“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2” is not only better than the original “Guardians” film, but the best sequel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) thus far.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2” in directed by James Gunn and is the fifteenth film in the MCU.

The film stars Chris Pratt as Star Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Vin Diesel as Baby Groot, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Michael Rooker as Yondu, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Elizabeth Debicki as Ayesha, Chris Sullivan as Taserface, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, Sylvester Stallone as Stakar Ogord and Kurt Russell as Ego.

The visuals in this film are not only imaginative and weird, but also very colorful and exuberant. The film was shot using Red’s 8K Weapon cameras, which added an extra level of visual detail.

I found the weirdness in the film to be quite refreshing. Weirdness in the film ranges from rainbow bubbles bursting into smaller bubbles to a kaleidoscopic hyperspace scene to Starlord using Pac Man as a weapon.

Comic book films should remember their roots from time to time, and not try to solely be serious and hyper realistic. Two of last years comic book films, Marvel’s “Doctor Strange” and DC’s “Suicide Squad,” both did a good job of embracing their comic book roots.

The visuals in the fight scenes were particularly good this time around. The climactic battle on Ego’s planet outclasses the final battles from both of the “Avenger’s” films.

The spacebattles in this film were on par with the space battles from the most recent Star Wars films. The Red’s cameras made the CGI look very crisp and realistic, which made the armadas of gold spaceships look more realistic.

While some the visuals and characters were definitely weird and silly, that doesn’t mean this film was just “Pirates of the Caribbean” in space.

There were plenty of great comedic moments in the film, but there was an equal amount of dramatic moments that gave the film an added level of gravitas. The character growth especially leads to some near tear jerking moments.

Where the film really shines is in the relationships between the characters, whether that be the family dynamic of the Guardians, Star Lord’s relationship with his father Ego, Gamora reconciling with her sister Nebula, Rocket bonding with Yondu or Drax’s friendship with new hero Mantis.

The biggest complaint people had about the first Guardians film is that it had a weak villain.

Ronan the Accuser was just your run-of-the-mill big mean guy with black armor and a destructive energy weapon. Sound familiar?

Gunn must have heard the complaints loud and clear, as Ego in “Vol.2” is the best MCU villain since Loki.

Kurt Russel’s Ego was not only an imposing villain, but he was also calmy diabolical, that is until the Guardians try to stop him and he goes full angry celestial being.

The secondary villains in the film were good too. High Priestess Ayesha, played by Elizabeth Debicki, was wonderfully vain and self absorbed.

Chris Sullivan’s Taserface was a great joke villain, with the scene where he explains his name to Rocket being a highlight of the film. Seriously, who would name himself Taserface?

While I did find the film to be relatively problem free, there was one aspect of the film that disappointed me. Even though the songs chosen for the film were all good, I felt like the soundtrack wasn’t as memorable.

After watching the first “Guardians,” I found myself wanting to listen to and relisten to “Awesome Mix Vol.1”. I didn’t really want to listen to “Awesome Mix Vol.2” until after I rewatched the film a second time.

The idea of using old songs in the soundtrack for a sci fi movie just didn’t feel as fresh or unique as it did the first time around.

That being said, there were songs that I enjoyed quite a bit. Some standout songs are “Brandy” by Looking Glass, “Mr. Blue Sky” by ELO and “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac.

In conclusion, “Guardian Of The Galaxy Vol.2” is memorable sci-fi and an all around winner. Everyone should go and see “Guardian of the Galaxy Vol.2” now while it’s still in theaters, because you’ll have an astronomically good time.

8.8/10