband said to me "So, Michael Rooker's playing Space-Merle."

[rmontro]

14 minutes ago, starri said:

When we saw the first movie, my husband said to me "So, Michael Rooker's playing Space-Merle."

Yep, Blue Space Merle.  Maybe they can come up with a Space Daryl.  :)

[Maelstrom]

4 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Oh @Maelstrom you just made my day :)

Yay! Glad I could oblige :)

I went back for a second viewing a few days ago (the first movie I've seen in the theater in two and a half years, and I've seen it twice so far!). There's so much going on in every scene that it was fun to watch for different things this time around. And since I went into it relatively unspoiled the first time, it was interesting to pick up on some of the foreshadowing this time, especially in Ego's scenes. Such as his reaction when Peter first summons the light. His sheer joy and relief at seeing Peter's inherited some of his celestial powers is so raw and intense. It was simultaneously heartwarming, knowing that he's waited for countless millennia for this moment, and of course heartbreaking knowing what exactly he was going to do with those powers. And I missed it the first time around, but shortly after their arrival on his planet he dismisses one of Gamora's questions and calls her "sweetheart." That alone should've tipped me off he's not a good guy, lol.

Yondu's death still made me tear up a little. Or possibly more than a little. This time around his dialog with Rocket struck me as more on-the-nose than I remembered it from the first time, but Michael Rooker sells it perfectly. They damn well better find a way to give us more Yondu in future movies, and I really don't care how. Also looking forward to seeing how Nebula fits into Infinity War (they can't finally go after Thanos and not bring her into it somehow, right?) Karen Gillan turns what could be a very flat role into one of the more compelling characters in the movie. It's easy to forget she's the same goofy ginger I loved on Selfie.

In short, just as much fun the second time, and if the stupid movie theater in my town keeps it in long enough, I might just see it a third time.

Starri, thanks for sharing that pic!

Edited May 19, 2017 by Maelstrom

[johntfs]

1 hour ago, rmontro said:

Sounds like the biggest criticism of it is that it had a great cast.

Pretty much that's true.  With a cast like that you make The Godfather or A Few Good Men or something else that wins Best Everything at the Oscars.  You don't make fucking Iron Man 2.

Honestly I kept hoping we'd see a different movie come out of Iron Man 2, like Con Air lead to Being John Malkovich or Ghost Rider got us Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, but nope, just Iron Man 2.  Look, the movie didn't suck.  The El Diablo did, in fact, get us to the store for our beer and Cheetos, but it just felt like there could have been so much more done with a cast like that.

[anna0852]

Just saw this for the second time the other night and what really stood out to me what how quickly the group bonded as a family. After all, this film only takes place a couple of months after Vol. 1 when they didn't know each other that well. And then it really hit me, how taking care of Baby Groot probably helped cement that bond. However it happened you now have Peter, Rocket, Gamora and Drax raising a child together. And Groot is not a child you can take your eyes of off of very often either, given his tendency to wander right into trouble. So they all have to be involved and work together and it shows.

Edited May 19, 2017 by anna0852