Guardians 2: The Wizard of Oz in Space

I saw Guardians of the Galaxy 2 last night with Bill, Bart and Jeff. It’s a terrific piece of entertainment, easily moving from witty, character-driven comedy to effective and even heartfelt melodrama.

The irresistible cuteness of Groot, the reluctant sweetness of Gamora, the damaged humanity of Nebula, the social obtuseness of Drax, the charm of Quill and the unique comedy/pathos of Rocket — all delicious. The film even includes an interesting philosophical undercurrent concerning one of the long-time Marvel Comics characters, aptly named “Ego.”

I was struck, once again, by the subtle but strong echoes of The Wizard of Oz in these films — a child is whirled from rural America to an otherworldly environment, teaming up with a talking animal, a being composed of plant matter, a mechanical person and other strange companions to learn that what you needed was with you all along.

The critics who have carped that it’s “just more of the same” are missing the point that it’s a seamless continuation of the first film’s story, and is as good or marginally better than the first movie. When it ended, members of the audience applauded. I was one of them, and I drove home with a smile on my face.

As Karen Teeple said, “It was nice to laugh and forget about our government for a few hours.”