“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”

Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is now available for your viewing pleasure on your Digital HD platform of choice, Blu-ray, DVD, and, for the first time for a Marvel Studios film, in 4K Ultra HD. I saw the film in theaters this summer and loved watching it again, this time on Blu-ray Disc.

(© Marvel Studios)

In this sequel to the original 2014 film, Peter Quill/Star-Lord (played by Christ Pratt), Gamora (played by Zoe Saldana), Drax (played by Dave Bautista), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), and Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) have some serious issues to deal with. Rocket has ticked off a group of high-powered (and gold plated) meanies known as “The Sovereign.” Dueling sisters Gamora and Nebula (played by Karen Gillan) are at it again. Yondu (played by Michael Rooker) and his team of Ravagers are back in the mix. And Peter Quill meets his long-lost father from outer space, Ego (played by Kurt Russell), along with his assistant Mantis (Pom Klementieff), who are about to make all of the Guardians’ lives, well, rather interesting.

The film is both a sci-fi/comic book extravaganza and a surprisingly touching character study that furthers the relationships between all of the Guardians characters. The CG-special effects are terrific and continue in the tradition of outstanding visual effects work in Marvel Studios’ films. The performances are also great, particularly Michael Rooker. Hats off to writer and director James Gunn for bringing the whole thing to life and for delivering an irreverent, entertaining, and satisfying sequel.

The special features on the Blu-ray are all fun (and may vary by retailer). This music video of one of the songs used in the film’s end credits is also a hoot.

The Blu-ray includes the film’s original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and looked great. The Blu-ray’s DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 audio mix was also terrific (and made me jealous of those watching it at home on a 4K TV since the 4K Ultra HD disc contains a Dolby Atmos audio mix; specifications are listed at the bottom of this post).

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 definitely earns its MPAA PG-13 rating for “sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language, and brief suggestive content.”

My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

(© Marvel Studios)

As an added bonus, the good folks at Marvel Studios sent over some cool concept art from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

(© Marvel Studios)

(© Marvel Studios)

(© Marvel Studios)

(© Marvel Studios)

(© Marvel Studios)

Specifications (Movie Only)

Product Offerings

Digital – 4K UHD with HDR (HDR-10 or Dolby Vision), HD, SD

Physical – Cinematic Universe 4K UHD Combo Pack (4K UHD with HDR, Blu-ray, Digital Copy), Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Copy), DVD and Exclusive Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack

On Demand – Available August 22, 2017; check with your local providers

Feature Run Time

Approx. 136 minutes

Rating

PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America

Aspect Ratio

2:39.1

Audio

4K Ultra HD (with Blu-ray) – Dolby Atmos (English); Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 (English, Spanish); Dolby Digital 5.1 (French); Descriptive Audio 2.0 (English)

4K Ultra HD (Digital HD) – Dolby Atmos (English; platform dependent); Dolby Digital 5.1 (English); Descriptive Audio 2.0 (English)

Blu-ray – DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (English); Descriptive Audio 2.0 (English); Dolby Digital 5.1 (French, Spanish)

DVD – Dolby Digital 5.1 (English, French, Spanish); Descriptive Audio 2.0 (English)

Subtitles

4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray – English SDH, French, Spanish

(© Marvel Studios)