El castañazo 2 - Rompiendo el hielo

Only one underdeveloped plot element ties this to the earlier film. The Hanson Brothers are back briefly; since they are clearly twenty years older than they were in the first movie, this is perhaps wise. Any attempt to equal their importance to the original would have been silly at best. And outside of them, the only reason to make this a sequel is to piggyback on the success of the original. Crass and shameful, to say the least. That said, this movie isn't really bad, but it's nothing to get excited about either. Jessica Steen and Callum Keith Rennie are utterly wasted. The film rests on the rather inadequate shoulders of Stephen Baldwin, who, in addition to having gone somewhat to seed in the last few years, seems unable to portray any emotional depth. There is a satirical level to the screenplay, indicting the trend toward sport as show business, and the production values are fine, but it all amounts to a minor diversion.

If you like the original "Slapshot," good acting and a good plot, rent anything else other than this travesty of film-making. However, if you do enjoy bad VD jokes, monotone Steven Baldwin acting and a storyline a kindergartner could poke holes into, then by all means rent "Slapshot 2: Breaking the Ice." Seriously, the only good thing about this film was seeing the original Hanson Brothers reprise their roles, which was not nearly enough to save it. A life-size cardboard cutout of Paul Newman has more acting talent than Steven Baldwin. And I'm being generous. Only if you have a severely morbid sense of curiosity would I suggest you watch this film.

This movie has no originality, Paper thin characters, and a plot that missed the heart of the first movie. I don't even see how they can or would dare to call this a Slapshot movie. The original was all REAL HOCKEY this is 90% Computer Generated trash. The original was fall on the floor hilarious, I didn't even crack a smile at this waste. The director had his head up his rear when he was making this movie, because every time it shows the Charston Cheifs owner (BTW in the last movie didn't they move the Cheifs to Minnesota?) it is in a tight head shot. The whole idea of the first film was to have fun and bring the hockey attitude out and it did that very well. This plays out more like a D grade drama with some poorly executed jokes stolen from the original movie.

F- Avoid like the plauge!

The script for Slap Shot 2-Breaking the Ice should have been thoroughly reviewed over and over with a fine-tooth comb before they started filming. It was up against the awesome classic original and the writers and producers knew very well that fans of the original Slap Shot were just thirsting for a really funny and good follow up if one was going to be made at all. A control group of viewers who saw the original back in 1977 at the theater should have been consulted (Me, for one.) I'm only giving this movie a generous 3 stars out of 10, one for each of the Hanson Brothers. They deserved better than this. The message of hockey becoming too antiseptic and "entertainment" instead of sport was lost in the mess. I did NOT like the "hockey chick" thing with Jessica Steen playing the new female coach, and she had the personality of a doorstop. Stephen Baldwin must have come very cheap, but doesn't do the worst job. The skating sequences were all blurry and slow-mo cheesy, and NOT using Johnstown, PA, instead of Vancouver, B.C. for the shooting location was more than sad. By the way, didn't the team move to Minnesota at the end of the original Slap Shot??? They could have written something hilariously funny into the second one about the Hanson Brothers going home to Minnesota. (Note to readers: Steve Carlson and Jeff Carlson were born and raised in Virginia, Minnesota. Dave Hanson was born in Wisconsin.) If the writers and producers of the original "Slap Shot" want to brainstorm for another truly funny and more accurate sequel, they should consult with fans for ideas. ($100 dollar bills raining from the sky will happen first before another sequel ever does thanks to this one.) The bottom line is that moviegoers want more of the Hanson Brothers and old-time hockey than this. It would also increase the bottom line $$$, especially if it would have a theatrical release, and not be released straight-to-video (kiss of death.)

The first and now legendary Slap Shot movie was plain excellent! It still makes me laugh each and every time I watch it! So why make a sequel over 20 years later? Well, there really isn't any good excuse...

Stephen Baldwin does an OK job as the lead character. He's no Reggie Dunlop but then again, no one is but Paul Newman. The fact that the Hanson brothers return for this sequel does help, but not enough. Former Vancouver Canucks defenseman Dave Babych is also a cool addition to the Chiefs roster.

In the end this movie is watchable, but there was never any need for this. If someone ever decides to make a third Slap Shot movie then I don't know what I'll do...