Pitch Perfect 2 (Elizabeth Banks)

[Henry Gale]

http://www.kritikanstvo.ru/movies/p/pitchperfect2/images/pitchperfect2_184802.jpg

IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2848292/) / Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch_Perfect_2)

[Henry Gale]

Obviously everyone here is feverishly looking forward to this, so I'll just break this down to succinct point-form thoughts to simply get to the points you need to hear and not because I don't know if anyone will care to read otherwise:

- Very typical sequelitis going on here: Old characters boiled down to one or two key characteristics (from admittedly low-dimensionality the first time around), some new characters (particularly Steinfeld) take the place of and repeat previous film's character journeys from scratch.

- John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks are smartly employed even more (not too surprisingly since the latter is now the director) since they were absolute highlights in the original, but this movie decides to try to make them something resembling actual characters rather than the lovable, inept caricatures they were the first time around, and it's a bit odd. They're in it a lot, and sadly with diminishing, narrow returns.

- Reggie Watts, John Hodgman, Jason Jones, Joe Lo Truglio also show up in a battle sequence in the basement of a character played by David Cross (the first two replacing Har Mar Superstar and Donald Faison from the original), and as great as that is, all five feel underutilized and only elevate the sequence they're in and nothing beyond that. The Green Bay Packers are another team in the battle. It's a decent sequence for the performances, but some awkward scripting in between the songs.

- Keegan-Michael Key also has a role that feels bigger than a lot of the Bellas. He is very solid, but between his role and the subplot he's involved in, the film settles for a very single-camera sitcom-y, rotating guest-star feel early on, and the rest of the movie begins to feel like a condensed season of a Pitch Perfect TV revival rather than a movie.

- Speaking of the TV feel, as much as I love not just any female director being given a summer tentpole like this, but that it happens to be Elizabeth Banks too, I sadly found her work to be completely by the numbers, and I really started to retroactively appreciate the seemingly effortless look, framing and overall rhythm and feel Jason Moore held onto with much of the first one. #1 was a movie that ran 100 minutes but plays as if it's half of that. Banks has a very perfunctory style, and more than a few scenes feel flabby and overindulgent in ad-libs and unnecessarily left-in beats.

- Rebel Wilson and Adam Devine's subplot / romance is mostly pointless and cartoonish, once again choosing to go for the easiest path to a joke instead of logic this time around, but the strengths of them as comedic actors elevate it well above how it's scripted. Particularly the "We Belong" sequence, where the film also decides to just omit all realism and go into full musical mode with magical backing music accompanying them. (THIS IS AN ACAPELLA MOVIE. STICK TO WHAT YOU STAND FOR. IT MIGHT HAVE EVEN PLAYED FUNNIER.)

- Chrissie Fit's character, and the jokes that stem from her one-note-ness of being a Guatemalan immigrant, are suuuper problematic. The stereotypes and boiling down of character's unique attributes to single, condescending attitudes both projected onto them and delivered by themselves through their dialogue can get tiring and sigh-worthy in ways they never were in the first.

- I didn't stop-watch it, but half of this movie might be done in montage.

- I laughed a lot, I was oddly moved by some of the numbers (as over-produced, auto-tuned and synthesized as the vocal arrangements sometimes sound), and those things stick out in my mind slightly more than the issues / general disappointment I had with its general movie-ness and how it sometimes sloppily held together on those terms.

- The reason I saw this is because I knew that my girlfriend, sister, a bunch of her friends, and even a few of my closest guy friends all wanted to see it. So when early screening tickets appeared, I grabbed them very much for their sakes, but I did want to see it too since I think the first one is way more entertaining than it reasonably should be, and re-watching it earlier this week (and especially now thinking about it after seeing #2) re-affirmed that more than ever.

