Pitch Perfect 2

Let me lay my cards out there straightaway. I'm a 31 year old bloke, married with two kids, who loves films and music.

And I love this film.

I Ioved the first film, and this one builds on it. But you have to appreciate that the film is based around college. For anyone that's actually been to college they should have experienced parties/people/incidents replicated in this film. I don't really understand why people show so much disdain for the 'childish' humour!

That aside...

Hats off to Elizabeth Banks for her directorial debut, you'd never know there was any change from the first film. And her inserts with John Michael Higgins are excellent, if you take them at face value for exactly what they are intended to be; humour! And pretty sexist, misogynistic humour!

Anna Kendrick is, as always, stunning (yes, the wife knows!) and simply brilliant. Shows just how much of an actress she is having improvised almost half her lines and proves once again that she can actually sing (albeit that the singing is not on set and pre-recorded).

The rest of the cast is brilliant and it's nice to see a little more of Esther Dean actually singing/rapping rather than her usual producing.

Hailee Steinfeld has stepped in seamlessly. I don't think we saw enough of Rebel Wilson though, reckon there'll be a few deleted scenes that didn't make it.

Good to see a lot of humour applied to the Ashley/Jessica situation (unless you know the film you won't get this).

The final song was actually very good. Maybe not as unexpected as the first film but brilliant with an original start and an excellent surprise at the end that I think added a very personal and moving touch.

It will be a shame if the franchise is over!

When I watched the original "Pitch Perfect" a number of years ago, I was disappointed in an experience that I felt wasn't sure of itself. That movie struggled to figure out whether to be grounded in semi-serious character development or fully embrace the comedy. In this sequel, however, they choose to fully embrace the comedy, and at least for me that was a decision that led to more entertaining experience.

For a basic plot summary, "Pitch Perfect 2" sees a return of the Borden Bellas...but only until they make themselves a national embarrassment after some "exposure" from Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson). Now, with the program about to be put on academic probation, it begins to fracture from within. Beca (Anna Kendrick) is spending just as much time on her own music career, while the routines just don't seem to be coming together like they used to. It takes freshman newcomer Emily (Hailee Steinfeld) to rally the troops and compete in the seemingly unwinnable "Worlds" competition featuring the dominant German squad.

Even though I am nowhere near the target audience of this movie (30 year-old male), I found this one to be a pretty entertaining experience because of its willingness to embrace its own silly humor throughout. Instead of trying to ground this movie in any sense of reality, it goes all-out for the jokes and music and I think it fits the style of director Elizabeth Banks better. Once you think of it as a pure comedy, it makes it a lot easier to get through.

Another great addition to the franchise was the Steinfeldt character, who breathes some new life and youthful exuberance into all proceedings. Without the new perspective given by her character, this could have been a pretty large repeat of the original. Steinfeldt can sing and act with equal measure (and both at a very high level), and is set up perfectly to be the star of subsequent sequels should Kendrick tire of the mantle.

Overall, "Pitch Perfect 2" was more fun for me than the original. It doesn't try to sell itself as anything other than a comedy, the songs are catchy and fun (as usual), and the Steinfeld performance is mesmerizing. This genre will never be my favorite, but it didn't struggle to finish this film like I did the first one.

Have you seen pitch perfect? who didn't? it's one of the most popular comedy movies in 2012. Did you like it? Well if you didn't, I advise you not to carry on reading this review because you probably won't also like the sequel.

Pitch Perfect 2:

The Video: Thanks to its experienced director Elizabeth Banks, the video shines brightly. Even though it's a comedy, its really special: the parties, the performances and almost everything in this movie is captured to comfort your eyes and to prevent the audience from falling asleep. Basically, an eye candy.

The Soundtrack: The best thing about this movie is the non-stop flawless music. Das Sound Machine really rocked the movie and made it challenging for the Barden Bellas to win. Famous songs and a great track-list, thats all i can say.

The Pace: I have recently seen many movies this year that were good but there's always that moment in the movie where you feel bored. Gladly, Pitch Perfect 2 doesn't fall for that mistake and it never slows down, you actually never feel bored in the movie.

The Story: The usual story about the Bellas trying to win their competition. Except that this time, it's bigger, a World Wide Championship! And some side stories about each of the characters and what they're going to do after graduating.

Overall: As a huge fan of the first part, i found it very original to make a good movie about Acapella which is something new and could be a great advance in the music process of this generation,Pitch Perfect 2 doesn't disappoint at all.Everything we liked about the first part is doubled here.It's like they checked what part of the movie the fans liked and added more of it which means MORE SONGS,MORE FAT AMY,MORE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT,MORE CHALLENGES and Definitely MORE LAUGHS!

After reading the review and watching the trailer you probably know what you're getting from this movie. Feeling into it? Then go watch it because you're surely going to like it

Final Score: 8/10

The original "Pitch Perfect" was, by any definition, a surprise hit; I think it's fair to claim nobody expected a film about a group of female a capella singers to be a box office smash that left a cultural footprint on the new generation of teenage girls. It combined the wry relatability of a film like "Mean Girls" and etched in pop/music-influenced energy to create something that was decidedly unique and realized and wound up creating its own eclectic fanbase. On the contrary, I don't think anybody expected there not to be a sequel to the film, and for that film to try and mimic what made the first film so loved.

