Do you remember how the first Guardians of the Galaxy ended? If you don’t, that’s totally fine. It was almost three whole years ago. But to bring you back up to speed: first there was certain death, and then rising action orchestral swells, and finally everyone literally joined hands to save the universe, driving home the idea that, yes, we can all be much stronger together than apart, and also shine brightly as one, like that moon-ass moon up there. We’re the Guardians of the Galaxy, bitch.
If you took any critical steps back instead of hanging out knee-deep in the ridiculousness of the movie, you might realize that the I wanna kill you sometimes but I’d kill for you anytime idea of family, thematically, is a layup on a fast break. Unity is great. Talking about unity is so corny. So just don’t take any steps back from it — the ridiculousness, I mean. Or rather, do, but only so that you can take a running jump off of the edge of a roof and dive straight into the yawning void of a many-toothed alien to save the galaxy. Again.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is coming this summer. It’s going to center around that flubby catch-all family theme again, just like the first one did, and it’s going to be a dumb action movie, too. Dumb action movies are good. Dumb action movies that lean into their inherent dumbness are the best. Dumb action movies that lean into their inherent dumbness and add Kurt Russell playing something called Ego the Living Planet and also employ the fingers-ablaze riffs from the last minute and 13 seconds of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” are probably going to be perfect. Don’t believe me? Here’s the latest trailer:
In truth, I really want only one thing from an action sequel, and I really don’t think it’s that much to ask: MOAR.
More explosions, more firefights, louder music — maybe fewer jokes — and deeper hues on the color palette. The trailer suggests we’re getting all that, minus the jokes. Seriously, look at this playground:
I have Captain America if I wanna think about superheroes and the deep state or Black Panther if I wanna think about superheroes and racial politics. Let’s not complicate Marvel’s most happily absurd franchise with anything too high-minded. Take a band of misfits and pit them against a race of literal golden statues who don’t like humans because they cuss too much. Then let’s blow some shit up to guttural rock vamps.
See you at the cineplex in May.
