Descendants 2

Descendants was a very popular fantasy comedy released by Disney in 2015. The film told the story about the Fairytale Kingdom divided into the land of Auradon, where only good people live who do good things, and the Island of the Lost inhabited by the villains. A group of evil kids is sent to Auradon on a secret mission to steal the magic wand and conquer the world. The film was such a huge success that the studio immediately announced the sequel. Crowds of fans (me among them) were waiting to the second installment of the story. Well, I really hate to say it but much to my regret Descendants 2 disappointed me. The sequel turned out to be a global scale disaster. The plot is just reused from the first film. Another batch of villain kids arrive on the scene and, yes, they again want the magic wand. Come on! We have already seen it all! Can not Disney find writers who are able to come up with brand new ideas? But the biggest problem is the characters. They are blank. In the first film the characters were multidimensional. The bad guys were not just bad, they were grumpy, they were cowardly and they were funny. And the good guys (and it was the most interesting part of the story) appeared to be not so good after all. They were prone to the bouts of vanity and jealousy. And that was what made them alive and helped the story evolve till the unpredictable twist ending. The sequel has none of the above. The characters are cardboard cut and the story is just boring. And where is the humour? It is gone! The jokes are few and far between. All in all I must report that Descendants 2 fell flat on its face and even the magic wand could not save it.

'Descendants' became a guilty pleasure of mine. How could you go wrong, with Kristen chenoweth and Kathy najimy? Well I'll tell you how: 'descendants 2'. Remove acting greats from the equation and you just have another campy Disney channel movie. I'll also admit I'm a hopeless romantic who fell for mal and ben's relationship in the first one. Well, the 2nd takes that away for a while, leaving me to be quite bored. Again, Campy. Not even the music was as good this time around. The films redeeming quality doesn't come until the end. I won't spoil it but let's just all say thank god for Disney channel finally allowing some PDA! Even so, I'll stick to the first one, which at least evoked emotion out of me, including 'if only' which I still can't listen to without crying!

LIKES:

Villain Kids: In most movies, the story is only as good as the antagonists to fight and in this case Uma (China Anne McClain) is an improvement over last movie's band of baddies. Descendants one tried to reinstate the classic baddies, with subpar casting and actors who semi looked the part. The direction of the movie though put the kids in the forefront and the villains in the back, resulting in rather boring/cheesy performances. With the kids being the focus, the new villain of Uma gets the focus and development needed, and her malicious planning are nice qualities. Her second in command Harry Hook (Thomas Doherty) is the enforcer who has some mad skills to bring to the table and actually does something to up the ante in a rather calm series. With kids at the focus, the doors open wide for more adventure at hand.

The Story: The first movie did a nice job introducing all the relationships of the world while embedding it in plots of doing villains' bidding, but also battling yourself when morals conflict. Yet the story was very simple and lacked the kick that it needed to be fully entertaining. Descendants 2 was a step up, building on those relationships and using them to tell a new story that involved exploring more of the isle. The added "suspense" was again a step in the right direction, and the increased urgency only brought more suspense to the mix.

The Songs: By far my favorite component was the soundtrack. After seeing Descendants a thousand times over the last two years, I made my list and found only a couple of songs I found timeless. In this installment, the five out of six tracks will most likely be coming to my Ipod. The dance numbers were much better for me and they fit very well into the theme of the movie instead of just being jammed in at random intervals ( see Evil Like Me and Ridiculous). The new soundtrack has edge and really kicks up the beat. Nice improvements guys.

Dislikes:

Dropped plot elements: If you haven't followed the animated shorts and accompanying books, then this won't affect you. However, the super fanbase will note other characters missing from Auradon's halls. Many characters are absent in this film, and even those from the first film have been reduced to back burner secondary appearances with little involvement in the main plot. Audrey, Jane, even Doug are not nearly as involved, most likely to give the newbies more screen time. Unfortunately…

New elements lacking: Outside of Uma and maybe Harry, many of the new characters are also reduced to smaller roles than I anticipated. Newcomers Dizzy (Anna Cathcart) and Gil (Dylan Playfair) have been the highlights of the recent advertising campaign, but sadly don't do much in this film. In addition, many of the dramatic buildups, foreshadowing, and magic are actually played less than I originally thought. Guess dancing and sword fighting are more important than complete plots. One warning I have for future installments is to not grow so big to drop other characters, or face the threat of devouring yourself by inconsistencies.

