Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is the rare belated comedy sequel to be wholeheartedly worthy of the original. The longer run time affects the consistency of the gags but the continued reliance on improv delivers some real gems. The only downside is that some of the funniest material is in the behind the scenes with the best laugh coming from the gag reel.

Will Ferrell remains a delight as Ron Burgundy. His exaggerated delivery continues to make every single line of dialogue even funnier and since he's once again aided by David Koechner, Paul Rudd, and Steve Carell, the absurdity continues to be the film's greatest strength. The way each of them is introduced is hilarious with each scenario being the ideal fit for the characters.

Adam McKay's direction has obviously improved thanks to all the films he's done between making these two. The best example of this is the news fight which is a lot bigger in the amount of stars who are involved as well as how the action is staged and serenaded. The plot is just as threadbare as last time and like last time, it's stitched together about as well as it could be.

The further adventures of Ron Burgundy and his fellow news teammates yields quite a few laugh-out-laud gags and more than a few head scratches. I guess this is one of those films that depends heavily on knowing what you're in for. The first one was a big indicator and I had a hell of a good time with this.

I liked many of the jabs at modern news reporting and ratings and others that range from synergies to the chicken industry. Many quite good and to the point. Then there are those moments you're embarrassed to laugh at (the one with Paul Rudd's "Ladykiller" friends, for example) and will definitely offend more than a few. And this is, naturally, all done in the most over the top manner possible.

For some reason the bits with Steve Carell and Kirsten Wiig fell a bit flat for me but overall I completely enjoyed the film's excessiveness. Will Ferrell owns this role and everyone else gives it a fun go.

Get yourself in the right frame of mind and most likely you'll enjoy it.

I was so disappointed after the 1st viewing and didn't watch it again until today, its actually pretty good, the Harrison Ford scene alone was brilliant, the film just suffered massively from the sheer brilliance of the 1st film, the anticipation was too high but now it has all calmed down watch it again.

I enjoyed the first Anchorman. It was goofy, yet you had a sense of where it was going. The one liners were flawless, which made it the cult classic it is today. I realized I could only see a movie like this once every two years. When its sequel came around, I expected the same. It was exactly what I expected... In the first half. The first half contained some classic one liners, and fantastic situations these characters are in. The story wasn't that strong, but that was the first Anchorman's problem. The second half was a collapse. A collapse in storytelling, writing, and Will Farrell got a little old. The first half could have gotten at most an eight if it stood alone. The second half was also too overlong, they crammed too many fanfare elements that they felt they needed to keep from the first half. It made it feel like a rehash, not a sequel (trust me, you will know exactly when this happens). In the end, there are things that this first half cannot make up for in the second half. This review, to some may not be a glowing recommendation. However, if you are a fan of the first film, you have probably already have seen this.

That was the first thing I said as I left the cinema. Was that the best they could come up with after all these years? I'm a huge Anchorman fan, but whereas the first one felt fresh and to the point, this one is flabby and overlong. It's not terrible and it did make me laugh a few times, but I expected so much more. The 24 hour news channel is a good hook on which to hang the gags and setpieces but unfortunately Ferrell and McKay don't seem to know what to do with it, so they settle for recycling material from the original. By way of example, the mahoosive news reader fight scene from Anchorman is repeated here; the first time around it was funny and surprising, this time it's lazy and stuffed full of tedious cameos by Will Ferrell's showbiz mates. So much wrong with this film: sidelining Veronica Corningstone; not enough Baxter; a subplot in which Brick gets a girlfriend, no laughs there, it's just odd and creepy; pointless roles for Harrison Ford and Greg Kinnear; a recurring thread of racial humour that is cringeworthy at best and at worst offensive. All of which leaves you asking: why, Ron Burgundy, why?!?