“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” has a lot to live up to. Not only is it the 15th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the first of three this year, it is also the follow up to the critically and financially success that was “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Despite having big shoes to fill, “Vol. 2” manages to hit on every level, adding to the adventures of Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket, Drax, Baby Groot and friends without getting lost in the trappings of being a sequel.  

The MCU has had some trouble with sequels in the past. Almost every direct sequel to a Marvel property has done worse than its original critically, if not at the box office. “Iron Man” received a 79 on Metacritic while its sequel scored a 57. “Thor: The Dark World” scored a 54 compared to the 57 the original Thor movie earned. Even the Avengers movies ran into this problem, with “Avengers: Age of Ultron” scoring a 66 on Metacritic compared to the first “Avengers” earning a 69. So far, only the “Captain America” films have improved critically, with a four-point jump from “Captain America: the First Avenger” to “Captain America: Winter Soldier” and another jump of five points from Cap 2 to “Captain America: Civil War.”

So, why do Marvel sequels suffer? Is it because the second movie is often too similar to the first? Maybe it is because sequels are inherently, by nature, less original than the the movies that first introduce our heroes. You will only ever get to see the Guardians save the galaxy for the first time once, and yes they do triumphantly face a galactic threat again in “Vol. 2,” so why does it still feel fresh and exciting a second time around?

What makes “Vol. 2” work is its excellent character progression. When Robert Downey Jr. donned the Iron Man suit for a second time, he played a Tony Stark that was very similar to the first Iron Man, with very similar trust and confidence issues that led to similar problems. Part of this is likely because the first Iron Man wrapped up its story too neatly, resulting in a need to regress the character of Tony Stark to create new conflicts. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol: 1” did not wrap up so neatly.

At the end of the first Guardians, Star-Lord still doesn’t know who his father is, Rocket is still a volatile bundle of anger, Gamora is still locked in a never-ending battle with her sister and father, Drax is still without a family despite getting his revenge, a band of space pirates are hunting the team and Groot is now a baby.

These are all narrative threads left open for “Vol. 2” to pull without the need to regress the characters. Instead, the Guardians are left to grow as if the first movie still happened. An interesting example is Drax. In “Vol. 1,” Drax is a very funny character due to his inability to understand a joke. In “Vol. 2,” he has grasped the concept of humor enthusiastically, and now the comedic moments surrounding his character come from his rude and overly-excited “jokes.” It adds a new flavor to the comedy and keeps Dave Bautista’s performance original.

While a seemingly unimportant distinction, “Vol. 2” succeeds because of small character nuances like this. That being said, the movie also improves in some other substantial ways. It has bigger and more frequent action scenes, but those scenes mostly manage to not feel too overcrowded unlike most movies that use a heavy amount of computer effects. Its villains feel more developed than before, if still a little silly. Its soundtrack is named “awesome mixtape # 2” for a good reason, with the songs “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac and “Father and Son” by Cat Stevens especially being used to create effect.

If there is anything to complain about, it is that the action has a tendency to push well beyond the boundaries of what an audience can reasonably believe anyone would survive, showcasing the characters taking extremely hard hit after hit with no repercussions. This makes it feel at times like the Guardians are invincible and that feeling can kill some of the tension in the movie.  

Other than that, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” is an excellent summer blockbuster worth seeing with a crowd, if not now, then when it inevitably plays at the Witherspoon Student Cinema.