Punk's Dead: SLC Punk 2

Slc Punk was one of the greatest films about the social commentary of the punk rock scene in the mid 80's. So when I heard this film was getting a sequel I was intrigued. It was great seeing SOME of the original cast return. Devon Sawa saved this movie. I was disappointed with the overall story of this film. It was a road trip film. Penny was behind the wheel most of the movie. The dialogue so bland I couldn't invest myself in the new characters. MGK was fine but was in the shadow of StevO, so he was fighting an up hill Battle. Ross was bland, over emotional with little explanation or character development of the relationship he was grieving over. Many returning characters were misused. At the end of the day, this film suffered from poor writing. Not really having anything groundbreaking to say unlike the first one. Very disappointing.

To be honest, this movie isn't a sequel to the first film in any relatable sense. Some characters appear with the same names as some in the first film, there is some narration that happens, a goth kid goes to a punk show, gets hammered, has a revelation while getting the hell beat out of him, and end show? SLC Punk! was a surprisingly great film. This one? Not so much. The production values weren't good, the acting was uninspired, and the direction was horrible. The original was one of those films better left on its own. It was like they were pressured to make it at gunpoint and this was the post-mortem product.

This is what happens when you try to recapture lightning in a bottle while standing in a half-full kiddy pool.

I was glad when it was over.

I wonder why anyone would make such a listless movie.

The characters each seem indulgent yet none are developed to the point where they provide any interest.

The usefulness of a car ride as a sort of journey device is marginalized by the redundant and boring settings.

The production value is mix and match mediocre.

The narrator's bad acting is creepier than the creepiness of employing a dead narrator character.

The climax of the story is not even anti climatic, but at least you know the end is near.

'PUNK'S DEAD: SLC PUNK 2': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A sequel to the 1998 cult classic 'SLC PUNK!'; once again written and directed by James Merendino. Actors Michael A. Goorjian, Devon Sawa, James Duval and Adam Pascal all reprise their roles (from the original film); as Heroin Bob, Sean, John the Mod and Eddie. Matthew Lillard (the star of 'SLC PUNK!') did not agree to return, to his most iconic role. The film also stars Ben Schnetzer, Machine Gun Kelly, Hannah Marks and Sarah Clarke (replacing Annabeth Gish, as Trish). The film tells the story of three outsider rebels, on a road trip to a punk rock show. It's definitely nowhere near as good (or as classic) as the original.

The story, this time, revolves around a 19-year-old misfit, named Ross (Schnetzer); the son of Heroine Bob (Goorjian) and Trish (Clarke). Bob died before Ross was born, but he still narrates his story; from beyond the grave. Ross just got dumped by a girl, and has decided to go on a road trip with two punk friends, Penny (Marks) and Crash (Kelly), to a punk rock show. Along the way he does drugs and alcohol, for the very first time, and his mother becomes very concerned; upon hearing about it.

The movie is extremely low-budget, and amateurish looking; which is very fitting for a movie about punks, and punk rock music. I admire the message of the film, and a lot of things the filmmakers were trying to say, but I just don't think it came together right (as a whole). The jokes are not funny, and the characters all seem like bad fake stereotypes. In a way, the movie kind of becomes what it's supposed to be fighting against. I respect it's ambition, and effort though; but it definitely doesn't live up to the original. There are some good live performance in it (from the likes of Dwarfs and Screeching Weasel), and the soundtrack is pretty cool though!

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It was 50/50, half good, half rotten. If the creator of this sequel just focused on the three main characters, Ross, Penny and Crash, and their road adventure, while relegating the adult characters to background players, this could have been a very good movie. The three kids were great in their roles, especially the actress who was Penny.. very genuine performance. When the focus was on those guys the movie took off. But when the scene shifted to Trish and the Goth girl in the shop, the whole thing crashed with a dull thud. Trish was AWFIL, and Devon Sawa's character was poorly written too. Of course it was awesome seeing James Duvall as John, the Norwegian Black Metal guy.. I liked him since "Doom Generation," and he's always good. I can't believe how ripped he looks here! Unfortunately his character is only seen interacting with the ones who bring the movie down. Anyway there was a good movie in there, but it's been diluted with too many scenes that just don't work. They really screwed it up!