We are only a few days away from the premiere of Avengers: Endgame and as the release date approaches and we reach the end of this journey, we want to look back on everything that brought us here. We’ve watched these heroes struggle, grow, and save humanity over the last ten years and our favorite moments of their stories. We will be going through each phase in order, covering every movie leading up to April 26. Next up is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2! In this second installment of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise the Guardians struggle as StarLord explores his relationship with his father. Things aren’t what they first appear and they have to work together to save the universe from those that would destroy it.
Check out some of our favorite moments below –
Conny:
After the first movie, I had high expectations of the Guardians sequel – and I wasn’t disappointed. Everything I loved about the first movie, like the banter between the Guardians, the music, the subtle 80’s vibe in the soundtrack, was elevated in the second one. I especially loved the changed dynamic with baby groot, who, let’s be real, is the true star of this movie. His innocence, playfulness and the punchlines he delivers by just being adorable are what make this movie one of my favorites of all time.
Obviously it is also an interesting film in terms of a villain-dynamic, because Peter Quill a.k.a. Starlord is confronted by his human past and meets his father, who is in fact a god and is trying to take over the universe (and destroying half of it on his path to that). What was interesting about this movie was the fact that a character who was formerly portrayed as villain had the chance at a redemption arc. Yandu, who was one of the problems Quill and his friends faced in the first movie, suddenly shows a completely new side and that he is in fact the actual father figure Peter Quill desperately craved. It is definitely one of the most emotional scenes in the MCU, even with this movie being a clear comedy. This movie also introduces us to Mantis, who will become one of the Guardians in the future of the franchise. She’s not only adorable, but also one of the funniest characters in the Marvel universe, in my opinion.
I have a lot of favorite scenes, but I especially like the opening scene due to the dynamic between the characters, which blends in with the background music and the special effects. It’s basically the essence of what we expect when we sit down for a Guardians Of The Galaxy movie. I also loved the scene with Yandu’s funeral, even though it is so sad, it is one of the most beautifully shot scenes, which creates emotion and wonder at the same time.
Nicole:
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 had quite large shoes to step into after the first one and it delivered in spades. It grabbed me from the opening scene, Baby Groot was adorable and kept to the theme of fun loving space pirates very well because even though they were all fighting a crazy alien, they still made sure that Groot was safe and not going to get hurt.
We saw a lot of the relationships and characters deepen and grow in this movie which made the Peter/Ego and Peter/Yondu parallels that much more powerful. While there were a lot of great scenes and moments throughout, I have to agree with Conny, the opening scene with Baby Groot and Yondu’s funeral were by far my favorites. All the Ravagers coming back to give Yondu a proper funeral after finding out what had actually happened and seeing the excitement and happiness on the others faces when they realized what was going on, was one of the most visually and emotionally moving scenes to me. The Guardians are the perfect counterpoint to the Avengers and I hope to see them all on screen together in Endgame.
Stay with Nerds and Beyond for more Marvel memories as we prepare for Endgame!