After three years of absence from Rocket, Groot, Drax, Gamora, and Starlord, fans eagerly waited for May 5 to roll around to see Guardians of the Galaxy 2, hoping it would be even better than the first movie and would live up to its long-awaited hype. I was one of these people, waiting in line amidst other Marvel fans, eager to see what the franchise would bring next. Luckily, I’m pleased to say that it brings even more charm and humor than its predecessor while bringing new and interesting plotlines. However, despite its apparent uniqueness from other Marvel movies, it still falls victim to the predictable outline of the previous movies in the franchise.

In the second movie, the Guardians of the Galaxy are hired by the Sovereign (another alien race) to protect their precious batteries from invaders, which Rocket the Raccoon ends up stealing anyway. Now faced with a new enemy, the Guardians (surprisingly) end up on the run and meet up with old faces, while discovering some interesting information about Peter Quill’s heritage.

If none of that made any sense to you, don’t worry. I didn’t remember much from the first movie when I walked in – besides, of course, that Groot was now Baby Groot (who is just as heartbreakingly adorable as one might expect). The second movie, considering it was three years later, did a satisfactory job of not making it too confusing for people who either didn’t remember or didn’t watch the first movie, while still including well-placed humor, impressive fight scenes, and CGI effects. It was easy to follow, just as funny as the first one (if not funnier), and still peppered with the hilariously unfitting 80’s hits during dramatic fight scenes.

However, despite all these good points, a few attempts at being unique missed the mark. The sarcastic humor and input of old songs were not as fresh as they were in the first movie (obviously) and were therefore not as impressive as they were intended to be. Also, some of the insulting humor simply missed the mark. The biggest flaw for me, however, was the fact that the cookie-cutter plotline of the typical Marvel superhero movie was extremely apparent. Call it the SuperHero’sHero’s Journey or whatever you like (pun intended), but I was still not very impressed with the romantic interest, daddy issues, unlikely heroes, and traitorous “plot twist” combination that I see too much in Marvel movies. While Guardians of the Galaxy 2 does a decent job of masking it a little bit behind its clever charm and unique attributes, I still was disappointed with the general predictability.

Despite its flaws, the second Guardians of the Galaxy was still a delight to see. Peter Quill and his gang continue to be thrillingly hilarious as they fight “the biggest a-holes in the galaxy”, and the dialogue is clearly   well-written. Whether you’re an avid Marvel fan or have never seen a superhero movie in your life (which was pretty much an accurate description of me and the person I saw it with), you’ll have your eyes watering and your heartstrings tugged, so long as you can look past a few minor flaws.

Rating: 4/5