When reactions to an initial Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 screening hit Twitter, it appeared that the latest offering of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was also the best. This says a lot, especially if we take into account the first Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Captain America: Civil War. But now that they’ve lifted the review embargo, those first reactions have turned out to be just that. Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2, while it ranks up there with the MCU’s most entertaining and fun movies, is not the best of the lot.

Most reviewers agree that, like most sequels, this one doesn't capture the magic of the first movie. However, despite some clumsy and sometimes too over-the-top comedic moments, James Gunn still hasn't disappointed. This is good news, especially if we consider what Kevin Feige said about this director’s future in the MCU.

Collider: Ultimately, Vol. 2 can't quite live up to the legacy of the first film, but it's got everything you could want from a big superhero spectacle, and then some. If you came for big laughs and good tunes, you're going to get that, plus a surprising amount of emotional poignancy, and once you see what Gunn has in store for the Guardians, you'll be happy he's already confirmed to finish their arcs in the final film of the trilogy. However, if the hype machine has you expecting the best Marvel movie yet, you would be well served to adjust your expectations accordingly.

Empire: [When] you've lost the element of surprise, following that is no easy task. Happy to report, though, bar a few last-act wobbles and the odd tonal shift, Gunn has done it again, crafting a sequel that keeps the focus on the characters we fell for first time around, while pumping up the volume"¦There's plenty to enjoy here, whether it's the perfectly deployed Baby Groot moments, or a general strain of anarchic weirdness that runs all the way through the credits and which still feels unique to this franchise, not just within the MCU, but blockbusters in general.

Variety: Shot for shot, line for line, it's an extravagant and witty follow-up, made with the same friendly virtuosic dazzle. Yet, this time, you can sense just how hard the series' wizard of a director, James Gunn (now taking off from a script he wrote solo), is working to entertain you. Maybe a little too hard. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is an adventure worth taking, and the number of moviegoers around the planet who will want to take it should prove awe-inspiring. But it doesn't so much deepen the first Guardians as offer a more strenuous dose of fun to achieve a lesser high.

Entertainment Weekly: It’s still a good Marvel movie (at times, a very good one), but it’s a come-down from the dizzying highs of the first installment. The laughs are still there, but they’re less involuntary.

IGN: The second film is far denser and has a few more pacing and story problems than the first. Still, it’s a very good movie, with one of the most emotionally impactful endings of any Marvel Cinematic Universe story yet.

Birth. Movies. Death.: As proudly unconventional as these films have been up to this point, they remain genre entertainment, with all the expectations and clich̩s implied by that distinction. Yes, there's a doomsday countdown clock at the end. They make light of it, but it's still there. You get your sarcasm and winking at the audience yet again, but just like the first Guardians, this sequel still adheres to the Marvel house style Рsuperheroics with a smile and a sincere admiration for the mythic nature of the comic book passion play.

The Hollywood Reporter: When a disarmingly wacky and amusing B-team of Marvel characters parachuted in three summers ago and made off with a worldwide haul of $771 million, the fifth biggest of any Marvel production, Guardians of the Galaxy resembled a makeshift expansion sports franchise that somehow played above its own level all year long and snuck into the World Series. But the second season brings this team back to reality, if not to planet Earth, and while the stadiums will remain packed, the results on the field are not nearly so pretty for this manic and sometimes grating continuation of a scattershot narrative"¦

Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 will be released on the 5^th of May in the US.