Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the adventures of the fan-favorite Guardians of the Galaxy. Led by the infamous Peter Quill, who prefers his nickname Star-Lord, the ragtag team of misfits find themselves getting a job to work for a powerful alien race known as the Sovereign. The Sovereign wants the guardians to protect their precious batteries from being stolen.   However, due to Rocket's knack for stealing various objects, the group finds themselves fleeing from the advanced species when Rocket steals them. The alien race sends futuristic ships towards the group, and right before the weapons eliminate the anti-heroes from existence, Peter's mysterious parentage is revealed, and audiences are finally given some insight into how Quill found himself working for Yandu, a Ravager, who essentially raised Star-Lord. 

 Although this movie isn't nearly as fun, fresh, or as triumphant as the original, this sequel proves that the Guardians of the Galaxy are here to stay once again. While possessing some grimmer tones and some darker moments, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 manages to still fit in their outstanding one-liners and wonderfully witty scenes. Even though the originative original managed to mesh together better than this one, this movie still manages to be entertaining, exciting, and introduces new characters smoothly, which isn't always such an easy task. Sequels are almost always known for not living up to expectations, but Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 shatters that stereotype proudly. 
 The ending to the movie is surprisingly heartfelt and makes the audience connect with the characters on a new level-something the original laid the groundwork for. The villain in this movie isn't the most impressive, but the conflict is mighty, emotional, and this allows the heroes to be faced with unprecedented difficulties. The same beloved characters join forces in this one, but Drax the Destroyer's lines feels a little forced at times, and the same can be said for a few parts of the dialogue. The background music is still brilliant and compliments the movie nicely, but it doesn't flow together quite as well as the original's music did. However, the vivid visual effects of the movie still reign supreme, as one would hope for, and help to capture the science fiction-esque that the prequel captured proudly. 

 Even though the movie wasn't as huge of a success as the original, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was still a hit with both fans and critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a solid 83%, and a whopping 93% of Google users liked the movie, which is always a good sign. 

 Although Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 doesn't topple over the game-changing Guardians of the Galaxy, it still manages to create an enticing tale of good versus evil and people struggling to deal with family issues, which happens to be an all too relatable problem, as well as become a movie that is absolutely worth watching for people of all ages.