But in Vol 2, Yondu was easily the most memorable character. Because of instead of being this villainy villain, I got to know more about him. And he wasn't pure evil at all; he was just a guy who made very different choices in his life. This, my friends, is a sign of good writing. You don't want a villain who does bad things just because; we have to understand why he does all those bad things.
In Volume 2, we're reminded that we should hate this dude because he kidnapped Peter Quill when he was a young kid and basically forced him into slave labor. Sylvester Stallone even comes into the scene to spell it all out for us. And yeah, that's totally evil. I agree with Sylvester Stallone.
But as the story goes on, we learned that all this time he didn't want to kill and eat Peter Quill all this time; Yondu was actually keeping Peter away from his d-bag father, and that this blue-skinned rapscallion actually cared for Peter like he was his own son. FAMILY, people!! Here it is! But then spoiler...
...he dies. What's a proper character redemption without his death??? These type of characters have to die eventually. Mostly because their narrative arc is completed at that point and there's no more real use for them.
And once that whole child kidnapping misunderstanding is cleared up, Sylvester Stallone returns along with the other Ravagers to give Yondu the proper send-off to celestial eternity. And there's fireworks and tears and really old Cat Stevens music, and it's really beautiful. Yondu's storyline is tied up really nice and neatly, and I am thoroughly satisfied.
4. Less Groot.
When I first heard news that Vin Diesel was going to voice Groot for GG, I thought it was great casting. Because I LOVED him in The Iron Giant, which is interesting to say because that character said pretty much nothing... But, when I met Groot onscreen for the first time, I was deeply let down. Narratively, they used Groot just like the Robot in the Iron Giant. So when Groot sacrificed himself for his friends, I was just like "Seen this. Already felt that pain in my heart!"
I know that I'm not in the majority on this, but I thought their use of his character in the sequel was just the right amount. Because less is more! But mostly, I didn't want to read "We are Groot" tweeted over and over again on my twitter feed.
I know I'm hating way too much on Groot. But I will give you Groot fans this. He is adorable. And the gag scene of little Groot trying to find the prototype weapon that will help his friends break out of their jail cell was perfect. Bravo.
Alright, THE END!!!! See you, Space Cowboy....oh wait, that's for another space story....