ReviewFilm review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is an uneven space romp

3/5 stars

When Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy arrived in 2014, this oddball gang of aliens caught everyone off guard. The sequel, again directed by James Gunn, lacks that delightful weirdo-freshness, replacing it with a whole heap of CGI, star turns and a more cluttered soundtrack ranging from ELO to Fleetwood Mac.

Still, from the obligatory Stan Lee cameo to the also-obligatory post-credits sequences, Marvel knows its audience. The next time we see the Guardians it’ll be alongside the Avengers in the now-shooting Infinity War; this adventure, by comparison, is a light-hearted space romp.

Reuniting the old gang – Earthling Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), green-skinned Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), and CGI characters Rocket Racoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and Baby Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) – this Gunn-scripted outing is all about daddy issues.

Gamora and her troubled sister Nebula (Karen Gillan) clearly have theirs, while Quill gets to meet Ego (Kurt Russell), the father he never knew. Rather like the moment Rocket and Quill co-pilot a ship through an asteroid field, it’s an uneven ride: breathless, bonkers but frequently threatening to veer out of control.