Leading up to Avengers: Infinity War, I felt like a delinquent because I missed two movies from the line up of MCU since the franchise started with Iron Man. That’s why after seeing the movie, I wasted no time in catching up with Peter Quill (aka Star Lord) and his crew in the second installment of the Guardians of the Galaxy saga. As expected, it was funny as heck but I was really taken aback by the depth of emotions I felt by the end of this volume.

Synopsis: The Guardians of the Galaxy are hired by a group called the Sovereign to protect unique and important batteries from a space monster. However, at the end of the mission, their leader looks down on the Guardians, pissing off Rocket. The hotheaded raccoon takes his revenge by stealing some of the batteries, setting off a chain of events that puts Peter face to face with his long-lost father, who happens to be a Celestial and a planet at the same time.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Guardians of the Galaxy has the most kick-ass soundtrack in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe and this plays a really big part in what makes the movies so successful. The scoring and the songs encapsulate the personalities of the Guardians so perfectly and adds more impact to each battle scene, to each emotional scene. Everything just connects better.

I love the humor in Guardians Vol. 2. Along with the banter among the group and the constant bickering between Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Star Lord, the unspoken thing between Peter and Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Gamora’s love-hate relationship with Nebula (Karen Gillan), Drax’s (Dave Bautista) newly developed rapport with newcomer Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Baby Groot’s extreme cuteness and Yondu’s (Michael Rooker) return. Everything just blended perfectly to tell the story of Peter’s origins and his parentage.

What’s great about the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise is its consistency.  Volume 2 explores and expounds on the nuggets planted in the first story and now, rather than a team, the second installment touches on the subject of family. As Peter meets his real dad Ego (Kurt Russell), Yondu’s role in raising him is also put to light. Fans of the series may wonder why Yondu, the tough captain of a Ravagers fleet, chose to let Peter go scott free in the first volume. This, even at the expense of losing his position among the Ravagers and having his leadership questioned by his men. All this will be answered fully in this chapter.

Everyone was funny in the Guardians because everyone has such great comedic timing but the standout for this chapter was most definitely Drax and his weird humor. I also loved Baby Groot’s innocence and mishaps. He was adorable.

The movie delivered on comedic and the dramatic but it also served up some effective villains in the story. Case in point, the Ravager mutineers were excessively cruel to the faction that remained loyal to Yondu and were super mean to Groot. It was disgusting but it made the payback all the more satisfying.

As for Star Lord, while I would have wished for Peter to have acted on his newfound powers sooner, he did make up for it when he realized his full abilities. Writer/ Director James Gunn definitely made sure to stick to Guardian’s signature style which he established in the first movie and the second one managed to deliver on fans’ expectations.

All in all, I was ready to have fun in watching Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2. Unbeknownst to me, I was in for a very heartwarming and emotional installment as well. While there were clues and foreshadowing at the beginning of the movie, I still felt like I was hit in the gut when the ending finally rolled out. And the script was just amazing, using nonchalant and seemingly shallow dialogue to convey a depth of feeling that the characters had for one another. And the ending also perfectly set up the continuation of the franchise with new villains and allies as well. I’m psyched for Volume 3 already. But my heart is still breaking. If you haven’t seen it, rest easy because I won’t spoil it for you.