Die Chaos-Kanone

With the 'Ernest' film series, there are people who get much entertainment out of them and finds a lot of appeal in Ernest. There are also people who dislike, or even outright hate, the films and find the character annoying. Both viewpoints are understandable.

For me, while they are not great films, the 'Ernest' films are mostly silly harmless fun that don't try to be any more than they need to be, and should be taken for what they are, rather than having any stereotypical notion of what a film of a certain genre or overall ought to do. They're mostly uneven but entertaining in a guilty pleasure sort of way, and Ernest is the sort of the character one can relate to easily. The sort of character that is a well-intended serial bungler with a strong heart but always finding himself messing up.

To me, the series' fifth film 'Ernest Rides Again' is an entertaining and worthy entry, if rather uneven. It's hardly one of the worst of the series, but to me there are better films too, such as the previous three films after 'Ernest Goes to Camp' (so 'Saves Christmas', 'Goes to Jail' and 'Scared Stupid').

'Ernest Rides Again' wasn't perfect from personal opinion. The final scenes are clumsily staged and improbable, even for an 'Ernest' film, while the villains are weakly and repetitively characterised (to me Tom Butler was slumming it and didn't really pose that much of an antagonist).

Character of Abner had his moments, he is more the straight-man guy and it's in these moments where the characterisation fares best, but the film also has a brasher side that jars and doesn't fit as a partner for Ernest or in the film. Ron James does play him well all things considered. Some of the physical comedy is a little childish and rather crude which also sticks out like a sore thumb.

However, 'Ernest Rides Again' is one of the better-looking 'Ernest' films. Loved the colourful locations and the photography is nowhere near as cheap and hasty as it can be. The soundtrack is nostalgic and energetic, and there are some very funny (if not particularly, but pretty much deliberately so, sophisticated) lines and wonderfully manic gags, anything with the cannon being among the highlights.

Another thing that 'Ernest Rides Again' does better than most other 'Ernest' films is that there is more story here and generally, apart from at the end, it takes itself more seriously, with more of a serious tone, which can be seen in the sincere and important (if not exactly subtle) moral. The energy levels are still high.

Jim Varney is still very funny and likable and James does quite well with a character that could have been better and more consistently written. Linda Kash is an amusing scene-stealer. It was only really with the villains where there were signs of bad acting, this said that may be just me.

Overall, entertaining if uneven. 6/10 Bethany Cox

This Film Has absolutely no redeeming points, badly acted, badly directed. So bad I can't believe they actually made more than one. If only Jim Varney spent more time acting and less time mugging to camera it might be a little more bearable. You can imagine the director shouting "this scene calls for a number 2 expression Jim!".

The "sitting on the runaway Cannon scene" is painfully predictable, with the very obvious use of stuntmen making the whole thing unwatchable, don't touch it!!!!!!

Ernest is a janitor at a local college who has caught the exploration bug from history professor Abner. They join together to find the lost canon which is said to contain the real crown jewels. However several other parties are interested in the jewels for their own reasons and Ernest finds himself in a real life adventure.

This is my third Ernest movie and I feared the worst. My first two (Ernest goes to school and Slam-dunk Ernest) were both lame films that put everything into one daft gimmick and had little comedy to speak of. However this is much better. It still has much of the same silly comedy but it has much more to offer both kids and adults.

First of – it has a half-decent plot. Not a good plot, but one that can stand up to being watched. Secondly – and more importantly, it's funny in a silly type of way. The film still has the daffy physical stuff as it's backbone – but at least it's not as basic as the others I've seen. On top of this it also has a handful of good lines that must be aimed at adults – lots of references to movies and lines like `I had a preconceived notion once, but then I realised it was just something I'd though of earlier'.

This may not sound good but really it's a lot better than the others. The constant movie references don't all work and some are silly but the truck fight that pays homage to Raiders of the Lost Ark is good and some of the lines are funny. One of the strengths here is that the show is not totally on Ernest himself.

Varney is usually terrible but here his Ernest is less irritating than usual. Instead he is more of a clown than usual. He is also helped by the script which makes fun of him and the way he is annoying and silly – `you need a CAT scan' one person tells him, `are you dead' one asks him after a really hard fall `no' he replies `but I might be if I wasn't this close to being a cartoon character'. This type of self awareness really helped the film. Sometime stuntman James is funny and the salesman couple are quite entertaining. Even if the baddies are weak.

OK – it's an Ernest movie, so we shouldn't expect the world. But believe me – this is much better than the other films I've seen. This will entertain children slightly but it is also amusing enough to distract adults (although it's nowhere near the adult value of Toy Story and the like). Overall I enjoyed it bbecauseI expected so little and it actually had good bits – I'd give it a 5.......which considering I gave the other two I've seen a `1' is quite good praise!

I was one of the few people who watched this move in the theaters, and to say the least, I was disappointed. Granted, the series went back to a more believable story and a more subtle production design after the faults of Ernest Goes to Jail and Ernest Scared Stupid. But then again, this should have been a clear indication this series should have ended. But lo and behold, Hollywood had to further defile Jim Varney in this haphazard effort. And of note, where the heck was Bobby in this film!

Not as funny as camp scared stupid jail or the christmas one but much better than some of the later ones in thearmy school and africa. The opening theme song was funny has funny bits n some funny lines love the line where he says im one just step away from being a cartoon charector. I missed huch and bobby n he on the cannon for too long. But its funny enough to please ernest fand and i am one as a child of the 80s i grew up with ernest. Its somewhere in the middle of the ernest films better than not as funny as some. If havent seen an ernest film before i would not say satrt with start with this one. Id say start with t christmas and scared stupid. I miss jim varney. I wonder what hed doing if he were alive.