Vol. 2 is not as good as the first. Lets get that out of the way, but there are moments in the film that work better than the first, despite an uneven and overstuffed plot.

Some positives. Chris Pratt leads the team with his charm and charisma as he did in the first. Zoe Saldana is great as well. She's got a lot more to do with her sister Nebula played by Karen Gillian. I didn't think their relationship was established well in the first film, but here in the sequel it's explored more which is a plus. Dave Bautista's acting is a lot better too. I felt the delivery of certain lines within the first film were kinda dry, but here he delivers them with more natural ease. Oddly, the comedy involving Drax also felt more natural too, but this time around he isn't involved in a lot of action sequences besides the opening of the film, which is a huge disappointment. Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel do good jobs projecting their voices to Rocket and Groot.

Aside from Pom Klementieff, the supporting characters however, they are the one's who shine. This to me was Yondu's film, as much as it was Hawkeye's in Age of Ultron. Michael Rooker totally brings his acting chops into full flare. James Gunn gave him a nice solid arc to his character and it's quite touching. We see a lot more of Yondu and who he is. He shares most of his screen time with Rocket, and the two come to a realization that they are a lot more similar than they think. More backstory is also fleshed out with his character involving Sylvester Stallone's Starhawk. Yondu's right hand man Kraglin played by Sean Gunn, James Gunn's brother also has way more to do in this one.

Gunn also gives Karen Gillian's Nebula a full story with something to contribute. While I thought she was kind of disregarded in Vol.1, here I finally got to know her better. Her backstory and her motives are fleshed out and we finally get to see her interact with Gamora a lot more. Their complicated love/hate relationship doesn't ever bring the movie down. It's handled eloquently and doesn't get too over the top.

The same can't be said with Mantis played by Pom Klementieff. It's not her performance really, it's just how the character was handled. I thought the naive attitude and characteristics she presented felt forced and overplayed. The film already tries to showcase how cute and naive Baby Groot is so I didn't feel like the film needed another character who does that. She does contribute to the plot however so kudos to Gunn for figuring all that out, but I would have preferred an iteration of Mantis more closer to the comics, who is slightly more mature with martial arts background, who could have easily been a body guard to Ego in the film, rather than some servant.

Speaking of Ego, Kurt Russell brought a sense of warmth as Peter's father, but I really didn't click with his motives and his place in the film. However, Russell knows how to deliver his lines effectively so there were a few moments where I felt engaged compared to everyone else who is quipping non-stop. Chris Pratt also effectively delivers on his performance anytime he has a scene with Ego.

That being said, this movie was humor and joke overkill. Every second there's a quip or a joke that just broke the tension of the stakes. I don't mind humor when there's a time and place for it, but humor seems to be the formula put in place for every scene when it really isn't necessary. There are also moments where I felt Gunn tried too hard to tug your heart strings a bit as opposed to being a little more subtle about it.

As for the villains, Taserface and Ayesha played by Chris Sullivan and Elizabeth Debicki, they don't bring too much into the table and are arguably the weakest parts of the film, but in a film that's got so many moving parts, Gunn again finds a way to have them be apart of the story to some degree.

The visual effects dazzle and the color palette is bright and vivid. I commend the hardworking visual effects artists who probably didn't get much sleep working on this film. Action set pieces can be fun, just wish Drax had more to do in that department.

The sequel absolutely has a "been there, done that," feel to the film and a draggy second half. Some of the cast and Michael Rooker's Yondu in particular make the film barely serviceable. Still, kudos to Gunn as he juggles the whole thing motion. I would hope that Vol. 3 would have a new tone and feel to it. It isn't Marvel's finest and definitely in the lower ranks of the MCU.

4/10.