Aside from a few stumbling attempts to keep up with its own absurdity, and some seriously questionable cultural jokes, "Pitch Perfect 2" continues to exploit its own harmony and run with it to notable success. This time around, we are reacquainted with the Bellas, the renowned, award-winning a capella group led by Becca (Anna Kendrick) and Chloe (Brittany Snow). Following an incident involving the klutzy Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) and an unforeseeable wardrobe malfunction in front of President Barack Obama and the First Lady, the Bellas are suspended from competing in any competition. In order to regain their domestic status, the group tries to perform on the international circuit, which has never seen an American a capella group compete in history.

A few years ago, this would've been little sweat for the barrage of talented ladies. However, most of the Bellas are graduating this year, quietly forgetting what has kept them together for so long. Moreover, the only one who appears worried about her future is Becca, who has been skipping out on many rehearsals and practices to advance her lowly status at a record company. She dreams of being a music producer, but has to work around her hard-headed (but hilarious) boss (Keegan-Michael Key), leaving the Bellas without a great deal of organization in the meantime. The group also welcomes a new face named Emily (Hailee Steinfeld), who is known for her "legacy" status thanks to her extremely talented mother, who was a Bella during her days at Barden University. This massive competitive undertaking mixed with a serious group identity crisis leaves the Bellas without a lot of options in terms of getting their name back on top.

Before we can appreciate what "Pitch Perfect 2" does fairly well, we have to recognize a couple of glaring issues that few seem to be talking about, one of which is the obvious cultural and racial insensitivity on display. There is a Guatemalan character in the film known as Flo (Chrissie Fit), who is a character that is thrown in the Bellas to do nothing other than confirm the common prejudices and stereotypes of Hispanic/South American individuals. Every time she speaks, she attributes some sort of stereotype to her own life, whether it be being kidnapped or having to change her identity and flee the country. The jokes are abrupt tonal shifts from what is otherwise light-hearted fun. In addition, even the blatantly sexist John (John Michael Higgins), one-half of the two announcers in the film who cover the a cappella competitions, has transcended from being simple and effective comic relief to thoroughly mean-spirited and misogynistic. I speak not as an offended viewer, but more as one questioning why many are so quick to just brush off casual racism in comedies when they condemn the same actions in real life (the same question I had when I saw "Get Hard").

"Pitch Perfect 2" is damn lucky to have an exceptional team of cinematographers, sound editors, sound mixers, costume designers, set decorators, and choreographers to assure that questionable humor and mean-spiritedness don't overtake the project's inherent charm. Despite all the distractions, one can't deny the theatrical power of both this film and its sequel. The glitz, glamor, and beautiful decor of the sets and stages are a feast for the eyes, and never does the a capella aspect get lost in the shuffle. These films are both incomparable collections of talent that simultaneously don't feel like any kind of marketing campaign for a capella organizations, which is a tricky dance to pull off in many cases.

The only other time "Pitch Perfect 2" sidesteps is when its coolness gets the best of it. Both films have consistently tried to be hip with the characters' lingo, mannerisms, and actions, and, most of the time, they because of how the talented actresses handle it, but it's silly scenes like Fat Amy "rubbing her confidence (aka sweat)" on Becca that work to derail such added charm. These kinds of scenes work paradoxically to the film, which tries to be more adult and less Disney (it comes with a PG-13 rating that should strongly be noted by parents of kids eleven and younger) most of the time, but can't help but throw in some element of childishness in the mix.

Nonetheless, first-time feature-film director Elizabeth Banks (who shows up alongside Higgins once again in the film) takes a lofty challenge with "Pitch Perfect 2" and succeeds in making it a visual spectacle and something of an emotional one to boot. By the end, we realize how much time we've spent with these characters, even if it doesn't seem like that much, and we recognize their talents and their personalities, and find ourselves falling in love with their attitudes, their singing, and their talent all over again. That's the beauty of these films, through the occasional bouts of nonsense and ridiculous jokes; these are characters with a great deal of personality encapsulated in a film that has enough of its own to effectively capture it.

The three-time champs Barden Bellas has an embarrassing incident when Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) flashes the audience during a performance for the President. They face punishment and replaced on the tour by the German Das Sound Machine. Beca (Anna Kendrick) starts an internship with a record producer (Keegan-Michael Key) keeping it a secret from the Bellas. Chloe (Brittany Snow) is more driven than ever before. Emily Junk (Hailee Steinfeld) is a legacy and joins the group. They vow to win the World Championship to regain their standing.

I really like the first movie. The girls are lovable. Their friendship is charming. There is just the right amount of humor. This one has made a few changes. Adding Hailee Steinfeld is nice. Elizabeth Banks' directing skills are functional. The girls remain charming. I personally like Rebel Wilson although there may be too much of her in this one. The problem is that the humor seems dumber. I don't mean it's simply broader and more coarse. I mean it seems stupider and less well written. The whole movie feels like a step down.