1. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2017) starts off a good streak of Marvel villains.
I don't know why this comes to mind first, but it does. Ego (played by Kurt Russell) is followed by Vulture (Michael Keaton), Hela (Cate Blanchett), Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), and Thanos (Josh Brolin). Personally, I think this is where Marvel finally found its villain niche; the villain seeks some greater purpose, rationalizes any behavior for their purpose, and has a personal connection to the hero or conflict. That all seems really basic, however, it is specific enough to create a mold but loose enough to give actors, directors, and writers room to create something unique. For example, Ego's one of the funnier villains. Not all villains have to be terrorists with a personal beef against Tony Stark.
2. So, GOTG2 has more jokes per second than any other Marvel flicks up to this point.
I don't know this to be a fact, but I'm going to assume it's true. I honestly forgot how funny GOTG2 is. GOTG2 walked so that Ragnorak could run. Seriously, I was literally rolling on the floor laughing. Chris Pratt gets a lot of credit for his comedic prowess, but Dave Bautista is amazingly hilarious; his timing is brilliant. Honestly, I think it is a wonderful display of ensemble comedy. So many of the jokes come from the ensemble instead of there being a comic and a straight. The addition of Pom Klementieff as Mantis added to this comedy as well. This style, of course, leads to constant laughter. I mean, Baby Groot, come on?
3. GOTG2 is better than I remember.
Honestly, I wasn't crazy excited to watch it, but as I said before, I couldn't stop laughing. More importantly, I love the storylines about what makes a family, redemption, and being grateful for what you have around you. I, particularly, love the Yondu and Nebula storylines. Yondu floats down as Mary Poppins dropping fatherly lessons all over Peter and Rocket. Peter realizes that he's had a father along and Rocket learns that he is worthy of love. Now, we all expected the laughs, no one expected to learn lessons about finding family and self-worth.
4. Then, Nebula tries to murder her sister.
Once she finally beats Gamora, she opens up about only ever having wanted a sister. Thanos is literally a creepy dude obsessed with balancing the universe and in his pursuits picks up children from war-torn worlds and raises them to be a part of his personal army. Also, I noted in this viewing that Thanos never taught Nebula how to lie either. Remember the scene in Infinity War (2018) that Thanos says he never taught her how to lie? Seriously? Thanos is crazy. Nebula and Gamora grew up in this environment pitted against one another to impress their child-slave owner. Gamora realizes that she never took care of the people around her, and now, without Thanos around, she would have the opportunity to do so.
5. GOTG2 has approximately 17 post-credit scenes.
Don't get me wrong, I loved them all, but wow. Can't we get a more even distribution? I bet you forgot about Stan Lee being a Watcher and that Stallone and his gang have adventures to come. Imagine that? Honestly, I'm excited to see the gang back again with director James Gunn at the helm. I'll miss Michael Rooker, though. His storyline is still one of my favorites in the whole MCU; the tough guy with a heart of gold. What else was there? OH! Adam Warlock is on his way too. Could it be that the Guardians franchise will go beyond the trilogy format? Guess we'll find out.