Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Release Date: May 5, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 48 Critic Reviews
Positive:
33
Mixed:
14
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanMay 4, 2017
The new film is more expansive, more beautiful, funnier, nuttier and — this is the most difficult trick for any comic-book movie to pull off — more touching than the first film. Read full review
91
ConsequenceDominick Suzanne-MayerMay 2, 2017
It’s the rare Marvel sequel that manages to expand on what came before in new and rewarding ways, while also striking its own distinct tone even as some of its narrative devices skew familiar. Read full review
91
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodApr 25, 2017
How many times have you read that it’s really hard to duplicate the success of the first film in a sequel? Probably more than you can remember. Well, here’s a newsflash: Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 pulls that feat off with only a little strain and a belly of genuine emotion. Read full review
88
ObserverThelma AdamsMay 10, 2017
While Marvel metastasizes as a movie brand, the irreverent Guardians of the Galaxy franchise has become a healthy off-shoot. There’s something loose-limbed and unexpected about this series. Read full review
88
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonMay 4, 2017
Pratt is engagingly rascally as Quill, and Saldana brings a sassy charisma to the no-nonsense Gamora. But as might be expected, Baby Groot steals the film. Read full review
88
USA TodayBrian TruittApr 24, 2017
Just like the first one, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a winning and wonderfully relatable gem of crazy. Read full review
86
Paste MagazineMichael BurginJun 15, 2018
By the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the audience is unlikely to feel they’ve seen anything that different from Vol. 1, but it’s clear that Gunn and company knew exactly what qualities made the first film so enjoyable, and what they needed to do to make sure this particular sequel was worth the wait. Read full review
80
SlateJonathan L. FischerMay 5, 2017
Its unthwartable tempo of quips, gags, cameos (Sly Stallone!), and loud noises rarely feels grating if only because of how loving it feels toward its characters and soundtrack, and how respectful it is toward the limits of its audience’s appetite for superheroic universe-building. Read full review
80
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoApr 28, 2017
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 is the deranged Marvel disco you’d expect from a filmmaker who wants to push the limits of an otherwise rigid and structured system. Read full review
80
Screen DailyTim GriersonApr 24, 2017
Underneath Vol. 2’s sarcastic exterior, Gunn’s script has a big, bleeding heart, pinpointing the characters’ insecurities and emotional scars. Read full review
80
Total FilmLauren O'CallaghanApr 24, 2017
The Guardians get a welcome return to the big screen, which despite many positives, fails to match the dizzying heights of the original. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinApr 24, 2017
That sense of gooey euphoria runs through everything that’s good in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. Read full review
80
EmpireChris Hewitt (1)Apr 24, 2017
Even when the pixels threaten to overwhelm, Gunn finds refuge in his main characters. There’s plenty to enjoy here. Read full review
75
New York PostSara StewartMay 4, 2017
If it’s overstuffed in the way of most sequels, well, at least it’s stuffed with good cheer. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMay 3, 2017
Volume 2 can claim to be bigger and better than its predecessor, although it still suffers from some of the narrative sleight-of-hand issues that kept Guardians of Galaxy from achieving greatness. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMay 3, 2017
It’s a sci-fi action movie that spoofs the form to strong comic effect, and yet it profits from every good thing about the genre it’s mocking. It tries to have it both ways, and it succeeds. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyMay 2, 2017
To some degree, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 is a more offbeat film than the original, with better gags, better (and more cartoonish) action, and more visual variety. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineJake ColeMay 2, 2017
The film at one point offers the finest sustained act of emotional storytelling to grace a Marvel Studios production. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoMay 2, 2017
“Vol. 2” avoids many of the flaws of the first movie, and does several things notably better. It’s fun, clever and a great kick-off to the summer movie season. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperMay 2, 2017
Like many a sequel to a slam-bang, much-liked mega-hit, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 isn’t quite as much fun, not quite as clever, not quite as fresh as the original — but it still packs a bright and shiny and sweet punch. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversApr 27, 2017
Hanging with Quill and his mercenary space misfits is still everything you'd want in a wild summer ride. Read full review
75
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeApr 24, 2017
There is wit and there are explosions, and while none of them represent a step above “Guardians of the Galaxy,” neither do they impugn the memory of one of the freshest and most fun of the Marvel movies. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMay 3, 2017
It’s the classic example of the sequel to a really imaginative original: If the first one didn’t exist, this one would seem revolutionary. But the first one does, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, for all its charms, will live in its shadow. Read full review
70
ScreenCrushMatt SingerApr 24, 2017
The characters and their relationships are strong and the dialogue is sharp, but the whole thing feels like a minor installment in an ongoing series. Read full review
