Sequels are a dime a dozen. Good sequels are a rarity. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 directed by James Gunn should be put in the rarity category. GotG Vol 2 is the Empire to Star Wars and the Aliens to Alien. Instead of a rehash of a very successful movie, it takes huge strides to tell a different story with the same characters. Sounds simple I know but there are so many sequels that just tell the same story over and over.

GotG Vol 2 tells the story of Peter's (Chris Pratt) lineage. We got a hint of that at the ending of the last movie and this one delivers. There is so much more in this movie than that storyline but it would all be in the spoiler area that I try to avoid in my reviews.

Here's what I can talk about. Everybody is back and still annoying each other like crazy. They are all truly misfits that somehow fit together. Yondu (Michael Rooker) steals almost every scene he is in and given he spends a lot of time with Rocket, that's saying something. There is no bad performance here. You can tell there's a special chemistry among the actors and it carries over into their characters. Baby Groot is adorable...'nuff said.

Three weeks ago I was on a trip to Japan and was lucky enough to meet James Gunn. Luckily my son pointed him out because I didn't recognize him or was looking for the now famous director. I got to shake his hand and tell him how much we enjoyed the first Guardians movie and how excited we are to see Vol 2. I asked him what's next for him and he only said, "More of the same." Which is great news for any fan of the movie franchise. It has just been announce that Vol 3 will be out in 2020 and Gunn will again be at the helm.

Bottom line is this: if you liked GotG Vol 1 then you will love Vol 2. This is not a perfect movie. There are some subplots that seemed unnecessary but overall it just doesn't matter. This movie is all about relationships, especially the ones we have with family. It's not often a movie can make you cry...especially one with a talking raccoon. That is good film making and good writing. I hope they give James Gunn more to do in the Marvel Universe because this guy knows how to make you laugh, cry and care about his characters. That is something lacking with most movies right now. It can be done and was done with GotG Vol 2. I can't wait to see it again!