This review contains copious spoilers for The Hangover Part II. But so does The Hangover Part I.
I loved the first film. It came from nowhere and was as good as the reception it got, and I was really hoping that the advertising for this one was just some kind of mislead, saving the good stuff and the surprises for the actual movie, but unfortunately for all of us, this is cookie-cutter film making at its most blatant. Start off with a flashback to the beginning of the third act, Bradley Cooper on the phone to someone at the wedding, follow up with a montage set to a Danzig song, throw in some Kanye leading up to the titular event, have them wake up in complete disarray mere days before a wedding, with one of the group (shock horror) missing! Quest to find him while keeping the missus in the dark about the whole situation, with some cute sidekicks a long the way and a bat sh*t crazy Ken Jeong. Have them beat up and shot at with Zach Galfinakis making stupid comments. And then, surprise surprise, he was in the hotel the whole time! Silly us. Score the finale with the exact same music from the first, and, why not, chuck in Mike Tyson. "Hey guys I found all these photos of what we did that night", "Okay, we'll look at them once and delete them", cut to credits, photo montage ensues.
There are definitely laughs to be had, but you'd have far more re-watching the first one. It's not a terrible film, I wouldn't even call it a bad film exactly, but it is such a wasted opportunity... I thought PotC: On Stranger Tides would be the worst sequel of this season, but not too sure at this point.
I loved the first film. It came from nowhere and was as good as the reception it got, and I was really hoping that the advertising for this one was just some kind of mislead, saving the good stuff and the surprises for the actual movie, but unfortunately for all of us, this is cookie-cutter film making at its most blatant. Start off with a flashback to the beginning of the third act, Bradley Cooper on the phone to someone at the wedding, follow up with a montage set to a Danzig song, throw in some Kanye leading up to the titular event, have them wake up in complete disarray mere days before a wedding, with one of the group (shock horror) missing! Quest to find him while keeping the missus in the dark about the whole situation, with some cute sidekicks a long the way and a bat sh*t crazy Ken Jeong. Have them beat up and shot at with Zach Galfinakis making stupid comments. And then, surprise surprise, he was in the hotel the whole time! Silly us. Score the finale with the exact same music from the first, and, why not, chuck in Mike Tyson. "Hey guys I found all these photos of what we did that night", "Okay, we'll look at them once and delete them", cut to credits, photo montage ensues.
There are definitely laughs to be had, but you'd have far more re-watching the first one. It's not a terrible film, I wouldn't even call it a bad film exactly, but it is such a wasted opportunity... I thought PotC: On Stranger Tides would be the worst sequel of this season, but not too sure at this point.