An exemplar of the two great Cardassian contributions to world culture--interminably repetitive narratives & the art of torture--the second installment of "Guardians of the Galaxy" is an equally apt précis of the Seth MacFarlane school of comedy. You know, the one where there's no such thing as quality control and all possible joke ideas are included in a script without regard to context, efficacy, narrative flow, or necessity.

None of this is mitigated by the presence of the culturally omnipresent and insufferable Chris Pratt, by the obvious and insipid licensed music, the slow-mo montages, by the treacly hackneyed "dramatic" moments, nor by the general approach that "irreverence equals comedy!" I suppose relentless, unbearable irreverence has as its redeeming quality an inclusiveness, an insurance policy whose terms guarantee that every last person will be "in" on the "jokes". When the jokes aren't good, however, it's nearly impossible for me to enjoy something that panders so shamelessly and aggressively.