Movie Marathon - Guardians of the Galaxy 1 & Vol. 2

Ticking the last few boxes on my Marvel list before finally seeing Infinity War were the Guardians of the Galaxy films that came highly recommended. Before the release of the first one in 2014, I had no idea that this comic book series even existed or was/would be connected to the rest of the MCU and somehow it passed me by until now...

The first Guardians of the Galaxy film features a rag-tag team of intergalactic criminals who work together to defeat one of Thanos' henchmen who has gone rogue with an infinity stone. Chris Pratt takes the lead as the half-human Peter Quill (who looks human) who joins a gang of smugglers as a child and he dons the wannabe Han Solo role very well with a charismatic performance that put his name out there for Hollywood to notice. Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper offer witty, well the the latter, voice work performances, Dave Bautista proves he has range as Drax and Zoe Saldana completes the crew as the feisty daughter of Thanos.

Speaking of Thanos, this was the first film that really made reference to him and I would know very little going into Infinity War if it wasn't for this film which makes it essential for Marvel fans. Making it even easier to recommend is the breezy and exciting energy that comes with Guardians making it a joy to watch. Visually it looks great and the action is a lot of fun to watch due to the great characters at the centre of it all. Some Marvel films lose something when comedy is thrown in for a quick laugh but director James Gunn found the perfect balance.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 released three years later in 2017 follows the team and their escapades which take a strange turn when Peter finds his father in the shape of Kurt Russell. That is one half of the film with the other involving Cooper's Rocket and Quill's surrogate father Yondu (Michael Rooker stealing the show) escaping a space pirate ship. The latter story was by far the most entertaining but it unfortunately reflects the sequel's disjointedness. Quill's storyline with his father felt like I had seen it before and the ending was apparent before the half-way point which did drain some of the enjoyment.

However, Vol. 2 still boasts many great moments and James Gunn manages to nail quite a few dramatic beats. The aforementioned storyline with Rocket and Yondu could have been significantly reduced and still serve the same purpose but it's scenes like this that help to bring the characters to life. Unfortunately, the final act falls into two people punching it out with lots of CGI which reminded me of where Wonder Woman went wrong as it just isn't all that engaging. To add insult to injury, Vol. 2 can be skipped if you're in a rush to see Infinity War on the big screen. It feels like Marvel made this since they could and not because they had a fully designed story to tell.

Sequelitis aside, both films are a lot of fun to watch and I'd recommend the first one to anyone still catching up like myself. I'd even consider rewatching the first but as for the second, I'm still on the fence.