Overall it was a very entertaining movie whose only shortcoming was that it is a sequel to the first film. If taken on its own this could easily have been a great first introduction to these characters. As it stands, it helps deepen our understanding of the main characters, but their overall place in the MCU doesn't advance much since they're basically marking time until Avengers: Infinity War comes out.
The Good:
• Baby Groot is delightful. He does a bit more emoting and his role in the opening scene had the entire theater laughing.
• Drax and Mantis are great as two individuals that don't get the nuance of social interactions.
• The Soverign are fun bad guys. They're haughty and you get to laugh at them for being so on a few occasions.
• Lots of mid-credits scenes. Some are just amusing, while a couple definitely set up future developments in the larger MCU.
• Many, many memorable lines & character moments (a few are sad).
The Bad:
• The Nebula and Gamora arc seemed forced. Don't get me wrong - I love Karen Gillan's take on Nebula, but it felt more like filler than actual character development.
• The main threat of the film seems underwhelming. Admittedly, this is the nature of MCU movies - underdeveloped bad guys and poorly fleshed out master plans. The MCU films strength lies in the audience's connection to the characters, not the epic-ness of the threats they face.
Overall I give it 8/10
