 [Larger view] | Smokey and the Bandit II
| ||||||||||
| |
Average user rating:  | |
 It's slightly better than 10-200 | |
| After the phenomenal success of Smokey and the Bandit, a sequel was inevitable. The whole crew returned and the budget was increased. Everything looked great. Unfortunately, the script capitalizes on the wrong elements of its predecessor. This film is mired in a ridiculous ploy where the Bandit can't succeed because he is caught up in his own fame. Whatever. The first film, a masterpiece in comparison, showed the Bandit as surprisingly famous in trucker circles and it found a lot of humor in showing that. But now, everyone in the world knows the bandit... They sell posters... He tried to sell a record... Even Terry Bradshaw and Mean Joe Greene of the Pittsburgh Steelers know him. It changes the films tone to be more like the CANNONBALL RUN films that would come out the following year. Shockingly, the late Jackie Gleason, who was brilliant in the first film, takes a beating in this film, recycling Buford T Justice's dialogue from the first film ad nauseum. And his useless double appearance as Buford's twin but oh-so-different brothers is nothing short of embarrassing. The stunt work in the film is certainly bigger than in the first film, but it has a much more evident comedic flair. Cars fly through the air for no apparent reason. And dented and destroyed cars are miraculously resurrected between scenes. All of this is again more like CANNONBALL RUN then the first film. The one saving grace to the film is the funny characterization put in by Dom DeLuise. He is an abducted Italian doctor baby-sitting a pregnant elephant. (Oh yeah, that's the 'plot') To be fair, as a youngster I really liked this film. So it may still catch your fancy. It even avoids using Jerry Reed music to back up the film. This film did not deserve another sequel... but it got one anyway... | |
 Why would anyone not like this movie if they liked the first | |
| So this movie was different than the first Smokey and The Bandit. Was it really? If it's fast cars wanted, this has just the same as the first. If it's chase scene spectacular, this is just as much. If it's "bubble gum machines" getting wasted in a pile of heep by semis, this movie has just as much if not more so than the first as well. The same Burt Reynolds style, the same Jackie Gleason style, pretty much the same movie with a twist. Instead of hauling bootlegged beer, it's a pregnant elephant headed toward the Republican convention in Texas. Dom Deluise is hilarious in this second installment, making an added character for additional humor. Jerry Reed continues being the sensible one of the cast, always being the mediater in solving a problem as usual. If a person truly liked and is a real fan of Smokey and The Bandit original film, they would like this just the same. True, not the same as the first but equally as good even with the slight differences. | |
| Well, I guess it's better than 10-200 | |
| After the phenomenal success of Smokey and the Bandit, a sequel was inevitable. The whole crew returned and the budget was increased. Everything looked great. Unfortunately, the script capitalizes on the wrong elements of its predecessor. This film is mired in a ridiculous ploy where the Bandit can't succeed because he is caught up in his own fame. Whatever. The first film, a masterpiece in comparison, showed the Bandit as surprisingly famous in trucker circles and it found a lot of humor in showing that. But now, everyone in the world knows the bandit... They sell posters... He tried to sell a record... Even Terry Bradshaw and Mean Joe Greene of the Pittsburgh Steelers know him. It changes the films tone to be more like the CANNONBALL RUN films that would come out the following year. Shockingly, the late Jackie Gleason, who was brilliant in the first film, takes a beating in this film, recycling Buford T Justice's dialogue from the first film ad nauseum. And his useless double appearance as Buford's twin but oh-so-different brothers is nothing short of embarrassing. The stunt work in the film is certainly bigger than in the first film, but it has a much more evident comedic flair. Cars fly through the air for no apparent reason. And dented and destroyed cars are miraculously resurrected between scenes. All of this is again more like CANNONBALL RUN then the first film. The one saving grace to the film is the funny characterization put in by Dom DeLuise. He is an abducted Italian doctor baby-sitting a pregnant elephant. (Oh yeah, that's the 'plot') To be fair, I enjoyed this film when I was younger. It just didn't offer me anything as an adult. So it may still catch your fancy. It even avoids using Jerry Reed music to back up the film. This film did not deserve another sequel... but it got one anyway... |
![A Wax Box [EP]](http://shop0nline.com/image/B00001WROA.S.jpg)
