LogFAQs > #884585068

Disclaimer: this isn't some fucking Moviegate political shitshow between Marvel and DC. I usually like Marvel movies, even more polarising ones like Iron Man 3, Ant Man and Civil War, and I wasn't hot on Zach Snyder's Superman even before Batman vs Superman poisoned the well (actually, scratch that - it was mediocre at best, but the aforementioned political shitposters who nuthugged the movie at every turn made me want to vomit more than the movie ever did). Haven't seen Wonder Woman, I hear it's good and I hope it's a good sign for future DC movies, and even before that I didn't dislike Suicide Squad as much as I thought I would. This isn't some pissant firing shots over some nonexistent bow to make a meaningful statement about fucking superhero movies, this is a guy who was let down by a movie I expected to like.

So, GotG2. Minor plot spoilers (I mention some subplots), a couple scene spoilers that I try to explain as vaguely as I can.

I liked the first movie because it was a bunch of funny, goofy setpieces with a soundtrack that knocked my socks off. It was pure, pulpy fun, with rainbow people and telegraphed dialogue and dumb stereotypes that the main cast ended up rising above. The movie's strengths were mostly about how it took such a cavalier, goofy attitude about the MCU's first space movie instead of trying to balance that with a human story full of danger and personal stakes - like Iron Man, even kind of like Thor when he's on Earth in the first movie. Nope, Guardians of the Galaxy was about this dickhead trying to get a MacGuffin to help destroy the galaxy, and a bunch of scrappy outcasts rock his shit with the power of friendship. It's pop-culture cheese, and it's awesome.

The second movie feels like it takes the boldest elements of the first movie - humor, music, nostalgia, cheese - and runs them so far into the ground you can see bedrock. Just about all of the sequel's big moments, as far as character development and humor go, fall completely flat. It felt like an absolute rehash, with the best aspects of the first movie turned up to 11 at the expense of the rest of the movie.

GotG2 is plagued by the worst running jokes in just about any Marvel movie. If you saw any GotG2 trailers, you'd notice that Drax is a lot more vocal about his emotions - you know that Drax laugh at the end of one of the trailers, about Peter Quill feeling so embarrassed? I swear to fucking God, he laughs in that exact same "lol he has trouble with emotions but hes trying to overcompensate lol" way like eight separate times. It's fucking annoying. Remember how everyone fawned over baby Groot at the end of the first movie? Well, pretty much all of his scenes are "look at baby Groot! isn't he funny? Aww, how cute!" - which I guess can't be avoided, but it reaches a point where it's just pandering.

The soundtrack has its ups and downs. Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" is used to great effect, but it's not exactly the pop hit that Moonage Daydream is, and it isn't nearly enough of an ear worm to even come close to Hooked On A Feeling. The soundtrack felt a lot more subdued, and maybe people liked that better compared to how on-the-nose the first movie's soundtrack could get, but I feel like unless you're already familiar with the songs used in this movie, there's not much of a kick to be had. Practically no-one in Marvel's demographic knew what Hooked on a Feeling was, at least that's what I think - but that song fucking crushed. The Chain doesn't command the same level of attention. It does, however, fit the movie particularly well. Not a lot of the other songs really stuck out to me, though.
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