7) The Soundtrack
The soundtrack for Guardians of the Galaxy was downright amazing, so expectations were high for the sequel to provide us with some more great songs. Thankfully, the movie delivers in that respect, and you’ll almost certainly be hunting these tracks down for the ride home after visiting the theatre.
From ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky” to Cat Stevens’ “Father and Son” and Silver’s catchy “Wham Bam Shang-A-Lang,” Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is packed with awesome tunes, which should ensure that the soundtrack is as big a hit as the movie itself. It’s also easy to see that Gunn did indeed write these scenes with specific songs in mind, something that gives the follow-up an advantage over the likes of Suicide Squad, which clearly just looked for some decent tunes to add later in the game and edited the scenes around them.
6) Drax And Mantis
Dave Bautista recently made it clear that he was initially unhappy with his role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but changed his mind in large part because of the scenes he shares with Pom Klementieff’s Mantis. It’s easy to see why that is, too, as the characters are great together and share fantastic chemistry. Drax’s constant stream of insults (which he doesn’t realize are insulting and she doesn’t fully understand, anyway) are wildly entertaining and the two play off each other perfectly.
Yes, it would have been nice to see this sequel expand more on Drax’s desire to kill Thanos, but the father/daughter dynamic between these two is a lot of fun to follow and it’s nice that their arc here wraps up on a sweet, but very funny note. Hopefully, Avengers: Infinity War will follow up on this, as it’s one dynamic that the Marvel Cinematic Universe needs to further explore moving forward.