MCU Revisited;
My Revised Order: #16

Suggestion: Spin-off film with Mantis and Baby Groot in the leads. That's all.

Up first, my reasoning for putting this film at this point in my chronology. For me, it's a good middle ground between the previous two and the next two. That's basically it. It's gotta be viewed before Infinity War, but it's better watched between (Black Panther and Spider-Man: Homecoming) and (Doctor Strange and Thor: Ragnarok). Anyway, I digress.

Strange turn of events, I have ended up liking a lot of MCU movies more than I previously believed I did upon rewatch. That was the case most notably with Iron Man 3, and now with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. I didn't appreciate the character choices and development as much before, and there's some hilarious jokes and bits here, too.

Kurt Russell is a pretty decent villain. Another one-off baddie, maybe, but for the purposes of developing Peter Quill as a more compelling individual, he works. Speaking of development, I love how we get inklings of backstory for pretty much every character, which only serves to improve your investment in the story.

And of course, all the Guardians blend really well together, have awesome banter, and made me laugh more than I remember doing in the past. Baby Groot is wonderful, Drax is ridiculous, and again, Quill becomes a really sympathetic character, and Gamora and Nebula have some decent back and forth.

I gotta say, too, the special effects and soundtrack are highlights. Almost every scene is accompanied by excellent backing tracks and beautiful colors, creatures, costumes, and visuals. Truly one of the prettiest MCU movies ever.

I may not like it as much as the first, but Vol. 2 is a bit better than I remember. Full of a lot of humor and just pure awesomeness, it's one I'd be more than willing to watch again.

3.5/5; Worth Your Time