I've made no secret that I love love love Guardians of the Galaxy. The film hit me at a very specific time in a very specific way and - aside from the fact that there'd been a dearth of quality space adventure films back in 2014 (got DANG does it feel good to have Star Wars back in the realm of "not terrible") - the film was a love letter to children who grew up in the 1980's and managed, in its own small way, to help me personally work through a major loss that year.
So, to say that writer/director James Gunn had a big jump to hurdle in a second entry would be an understatement. And while no one could hope to recapture the "Holy crap, is this actually happening?" surprise of the original (a similar "problem" faced by Age of Ultron) Gunn delivers a film that is packed with his signature style and humor, is 100% character-driven, and packs an emotional wallop that is unrivaled in the MCU.
It's a sophomore superhero film to rival Spider-Man 2.
