★★
Starring Mark Wahlberg, Amanda Seyfried, Jessica Barth, Giovanni Ribisi, Morgan Freeman
2015 / 115 Minutes / Universal Pictures
What was a hilarious original comedy 3 years ago has become a dull, boring and unfunny mess. It’s another example of a movie that really didn’t need a sequel at all, but because the first one made so much money we are graced with this unwelcomed dud. This movie is an example of the ultimate bad Hollywood sequel machine, where story and characters are quickly scribbled onto paper and shot and released right away so more cash can keep coming in. Who cares if Mila Kunis isn’t available to be in this… write her out, apparently we don’t need her.
I, like I think many, are growing a little tired of the Seth McFarlane humor train. I think it worked for many years and I do still watch Family Guy, but after this and the equally awful A Million Ways To Die in the West I want to see him do something else and stop relying on the same pop culture shock value jokes that now have just become expected.
Skip this one and re-watch the first one, it’s not perfect either, but it has much more heart and originality than this.
Grade D+
