By Graham "GSM" Matthews When I first heard that a sequel to Anchorman was in the works, I was excited. I saw the first movie about five years ago and found it to be hysterical. Oddly enough, I haven't seen the movie in full since then (though I am actually watching it again tonight, so good timing, I guess). Don't think I never re-watched it because I didn't enjoy it or anything like that, but rather because I never had the time to watch it on TV or watch it online. Regardless, I was heavily looking forward to the sequel, especially since all the original cast would be brought back. The movie was released in theaters here in the United States on Christmas day (or sometime around then). I heard from a lot of people through social media and outlets that they didn't like the film or give it a positive review. In fact, they didn't like it at all and found it completely unfunny. I found that surprising since most of Will Ferrell's movies are comical and I can't think of one movie he has been in (that I have seen) that I didn't laugh at. Despite that, I was still anxious to go see the movie for myself and see if the rumors of it being bad were actually true. I went to the movie theater on New Year's Eve to see it and admittedly didn't have my hopes high. Although I read it wasn't that good and yet I was still willing to give it a chance, I didn't expect it to be great but rather better than bad (if that makes any sense). There weren't that many people in the theater I went to to go see it, so either people were convinced it was terrible or they were just busy on the holiday. There were some jokes that really weren't all that funny and I found it hard to believe that they were even included in the movie to begin with, but there were actually several parts that were humorous.
I was told by one source prior to my viewing of the film that it was very "random". I could see why they would say that, as there were a lot of strange parts in the film that were obviously unrealistic and didn't make much sense. Should they have been taken out? Possibly, but some of the "random" parts were actually funny and helped enhance the movie rather than hinder it. Regardless of its randomness, the film actually had a solid story to it that continued where its predecessor left off, so it was easy to follow and fun to watch for those that saw the first Anchorman. My favorite part of the movie had to be the battle scene at the end. Having seen the first Anchorman five years ago, there was very little I remember from it with the exception of the notorious battle scene. What was even better was that Brick (played by Steve Carell) brought back the same trident he used in the first film, which got a chuckle out of me. Granted, he ended up trading it in for a futuristic gun a little later on in the scene, but he was definitely one of the funniest characters in the movie and definitely worth the price of admission alone. Was it a family-friendly movie? No, but it definitely wasn't inappropriate, either. I brought my 14-year-old little brother along with it to see it, and there was nothing in the movie that he shouldn't be seeing/hearing at his age (nudity, language, etc.). Overall, I would give it a mild thumbs up. I could see why some people didn't like it, but I see no reason to bash the entire movie. I thought it was dumb fun and enjoyed it for what it was, even if it wasn't better than the first film. I also appreciate the effort in bringing back the old cast while incorporating some new characters into the story as well. Should you watch this movie? Yes. |
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November 2017
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