Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Directed by James Gunn
The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill's true parentage.
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50 films that influenced Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
What critics say influenced Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Gunn has cited Mike Hodges’s giddily beautiful Flash Gordon (1980) as a crucial inspiration , but I wouldn’t say Flash Gordon is packed with character.
This is consistent with the kitschfests that inspired the Guardians aesthetic: 1980s science-fiction delights such as Flash Gordon , Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension .
The whole thing recalls Mike Hodges’ 1980 cult classic Flash Gordon from a visual standpoint, a comparison I do not make lightly and mean as a major compliment, the relaxed devil-may-care style suiting Gunn’s wild child sensibilities perfectly.
The production design is likewise problematic, created with the kind of colourful artifice that recalls the operatic kitsch of the 1980 movie Flash Gordon .
In James Gunn's sequel to his swashbuckling space Western, the Guardians of the Galaxy do their version of "The Empire Strikes Back," complete with daddy issues but with a considerably more anarchic spirit and enough acerbic interplay among its interstellar gang to make Obi-Wan blush.
Reminiscent of The Empire Strikes Back in the way in which it breaks up the characters and only utilizes a handful of settings (albeit while telling a complete story), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is simply structured with dual plot narratives, but they're properly harnessed to really get the most out of the entire fantastic ensemble.
Troma veteran Gunn’s cheeky sensibility owed more to Buckaroo Banzai and The Ice Pirates than The Empire Strikes Back , his eye for colorfully kitschy alien worlds an invigorating change from Marvel’s usual office furniture aesthetic.
It’s particularly true for genre films where every sci-fi action sequel becomes ‘the series’ Empire Strikes Back, whether it fits or not.
Entre los fallos, tendría que resaltar que la jugada de Gunn en tirarse el “ Empire Strikes Back ” de separar a nuestro equipo, no resulta en una que completamente funciona.
But Gunn really excels in icing his cake, references to 'Cheers,' Pac-Man and "Mary Poppins" not only amusing but integral, much like the juvenile name calling that occurs throughout.
References and allusions flow freely, as Quill again makes references to the Earth pop culture he remembers, leading to a pretty spectacular cameo, and maybe the best Mary Poppins joke ever.
Given Galaxy’s fondness for pop culture of the not-too-distant past — the new movie hinges on the 1972 single “ Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl” ) and drops in references to Mary Poppins, Heather Locklear and Pac-Man — this is not too crazy a suggestion.
…namechecks Knightrider, Cheers and, with one eye on the forthcoming Disney sequel, Mary Poppins, it’s curiously coy when it comes to talking about its real Dad, The Empire Strikes Back.
Driven by the indie, often delightfully deranged sensibilities of its director, James Gunn, Guardians was a joy, combining humour and sci-fi action in a manner that out-Star Warsed most Star Wars movies, danced a jig at the global box office, and became a fixture on many ‘Best MCU films’ lists.
Unlike, say, the best space battles in the Star Wars series, the frantic ballistic parrying here often makes the viewer feel as if trapped inside a pinball machine.
Mixing a surprisingly earnest story with its whackadoo space-opera sensibilities, Guardians felt like a rebooted Star Wars before Star Wars had even rebooted itself, and I couldn’t wait to see how the second installment would surprise and delight.
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(Maybe around the time of the next Thor film , which seems like it might tap into a similar vein.)
(Compare this with the original Thor , which introduced the most bizarre set of characters that the Marvel-verse had offered to date, only to plummet them into a familiar, dusty Marvel Studios dull-scape.)
Unlike properties such as Captain America or Thor who had long infiltrated the mainstream, Guardians… went out into an unsuspecting world and surprised many with its personality and visual zaniness.
However, like the change between the first and second “Thor,” there’s more of a reliance on digital sets and action than the first and so the level of immersion is both better in some ways, and worse in others.
Gunn strews references to 1980s pop-culture touchstones from “Knight Rider” to “Cheers” and “Masters of the Universe” everywhere, while falling back seemingly every few minutes on that ever-present mixtape of 1970s soft rock (deeper cuts this time, from Cat Stevens to Looking Glass and Glen Campbell).
Their high priestess (Elizabeth Debicki made up to look like Shirley Eaton in Goldfinger) is furious and sends a huge fleet of remotely controlled spaceships to pursue the Guardians across the universe.
When we catch up with the Guardians, they’re fighting a space beastie at the behest of Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki), the high priestess of an arrogant race known as the Sovereign, who look like members of a “Goldfinger” victim cosplay group.
…cheesy squid monster on a mission that momentarily puts them in the good graces of a race of gold-skinned humanoids ruled by Elizabeth Debicki in Shirley Eaton-by-way-of-Goldfinger makeup.
All this makes the film feel overlong and leaves the story — a twist on “Forbidden Planet,” with Ego as an all-consuming force — feeling stretched.
Morbius, the foreboding scientist stranded on a distant planet, played by Walter Pidgeon in the 1956 science fiction classic Forbidden Planet .
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While the original had near-equal amounts of action, humor, and enough seriously badass rebel attitude to choke Smokey and the Bandit-era Burt Reynolds, Vol. 2 ups the ante by introducing Kurt Russell as Ego, a planet-sized entity in human form who is in actuality – stunned gasp! – cocky-ass Peter Quill’s, aka Star-Lord’s, father.
This is consistent with the kitschfests that inspired the Guardians aesthetic: 1980s science-fiction delights such as Flash Gordon , Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension .