The measure, and ultimately, success, of a film of this genre is directly proportional to its VFX content. In the second installment of Guardians of the Galaxy, the Guardians’ team, led by Peter Quill aka Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), confront the Sovereign, a tribe of golden-skinned humanoids. The Guardians’ team member Rocket has stolen precious batteries from the Sovereign. Along the way, Quill meets his long-lost father Ego, the Living Planet (Kurt Russell) – which is the only sub-plot in the film with a dash of human element. Just before the opening credits, we are shown a computer-generated induced youngish Kurt Russell in the 1980s. (And to remind us that it actually is the 80s, the iconic Sony Walkman is featured in all its glory!).

GotG–2 is all about futuristic gadgetry and spaceships laced with smart dialogues and in the form of Quill’s teammates – the tree-creature Baby Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) and the raccoonish trigger-happy Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper). Lending admirable support to the team – and not just on the screen – are assassin Gamora (Zou Saldanha) and the hulk Drax (Dave Bautista). The film is infused with elements of a father-son (Ego-Quill) bonding, as also Gamona’s rivalry with her sinister sister, Nebula (Karen Gillan). Then, there’s the blue-faced Yondu (Michael Rooker), Quill’s former evil mentor of the ravagers group, which also includes Stakar Ogord (Sylvester Stallone) in an avoidable cameo. Pratt, Saldanha and Bautista do well in their screen time, while Kurt Russell is his usual charming self. But it is really the two characters Groot and Rocket who manage to steal your heart.

The stupendous success of the original 2014 Marvel Studios’ instalment would have naturally imposed a heavy burden on director James Gunn for this first sequel (a second is reportedly in the offing). But the fast-paced action, stunning VFX and some popular retro numbers valiantly try to make up for the contrived and convoluted plot, which we have seen so often, are the premise of science-fiction films.