I wish I could rate this higher. I also wish I had enjoyed it more. I don't think my hopes were unreasonably high; I was a huge fan of the first film, but I know sequels often don't measure up so I tried to keep that in mind even as I ducked out of work 15 minutes early yesterday afternoon to catch the first show. It was okay. And yet, Rowan Atkinson is capable of so much more than being "okay". What went wrong here? Well, the story didn't hold together as well as the first film. The gags weren't as creative. The writing lacked spark. There was zero chemistry between Johnny and the "love interest". The sidekick had no personality and might as well not have been there. In general I found the film very predictable, and that's kind of sad because I usually can't see things coming a mile away when everyone else can. Maybe it's because I've been a Rowan Atkinson fan for a long time and I can sense when a situation is being set up to accommodate a piece of his shtick. At times it felt almost as if the writers had a checklist of pieces of business to write scenes for. Facial tics? Check. Numb-lip babble? Check. Etc., etc.
My favorite part, that nearly caused me to leap to my feet in the theater and applaud, was to see Tim McInnerny in the role of Quartermain. Any time I can get two "Blackadder" stars in the same scene, no matter what I'm watching, is cause for celebration.
Adequate, worth a look for Atkinson fans, but nothing special here; much of it has been seen before. His follow-up to the first Mr. Bean film was such a vast improvement on the original, it's too bad the pattern wasn't continued here.
My favorite part, that nearly caused me to leap to my feet in the theater and applaud, was to see Tim McInnerny in the role of Quartermain. Any time I can get two "Blackadder" stars in the same scene, no matter what I'm watching, is cause for celebration.
Adequate, worth a look for Atkinson fans, but nothing special here; much of it has been seen before. His follow-up to the first Mr. Bean film was such a vast improvement on the original, it's too bad the pattern wasn't continued here.