The Hits Keep Coming on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

They may be heroes to the galaxy, but some of them are still little sneak thieves. That's the spark that gets the ball rolling in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 as the Guardians have been hired by a race of golden skinned elites called The Sovereign to protect a battery from a monstrous creature that wants to eat it. But when Rocket pockets a few for himself on the way out, the Sovereign doesn't take kindly to it, and sends about a bajillion ships after them (flown remotely from what looks like a high-tech arcade).

Their escape leads the team into a meeting with a being who calls himself Ego (KURT RUSSELL), and he's got a secret or three: he's a Celestial, he's actually a planet, and -- oh -- he's Peter Quill's (CHRIS PRATT) father! That's right, Peter isn't just egocentric, he's also Ego-decentric. (Okay, I'm making that word up. Sue me. That's how terms are born, people make them up.)

Family is the overarching theme of this adventure, as we not only get the father/son reunion but also a reconciliation of sisters who have been trying to kill each other all their lives -- the adopted daughters of Thanos, Gamore (ZOE SALDANA) and Nebula (KAREN GILLAN), the adoption of Mantis (POM KLEMENTIEFF) into the group, and a brotherly connection forged between Rocket (BRADLEY COOPER) and captain of the Ravagers, Yondu (MICHAEL ROOKER). And of course, Drax (DAVE BAUTISTA) has his own emotional...er...empathic...no, not that... well, Drax remains true to Drax.

Much of the comedy comes from trying to explain to Baby Groot (VIN DIESEL) how to perform tasks that only he could perform, do to his tiny sapling size. And the tragic things that appeal to Drax. And just about every other scene in the film. Truly this is a laugh-out-loud action comedy adventure that expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe in new and exciting directions, including the addition of Starhawk (SYLVESTER STALLONE) and a post-credit inclusion of Adam Warlock!

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY V2 has probably the most beautiful color palette of any of the MCU films. So if you really want to pamper yourself, pick up the 4K Ultra HD edition of this release, like I watched. It doesn't have the bonus features found on the Blu-ray, but both discs come in the same pack so you're really not losing anything in picking up the 4K. (Those special features, by the way, include deleted scenes, making of featurettes, commentary with Director JAMES GUNN, and the music video you absolutely have to see: Guardians Inferno, with DAVID HASSELHOFF! (The 4K release also comes with a poster of this!).

So get your groove on, break out your Walkman, and get ready to face the Galaxy head-on to a kick-ass soundtrack.