Sione's 2: Unfinished Business

What a disappointment. A terrible movie with no good points. The first movie I have walked out of in a long time. The original was really quite good so my expectation was high for this one. Some of the characters were totally idiotic and tried too hard to be funny based on American style stereotypes. The 'Adjusters'... say no more. I found the humour to be non-humorous and childish. No part of the movie made me laugh. Although there were a couple of parts that made me cringe. What a shame to see this sequel pushed out there to tarnish the excellent reputation of the New Zealand film industry. It is a couple of hours of my life that I will never get back haha.

The boys are back, and slightly more mature, in this sequel to the ever popular Sione's wedding.

Went into the movie with very low expectations as I was sure it wouldn't be as funny as the original. Well I was right, it didn't come close to being as hilarious as the first but I was pleasantly surprised as this movie takes a surprising and almost dark twist and that is precisely why this movie was so good. It took on a tougher plot without losing its comedic charm.

Every kiwi should check this movie out, good for a laugh and a half and it will take you on an interesting adventure. Faa,enjoy the ride.

Sione's 2 Unfinished Business is the sequel to the 2006 film Sione's Wedding. I saw this film at its recent premiere in Auckland and all I have to say is that this film tries to set itself up as something like 'The Blues Brothers' with the whole 'we're on a mission from god' schtick when its really the equivalent of 'Dude Where's My Car' with David Fane playing the missing car. I think film makers were more concerned with trying to avoid leaking this film to the internet rather than writing a quality script. Terrible film please avoid. New Zealand films can do so much better than this trainwreck. Its shame really with all of the excellent talent here being wasted like this. Two out of ten.

It is fair to say 'Sione's Wedding' was a highly entertaining film which was well shot, acted, written and delivered. It may seem odd to say, but the great quality of the first Sione's weighs uncomfortably on the higher budget sequel.

'Sione's 2: Unfinished Business' is an incredibly well done film, again exceptionally written by Oscar Kightley and James Griffin and featuring some of New Zealand's greatest talents such as the beautiful Madeleine Sami, Teuila Blakely and Robbie Magasiva. The production values are high, each shot wonderfully crafted and shot with amazing quality while the sound is clear and fluent. The music is also pleasant and well fitted, the only problem is this film is the sequel to the first. The great thing about the first film is that it was so well written, the audience entered these characters lives, each character was so far developed - they were believable and relatable. 'Sione's 2' manages to stay constant to the first film with the four lead characters, but every other character was simply a characterture of their past self. The development process was so focused on the lead roles, the minor roles such as Sione, Bolo, Tania and Leilani were all left to stay out of the spotlight and become hard to understand and relate. The central story of the first film focused on Sione's dedication to his wife, yet for no reason the character of Sione has a major personality change and the second film stems from this, as though he was always this characterised. However as mentioned, Albert, Michael, Sefa and Stanley all remain well written, constant and most importantly; real. The writers haven't gone all wrong though on the minor characters, the hilarious Derek stands out, brilliantly acted by David Van Horn.

All in all, the only problem I have with this film is its at times faceless direction and most importantly the fact it is the sequel to 'Sione's Wedding'. If this film was a standalone, I'm sure I would have enjoyed it a far load more, not being preoccupied trying to decipher what the feeling I was getting throughout the whole film. Though not as good as the original, this film is still hugely enjoyable and a must for all Kiwi cinema goers.

I wondered how the sequel was going to top the first movie (Sione's Wedding) and it definitely delivered!

It delivered in ways where it offered a difference in plot and story line, the time line of the plot went over a day and night, which was good because it was quick to grasp the concept of what was going on.

There were a lot of twists and turns in the story, which were quite shocking, but offered for a good story and even more laughs. In every funny moment, the whole movie theater erupted in laughter; it's just as hilarious, if not more than the first movie!

Loved it, can't wait until it comes out on DVD/Blu-Ray.