Friday
06Feb2009
Movie Review - 'The Pink Panther 2'
Friday, February 6, 2009 at 1:02AM | The Pink Panther 2
Starring Steve Martin, Emily Mortimer, and Jean Reno  |
The best that can be said of The Pink Panther 2 is that it's not the embodiment of endless hell the first movie was. It's still not good, and it only approaches amusing two times, both courtesy of John Cleese, who like Steve Martin, should really investigate where his career went so wrong.
Martin's first foray into robbing Peter Sellers' grave was an enormous hit, despite how incredibly unfunny it was. He displayed a tone deaf ear for comedy and an alarming lack of taste, by putting his own inferior spin on the most beloved character created by another comedian. He co-wrote the script, too, making Martin guilty on all counts.
Walking out of the sequel, there was a pang of disappointment, not that the film was so bad, but that it wasn't worse. In fact, the only thing that's truly awful in the movie is Martin as Jacques Clouseau, the bumbling French police detective who nonetheless always gets his man. Martin has surrounded himself with a rather impressive array of co-stars, including returning cast members Jean Reno and Emily Mortimer, and Cleese replacing Kevin Kline as Chief Inspector Dreyfuss, Clouseau's boss who is always at wit's end.
The sequel concerns the theft of some of the world's most sacred artifacts: The Shroud of Turin, the Fisherman's Ring (always worn by the Pope), an Imperial Sword in Japan, the Magna Carta, and the Pink Panther diamond. Taking credit for the crime is an unseen criminal mastermind known as The Tornado. The police know it's him, because he leaves his business cards everywhere he goes.
Watch the Pink Panther 2 trailer
Reader Comments (2)
Wow, I'm shocked. It must of really hurt to give it that first dirty ape, let alone the second one.
If it had been as offensive as the first one, apes would be deducted. As it is, it's your pretty standard bad movie.