Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 review – a so-so sequel for Marvel’s nerdy outsiders

Two episodes in and the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise is already starting to feel like an ironic, pop-cultural reference bingo card. And while I’m as much a sucker for ELO’s Mr Blue Sky on a soundtrack as the next guy, I’m beginning to wonder whether chucking in a namecheck for Pac-Man or Knight Rider whenever there’s a lull in the banter is really enough to distinguish this series from the rest of the Marvel mulch.

That’s not to say that the film isn’t enormous fun. The USP of the Guardians films remains the deft writing by James Gunn. If the Avengers film scripts are the charismatic Alpha frat heroes, Guardians of the Galaxy represents the wisecracking nerdy outsiders. Which, let’s face it, is always going to play well with a comic-book-movie audience. The space pirate steampunk aesthetic gives the movie a distinctively battered and cranky appeal. The story, which sees Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) unravel the question of his true parentage, goes heavy on themes of family and redemption. Still, in the generic, effects-heavy blitzkrieg of a final act, the film loses both the human(ish) connection and the scrappy maverick spirit that sets it apart from its Marvel stablemates.