On Tuesday I went out for one last time with a old friend and we watched Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 which was a superb film. Though a little late to the table here is my 'average guy review' of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 Production Concept Art
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Vol.2 is obviously the sequel to the underrated 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy which was a surprise hit back then. Things have certainly changed for the sequel with a larger team including  Yondu, Nebula and Mantis joining the ranks and Kurt Russell plays an excellent villain in the form of Ego.

The music is excellent as always with a mix of 70’s and 80’s music which was well utilised though I felt it wasn't as well done as the first film. Im curious how they will handle the 3rd film and potentially the appearances in Avengers Infinity Wars 1 & 2.

I enjoyed this film mainly due to the film be more expansive and expanding on the Guardians Universe and actually establishing the characters more and developing them further. Especially Yondu character who also generated the most redeeming aspects of the story, and touched me a little due to personal reasons and also generated a lot of laughs with me with the whole Mary Poppins thing (you’ll have to watch to know the reference).

I quiet enjoyed Baby Groot who of course being a child generated a lot of child like humour and especially funny in the beginning of the film during the opening credit sequence. I actually would have liked to see the sequence from the others perspectives.

Rocket also had a great arc and I felt for him towards the end likewise Peter and Gamora handling family issues. Really it felt like this whole film was all about Family.

The special effects and values were amazing, with everything seeming so real especially the planet elements when some of the Guardians visit Ego’s home.

It does take a whilst for the story to unfold as it felt a little flat in the middle but then again this is all character development and it really pays off in the end.

What I liked about the film was it was also willing to poke fun at a lot of things that are in our culture but also at itself, its like this film was self aware and will to use the humour in a stupid way whilst also giving us a implied wink.

Other things that stood out for me was the blink or you will miss it cameo from David Hasselhoff and also a very interesting appearance of Stan Lee, which for geeky fans makes you wonder and generates more questions than answers.

Its not a super hero film as such, I saw it more of a sci-fi film and I felt with it sat somewhere between an action film like Star Wars or Star Trek with elements of Deadpool who also has that self-awareness though on a 4^th wall breaking scale unlike Guardians. I would definitely recommend it to both types of fans and also Marvel or super hero fans.

I also mentioned the overall theme being family. I thought it was interesting, what started as a story about family defined by blood eventually developed into the family that you would spill blood for without sharing any.

This was basically Friends that became like Family, ie: Friends that can feel like family through a sense of belonging, understanding, friendship and camaraderie. It also makes you realise how sometimes you take things for granted and when they are not there how things can be different and makes you learn to appreciate those things you take for granted.

Would I recommend the film? Wholeheartedly yes, it’s a excellent film and for me it was one of the last I watched with a friend I will miss so I would say it was a worthy one to go out on.

In terms of ratings I would give it a 5/5 thumbs up! 

'Hello World'

Most people commonly associate these famous words with a computer program that outputs or displays 'Hello World' to the user.

For me 'Hello World' means something different, Its more like a greeting to others in the blogosphere and also to a whole new world know as blogging.

The funny thing is I've spent years, since I was young reading blogs but not actually writing anything.

So why start now?

The funny thing is it all started because of work, as part of my job I ended up creating content for a corporate blog. I found that I enjoyed being creative and designing things and also writing.

But why now do you ask. Well I suppose a few years ago I didn't see myself as wanting to blog about things, now I would say its a different story I have a lot of things on my mind and though my HTML & CSS Skills are only what I would describe as okay when compared to a professional web developer,  its enough for me to use to build a website/blog like this.

The funny thing is Im probably the most technical person in my field because I know how to do some of these things but when compared to someone who studied web development professionally at University Im somewhat lacking.

Its the same for my graphic design skill Ive managed to get it to a certain level but as I never majored in this field so am not as professional as anyone else but I wouldn't let that hold me back.

I've enjoy being creative and found that the best way to do that outside of work is probably as a hobby and I also had a friend that inspired me by telling me to put all my energies to positive and good use, which is what I did and am grateful for her advice.

This is what led me to creating 'Lexus Phoenix'. I also saw a need for me to in one sense have an outlet to make use of the skills I learned from work but in another sense because I enjoy writing I wanted to put my thoughts onto paper or internet paper in this case. Maybe I can start or participate in some discussions and make some friends along the way.

What can I expect to find here in the future?

I would probably say anything, I created this blog as more of a lifestyle blog and will blog about anything really. I hope you join me for the ride along the way.

So, Hello World :)