SPOILERS DOWN THE PATH; THE DISCUSSION BELOW WILL NOT BE COMPREHENSIVE WITHOUT IT.
TREAD CAREFULLY. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
Marvel Cinematic Universe's (MCU) films, as we know, are conceived by major studios. There aren't any extraordinary efforts that go behind the scripts for most of these products, observed especially after the franchise grew from Phase 1 to Phase 2. And the second volume to the Avengers Lite is a victim of such work too.
From the beginning till end, the material here is thin. It is as if the story is being built along the way. Events feel forced. It doesn't make sense for Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) to steal the batteries; items which he's assigned to risk his life for its protection in the first place. Embarrassingly obvious verbal expositions are written to explain what's going on or to even describe characterizations! Villain even spells out what his wrongdoings were & what evil agendas he's up to. Seriously? Out of thin air, Ego (Kurt Russell) came to rescue our heroes from being demolished. Speaking of Ego, he's a God who basically creates an entire universe by himself, but he's unable to locate his son for 3 decades? Why does he even need his son to create universes when he can surely do it himself? Too many forgettable character names & jargons are splattered randomly. Half of the humor misses hits on all accounts. Arguments work sparingly. Nebula (Karen Gillan) says her dad paid her bills at one point in time. Paid bills? Really? Couldn't a suitably better monologue to signify dependence been given for this non-Earth being? Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) joining hands with Yondu (Michael Rooker) is so foreseeable! Drax (Dave Bautista) ejecting himself out of the spaceship to shoot the pursuers with a gun is blatantly an idiotic plan, although it adheres to his characteristics. The discovery of power for a man who believes he is a normal human being his whole life is so underdeveloped! It's too quick, rash & lack any sorts of buildups or whatsoever. The show is also like that; boring & conflict-less! To take up such projects, screenwriters are paid more than they could ever dream of. Is this the best one could serve the audiences?
There are three saving graces in this picture. Firstly, Baby Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel). Just take a look at this cute piece of thing! From the moment he dances to the title credits with serious battles going on in the background, you know he's going to steal every minute of the runtime he's in! The way he beats Drax for breaking the radio, listens to earphones, attacks his bully with a rage, runs away with the bomb & sets it off inside the brains of Ego are amazing scenes! Never blink for this one sequence where he helps Yondu to steal a particular item, which is the most hilarious of all! Each time Groot brings in a wrong request, like a thumb or an eye, our stomach pain gets worse from laughing too much! This, and the planting bomb part are where we realize that, Groot is a meaningful addition to this motion picture. His size is used to his ally's advantage & specific tasks are assigned due to the same factor. His limited appearances are a plus. It is adorably sad to see him being ragged by a group of mutiny or being cramped inside the claustrophobic system of Ego. In a post-credit clip, we see Groot as a teenager. Can't wait to feast our eyes on a full grown tree humanoid in the third installment, once again!
Secondly, our ever resourceful Rocket! His reactions to name-callings such as Trash Panda, Triangle-Faced Monkey or even Raccoon are priceless! Heated altercations between him and Quill (Chris Pratt) are enjoyable! There's a special sequence dedicated for this guy here, involving an ambush in the forest at night, which might be the movie's best! It's a slick & tension-filled episode dealt with the right mix of light-hearted & action-jockey treatment, before he gets cornered! Also exist is an escape segment with Yondu & Rocket, in which the duo have a blast slicing bodies, either direct or via doors! While their animated face flight through millions of planets is uproarious, we can't help but wonder how or when did they unanimously decide to go against Ego, or even know the fact that Ego is an antagonist at all?
Thirdly, Drax. His apparent innocence & blunt expressiveness are unique in its own way! He provides moments to savor, be it when he tricks Mantis (Pom Klementieff) to pet Rocket or when both of them attempts to acquaint. Some of his presence jokes work, among other memorable ones; for instance, Peter asking for tapes from the teammates, Kraglin (Sean Gunn) practicing with the telekinetic arrow and Sovereign lady chuckling at the name of Taserface (Chris Sullivan). Chris Pratt is a charismatic actor, but he's underutilized in this picture. This is mainly due to the fact that his character doesn't take any actions in the picture, resulting in becoming invisible! Sylvester Stallone's cameo as Starhawk falls short too. Surprisingly, we learn more stuff about supporting personas like Yondu & Nebula, in an effort of teaming them up with the good guys to serve the bigger purpose of beating Thanos (Josh Brolin) at the end of the franchise. But, the motivational changes aren't smooth because it's rushed. This is the reason why you don't feel for the bond between Yondu & Peter as the makers want you to, when the plot tries to connect both of them emotionally, as the core is very embryonic. Essentially, what this script needs is more development, development, and development. We know this is only possible to an extent, because the MCU is growing bigger and bigger, with multitude of characters being added picture after picture. As an end product, we get a crowded movie. God knows how bad Avengers: Infinity War is going to be in 2018.
Although the three aforementioned aspects rescue the movie from drowning totally, they single out in entirety. They do not affix with each other aptly and weave together with the storyline. In short, clunky. It's like an essay written in singular broken paragraphs, without the presence of any connective tissues to make all of it belong in the same oeuvre. Another issue with MCU is its weak or clichéd villains. Upon first reveal, Ego's motivation will definitely be lousy, unclear & unconvincing. It is only when the actual plan rolls out you get to see what he was talking about, although the aim behind doing it is still muddy. However, the suspense behind this character drives the feature a little. All is Lost & Dark Night of the Soul in this screenplay are effective. Peter Quill reminiscing memories of his current family is powerful with its silence.
On the visual effects department, initial notice drops on the younger version of Kurt Russell! What an astounding quality of work! Fabrication of Ego from nervous to muscular system and clay deflation are great executions! Rocket drilling through the heart of the planet with laser beam & additional effects on the makeups for the Sovereigns and equivalent tribes are splendid! Not to forget, the plasticized flashback narration too! James Gunn & the people behind this universe are aware of their creation, which is a huge advantage! It's evident from the location text patterns, end credits, technofunk lighting & music that follow the theme and tone established. They are able to not take themselves too seriously and make some fun out of it, which can be seen clearly through the doodle markings & dances.