Hevimpi reissu

I was a big fan of the first movie. An irreverent, creative and very funny comedy about a bunch of metalheads from a dead end town in Finland looking for their big break, encountering ever more ridiculous situations. Clearly made by people who know and love metal culture but also enjoy poking fun at its more openly ridiculous aspects.

The only moment where it started to lose me was the relatively uncreative and much too conventional finale which felt more like how an American remake of the same material would handle it.

After seeing the trailer I began to fear part two would just going to be exactly that, but stretched to 90 minutes.

And yup, that's basically what happened....

The plot couldn't be more cliched if they tried, you can see every beat coming from a mile away and the last half hour especially becomes a total slog.

It's not a complete failure, the chemistry between the cast is great as ever, there are some good tunes throughout and the constant stabs at Finland's friendly neighbor Norway did make me chuckle at least, but the bog-standard plot and lack of ideas drag this movie way down. The seemingly endless barrage of cameos from the metal scene just smells of desperation and all the music references felt way too obvious this time around.

Heavy trip was the little movie that could. This feels strangely corporate by comparison.

It brings me no joy to say it, but what a disappointment.

What can I say? I went to see this movie with an expectation to see a comedy movie revolving around metal music, its subcultures and oh boy, did it deliver! One of the best good mood movies I have seen in ages and a real delight for anyone who understands metal culture and how it is.

I have seen the first movie and while I liked it, it felt more like a drama movie of how it is difficult to live in a small countryside town when you don't fit in. The guys being metal heads was like a side bonus - they could have been anything else. Here, in the sequel, Turo and his band members being metalheads is the carrying force the movie relies on. As it should! I have to say, from bottom of my heart, that this movie was so, so much better than the first one. More on the comedic side and hey, there was a lot more heavy metal music, too!

Xytrax is again one of the best things this movie has to offer. The joke of Xytrax liking some other bands than the pure black metal or "real metal" ones was a delight because every single black metal guy I know has a secret band crush on something "wrong". One of the guys I know loves Madonna, while the other is a big fan of Ayumi Hamasaki, and so on. There are lots of little treats for metal fans and people understanding the subculture like these in the movie. Spot an Immortal reference, Peter Steele and Misfits!

I was super happy to see Oula getting more role in the movie. He actually makes a great addition into the team and the band feels coherent, even when Jynkky from the first movie is missing. Oula didn't just take Jynkky's spot, he became part of the band. Bravo!

I also loved that the movie touched the topic of stardom and being really famous; the audience doesn't come to listen to our music and doesn't care what we want to say with our lyrics - they only came to ogle us and wish to get into our pants. There's no privacy, no genuine care, just lust for a piece of meat on a stage. Not to mention how much money rules in the music business, metal included.

Definitely a big praise for this movie. It is a good mood movie and really made for the metal audience - a general audience might not get as much out from this movie as the target audience but it is okay. It's worth it.

But it's still worth 8 stars. It is a movie for heavy metal fans who will still enjoy it. For me, the highlight as with the first movie is Max Ovaska as Xytrax.

You just have to go with the flow. You see a lot of heavy metal guys and they behave in their own way. Xytrax has his principles, Oula has his anger outbursts when provoked, Turo looks for fame and Lotvonen once in a while seems not to be too smart.

It contains a bit criticism on the well-being society of the scandinavian countries and it gives a message towards the music business that wants to monetize and does not care about skills. There are some insider jokes for metal freaks.

I think the film is more of a mess than the first one. With vibes of Grady Hendrix's We Sold Our Souls, but also trying to be funny, while also depicting financial bullying of small enterprises from banks, with lots of metal references, but also featuring Babymetal, while actually going nowhere with it... it's all over the place.

The guys are still fun, in that childish endearing way, but their art has to come face to face with the real world of music, where music doesn't matter, and money, but not for performance, but from merch. Still, I can't help noticing that the same problems hitting the band seem to shadow the movie itself.

Overall, I think it was decent, with a rather bizarre ending that felt like someone just got fed up with making the movie and wanted to finish it quickly.

A true recapturing of the heart and soul of the first film. A great testament, if you will. I've never loved a follow up as much as I love this. No matter if you're a lover of Baby Metal, or Abbath, Metallica, or Suicide Silence, there is something to be said for the metal community. We're all here for one another, and it shows. This film has more heart than 90% of the mainstream films I've seen since the first one debuted. These reviews have to be so long, but all I need to say is that this film is awesome. Great watch with friends and or lovers of music in general. Share it with your buddies, they'll thank you.