70
VarietyOwen GleibermanApr 24, 2017
Shot for shot, line and line, it’s an extravagant and witty follow-up, made with the same friendly virtuosic dazzle. Yet this time you can sense just how hard the series’ wizard of a director, James Gunn (now taking off from a script he wrote solo), is working to entertain you. Maybe a little too hard. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovMay 10, 2017
Director and writer Gunn is a dab hand with space opera quippery and most of the set-pieces land bang on target, with collateral emotional damage to boot. Read full review
67
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallMay 3, 2017
James Gunn's second spin with Marvel's interplanetary misfits still entertains but this time the fun feels forced. Gone is the original's scrappy underdog spirit and a director operating like it's his only chance to make a movie. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyApr 24, 2017
It’s smarter than most films, but not as smart as the first one. It’s funnier than most films, but not as funny as the first one. And it still probably belongs in the upper tier of Marvel movies but nowhere near as high up as the first one. Read full review
67
IndieWireEric KohnApr 24, 2017
Much of the material gets rehashed with slight variations...and many of the space battles have a redundant quality. Read full review
65
The VergeBryan BishopApr 25, 2017
Thankfully, Vol. 2 does come together in the end with a powerful emotional payoff, but that’s only after it becomes a computer-generated action-fest with the fate of the universe hanging in the balance again. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy BurrMay 3, 2017
The sharp comic timing and devil-may-care breeziness of the original only return intermittently, and the new film’s emphasis is on family feuds and forgiveness. It’s heavy on the feels. There are hugs. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreMay 3, 2017
What flipped by as a funny, big-budget whimsy before takes on gravitas — daddy issues, intimacy issues, trust issues. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsMay 2, 2017
This one's a step down from the original. Read full review
60
The New YorkerAnthony LaneMay 8, 2017
Gunn decides to treat the quest for meaning seriously — a lethal move that not only leads to the noisy palaver of the climax but also undermines Chris Pratt, who likes to hold these movies at arm’s length, as it were, and to probe them for pomposity. Read full review
60
The New York TimesManohla DargisMay 4, 2017
It’s tough being a hitmaker who isn’t weighed down by corporate expectations, but for a while, Mr. Gunn does a pretty good job of keeping the whole thing reasonably fizzy, starting with an opener that winks at the audience with big bangs and slapstick. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMay 4, 2017
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 probably couldn’t, and definitely doesn’t, recapture the sweet and singular silliness of the original, though the new edition from Marvel Studios and Disney has its rewards. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranMay 3, 2017
As a result of trying too hard to maintain the original's insouciant attitude, what was fresh now seems institutionalized, what was off the wall now feels carved in stone and the film's trademark irreverence has become dogma. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsGersh KuntzmanApr 25, 2017
The second "volume" of the open-ended franchise is simply not as charming as the original. Read full review
60
CineVueJoe WalshApr 25, 2017
The choice soundtrack, accompanied by the candyfloss aesthetic make for moments of fun, but it ultimately lacks the originality of the first. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonTom HuddlestonApr 24, 2017
The characters are still fun to be around, the one-liners are still sharp...and the soundtrack is, of course, terrific. But there are only so many times you can slap on a Fleetwood Mac toe-tapper and expect it to paper over the cracks. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyApr 24, 2017
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 plays like a second ride on a roller-coaster that was a real kick the first time around but feels very been-there/done-that now. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawApr 24, 2017
It’s fun, though GOTG2 doesn’t have the same sense of weird urgency and point that the first film had. They’re still guarding, although the galaxy never seems in much danger. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzMay 4, 2017
The sequel is often loud, occasionally obnoxious and so consistently convinced of its own awesomeness that it will not, it cannot, stop pointing out everything that makes it so utterly wonderful. Read full review
50
The Film StageConor O'DonnellMay 1, 2017
Gunn maintains the unenviable job of giving each piece of his ensemble their due screen time to avoid making it the Peter Quill show, but the proceedings often feel manic, disjointed, and overstuffed. Read full review
50
Village VoiceApril WolfeApr 28, 2017
Vol. 2 aims to please with breathtaking set pieces that’ll convince you to delete all your old diatribes about CGI ruining the movies. But no matter how funny writer-director James Gunn wants this film to be — the one-liners move at lightspeed — too many of the punch lines are referential. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinApr 25, 2017
It’s not the weighty emotions that drag Vol. 2 down. It’s the plot that chases its own tail and the cluttered visual palette. Read full review
50
TimeStephanie ZacharekApr 24, 2017
In striving to surprise us every minute with its seen-it-all irony, Guardians Vol. 2 is actually the surprise-spoiler of all time—our every “Wow!” or “Haha!” has been scripted in advance. Read full review
38
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenMay 2, 2017
It’s a rare misstep for the usually sure-footed folks behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Read full review
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