Can Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 Live Up To The Hype?

After the surprising success of the first film, can Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 live up to the hype?

When Guardians of the Galaxy was released in 2014, expectations were lower than other Marvel movies at the time. The characters in Guardians weren’t well known among casual Marvel fans, and little was known about the movie itself.

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Two years and a $773.3 million in box office earnings later, and Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the most successful films in the MCU.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, the original Guardians is one of the highest rated Marvel films thus far. The movie scored a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and ranks as the third highest rating in the MCU behind Iron Man and The Avengers. The plot, comedy, acting, and action all blended perfectly together to create the surprise blockbuster of 2014.

Now, the sequel is less than eight months away from releasing. And the biggest question facing it is if it can live up to the hype created by the first one.

Some Strong Praise

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 won’t be sneaking up on anyone. After the massive success of its predecessor, this sequel won’t be able to sneak by unnoticed if it flops. The pressure is on for this film to live up to the expectations placed by the first movie. All the news coming out of production and filming so far have been positive.

However, Kurt Russell, a new addition to the cast, said recently that other people on set are “so excited because they felt this was so much stronger than the first one, that they really knew what they were doing and the story itself was strong.” He went on to add that director James Gunn felt like “We got our sea legs on the first one, now we can really go.”

Russell went on to add that this will be unlike any Marvel movie to date in terms of content. Russell stated that the story would be  “more connected to human issues, family issues, parental issues, and issues that sons and daughters have with their moms and dads and their family tree, where they come from.” This likely means Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be exploring Star Lord’s origins a great deal.

Why This Sequel Is Different

Often times, the big letdown with sequels to superhero movies is that the sequel focuses too much on upping the ante. Instead of focusing on a well-written story and delving into characters, the sequel tries to outdo the original. Character development and plot exploration are often replaced with more action and CGI. However, this doesn’t appear to be the case with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Yes, lead man Chris Pratt did claim the upcoming sequel will be “the biggest spectacle movie of all time.” But Russell’s comments coupled with Gunn’s musings all summer lend the feeling that this sequel won’t be all action and explosions. In fact, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 seems poised to take the MCU to places it’s never been before.

Next: Team concept art revealed

Sequels have more of a tendency to flop than live up to the hype of the first film in a series. Marvel itself has had mixed results with sequels in the MCU. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has the potential to not only build upon what the first film did, but also create something entirely new. Though we’re still early in the game, it definitely looks like this sequel could be the real deal.