Rushed Plot: Descendants holds a lot of potential to be an epic tale, and that first book by De La Cruz was an epic introduction filled with that potential. The movies unfortunately have lost that balance and go for the rather rushed conclusions that make many DCOMs lacking. Number 2 did not improve on this element, but worsened as they tried to shove too many plots into the short run-time. Much of the conflict is dropped quickly, the tasks and trials are rapidly completed, and new elements are haphazardly dropped without any buildup or heat. I know they are shooting for time constraints, but with something this big… you can take your time and go a little longer. Younger audiences won't care about this, but older ones like me would appreciate a little more dramatic play ups. In addition, don't set up potential plots and drop them like a bad habit (see Chad Charming subplot). That incomplete presentation is a little disappointing with legendary directors in the mix.

Anti-climatic ending: I know, this is a movie geared for younger generations, we can't have too violent of a fight. The sword fight did a decent job of bringing the appropriate action especially the tangle between Harry and Jay (Booboo Stewart). However, another struggle at the end showed off some semi-decent computer work in a very…bland manner. I can't reveal much more, but an epic tangle could have come in that wasn't so…abruptly stopped. Kids watch lion King, Aladdin, and Incredibles, they can handle more than G rated punches. Add some "fire" to the mix, or throw in some close calls to mix things up and actually bring fear to the mix.

The Verdict:

Overall, Descendants 2 stepped its game up on many levels with their villains, story, and songs. Yet it still succumbs to the modern spin on DCOMs to go for musical gimmicks and diluted themes that while entertaining are not the only sustenance of the film. Descendants 2 story has room for improvement in regards to integrating its characters more, and could take a lesson from the books in regards to adding some suspense to the film. Still, it is one of the better DCOMs I have seen in a long time, and certainly the more impressive sequel to grace the small screen. With a little more work and some other feedback from you fans… Descendants 3 (which I feel will come) can be even more exciting.

My scores:

Family/Musical/Adventure/Fantasy: 8.0 Movie Overall: 5.5

Descendants 2, a sequel to the brilliant Descendants shown in 2015. I was glad to see more of the Isle in this film as it shows what surroundings the VKs grew up with. The music to this film was absolutely astonishing and there was no disappointment. It definitely lived up to the first one. Also the costumes were on fleek! I cannot wait to see if there is a descendants number 3 and I would recommend anyone who loves Disney and musicals, especially high school musical, to watch this magnificent film. However there were a few things I was slightly disappointed within the film but nothing that made me dislike the film completely.

• Katie Illsley x

First off I love the Idea some of the characters of these movies, but the execution is always lacking. Disney made bank off of the first one but it doesn't feel like they put any more money and effort into this one.

First off the CGI is completely HORRIBLE!!!! It really took me out of the show every time there was any CGI.

Second the "Costume Designers" should be fired as a lot of the colors clash and the clothes never seem to fit correctly.

The Acting and story was below what they should be aiming for as some areas felt really forced or unnatural. Cameron Boyce seemed to do OK but non of them can do great with this story.

It also doesn't tie into the Wicked world series as non of the new characters from that show were even in the movie. I also find Wicked Worlds story to be more interesting.

Now on to the singing.... Why was 99% of this show completely auto-tuned??? I know auto-tune can have a cool effect when used sparingly but they used it to the point that ruined songs!

The sets were very basic with horrible lighting.Why does this feel like a good high school drama set?

I also really wish they would add some better characters. Dopeys son feels forced there was no need for chad (the second son to the throne). I would love to see some of the wicked world cast and maybe the mad hatters daughter/son. Someone that is a little mad but in a good way. Pouring tea in a inopportune time or buttering a watch or celebrating someones unbirthday. There seems to be so many opportunities that they missed with the character choice. I also think they need to do something to the Beasts son Ben. Not only is his actor horrible but is character is very bland. Maybe get under a curse that changes how he looks so they can get a better actor and change his personality.

Please Disney I want to love this but your cheapness isn't helping. Just reboot it into a full blown movie and get good people to work on it. These actors could probably do a lot more if you give them something better. Shoot Booboo Stewart was actually good in the twilight Movies (not that I liked twilight that much).