Les Indians II

And I mean really stupid humor. By no means does this realistically portray baseball, nor does it make any sense at all in real life. It's just stupidly funny. In movies like this, I personally don't really care how good the acting is or how corny the plot is (cheesy romance, ridiculous comebacks, etc) so long as it remains interesting. Yes, most people would know what's going to happen from the beginning. It's what happens when getting there that's funny. While not a must-see movie, if you like comedy and you don't have much else to do, I would recommend watching it. If you prefer witty humor or more winding plots (a la Seinfeld) or developed characters, this is definitely not good for you. This might be even better for baseball fans. A very nice movie to unwind with.

Disclaimer: I have not seen the first one. I highly suspect that I would be annoyed by this one if I was a big fan of the first one before watching this.

I don't know why the harsh rating, I mean, despite the fact that a few actors were replaced, I thought that Major League 2 was a decent comedy. Separated from the first, I think more people would give it a chance. How could you not laugh at the buddist out fielder? He was hilarious! I liked how they showed that most of the guys changed, it was so human and added a real story.

The boys are back for the next season, this time Rachel has sold the team to Roger and he is in charge. The boys have all changed though, mainly Rick, who has lost his "wild thing" edge. The boys this time want to make it to the world series, but that's going to be hard since most of them have taken their fame to their heads. Rachel buys the team back and the boys finally decide to get themselves together and get to the world series!

Major League 2 is a good comedy if you just let go of the first one, I know that most don't want to since the first was so original and a great comedy as well, but just give it a shot as it's own movie. It has some really funny moments that I loved a lot. This movie at least deserves to have a better rating than a sorry 4.7.

6/10

This movie did not have the budget or the star power of the first one, but it made up for it with sharper writing and more creative characters. The real delight of this second chapter was that of Randy Quaid, whose tortured Indians fan character was just great. Exit Wesley Snipes, enter Omar Epps, who upholds the character of Willie Mays Hayes. Charlie Sheen is given more range and better punchlines, while the character of Jack Parkman infuses a much needed new enemy into the storyline. In fact, it is David Keith's Parkman that really makes the movie. I really feel that this film kept the series at the same level as the first, if not actually bringing it up a bit. Of course the third was really bad. So, don't be nervous that this will be another "sorry sequel", it really is quite good.

Okay, I admit this film isn't quite as good as the original. But aside from that, it really isn't as bad as it's being made out to be.

In my opinion, the biggest flaw was that it was supposed to be the `very' next year, but in reality the movie was filmed five years later. This really showed with some of the characters. Rick Vaughn (Charlie Sheen) was a rookie in the first film, but he's obviously not a kid anymore in this one. When Jake Taylor (Tom Berenger) first stepped out of the taxi at the beginning of this movie, he looked so much older that it was stunning. And Margaret Whitton (Rachel Phelps) had aged so much and gained enough weight that I literally didn't even recognize her at first. All of this just took a while to get accustomed to, not to mention Willie Mays Hayes now being played by a different character. They just casually slipped that in there like we weren't supposed to notice, but I never really could accept this as being the same character that I loved so much in the first film.

As far as the comedy, it's a bit more slap-stick than the original. The character of Rube Baker (played by Eric Bruskotter) is likeable, but borderline goofy. Also, Roger Dorn's character (played by Corbin Bernsen) has transformed from an egotistical bad-boy to a wimpy cry-baby. I had trouble believing that was the same character as well.

But all of that aside, I still liked this film pretty well. It just took me a while to adjust to the changes. I enjoyed it better the second time I watched it, once the initial shock had worn off.

This may not be a great movie but it is excellent craftmanship. The acting is uniformly good and relaxed and the cinematography simple but efficient. The story may be similar to the first film but it is not a copy and is quite OK for a Sunday afternoon type film.

The film flows effortlessly and seamlessly from beginning to end and there are none of those badly played/cut/directed/whatever scenes or really dull spots that reminds you it is "just a film". For this reason it is one of those films I can watch again and again with enjoyment.