- I hope it makes a lot of money more for the decidedly female market it stands for (in addition to truly representing with its writer, director, and like 90% of its cast), for studios to look at that as something to take more chances in a similar vein with the same way they should be looking at something like the Fast & Furious series as resoundingly connecting with non-white audiences. (And on the female end of things, I'll say the same for Magic Mike XXL later on this summer.)

I'll stop the points now. This thread can end here. This can be my "Smash (Season 2)" thread, and I will be okay with that. But if you do see it, like it for what it is, try not to mind what it so clearly isn't. It's fun, or at least, just enough of it.

**½ / 5.9

[Spinal]

This can be my "Smash (Season 2)" thread, and I will be okay with that.

:D Early contender for quote of the month.

[D_Davis]

HG continues to see everything.

"Hey, it's a movie!"

:D

[Gittes]

In all fairness, the first movie was pretty well received by critics and audiences alike, so it's not like this sequel isn't notable or doesn't warrant attention. I can't speak to its quality yet, but I didn't mind the original. I'm not sure if there are a lot of fans on this forum.

[Henry Gale]

HG continues to see everything.

"Hey, it's a movie!"

:D

Hahaha, I meeean, I feel like I explained this with the "who I went with" bit, but I also liked the first one and wasn't against seeing this for free a week and a half early, therefore I cannot entirely refute your imaginary quote.

But don't think I felt great knowing there was a Fury Road screening at the same theatre the night before that I didn't have tickets for, at which George Miller decided to make a surprise after-movie Q&A appearance. Though we did have an acappella group perform before our movie so it's hard to say who won, really. (:confused:)


In all fairness, the first movie was pretty well received by critics and audiences alike, so it's not like this sequel isn't notable or doesn't warrant attention. I can't speak to its quality yet, but I didn't mind the original. I'm not sure if there are a lot of fans on this forum.

Apparently we had at least 16 others. (http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?4262-Pitch-Perfect-%28Jason-Moore%29)

And honestly, I didn't realize the first sits at over 80% on RT, and pretty shocked the early reviews of the second are as positive as they are. It's a very typical sequel, and maybe people have that lowered expectation more than I to have been more okay with that.

I might end up being more of a detractor of this?

[Pop Trash]

Are you in Toronto, Henry?

[EyesWideOpen]

In all fairness, the first movie was pretty well received by critics and audiences alike, so it's not like this sequel isn't notable or doesn't warrant attention. I can't speak to its quality yet, but I didn't mind the original. I'm not sure if there are a lot of fans on this forum.

I really enjoyed the first one and I'd rather see this then pretty much anything Marvel/DC related and that's 90% of this forums conversations currently.

[Henry Gale]

Are you in Toronto, Henry?

I am indeed. For those not in the city, the Suicide Squad filming I mentioned in the other thread was just outside when I saw this.

IT'S ALL CONNECTED.

[Spinal]

I really enjoyed the first one and I'd rather see this then pretty much anything Marvel/DC related and that's 90% of this forums conversations currently.

Yeah, I'll likely be seeing this before I see Avengers 2.

[dreamdead]

This one takes the breezy energy and verve of the first film and just struggles and struggles to find that tone. The Beca material and the aCapella material are two totally different films; the former develops organically and the latter feels tied to the brand of Pitch Perfect. As such, all of the material focused on the aCapella often feels rote and lacking the ingenuity, and sense of fun, that the first film captured.

And oof, it hurts to be a minority. So much winking and self-conscious "jokes," but they all reveal how one-note the characterization is for anyone beyond Beca and Fat Amy. Lilly and the Guatemalan girl just are so lazy of character sere, where Lilly was actually interesting in the first film.

The most interesting aspect was how superficial the male characters are here(hello, useless Jesse), which is a smart inversion of female gender tropes in these sorts of films. Shame that the female camaraderie isn't that strong but a string of disconnected moments.

[transmogrifier]

No, what? They brought Jesse back? Really? He was the worst part of what was not a very good film in the first place. The most boring romantic partner I can remember.

I will never watch this. I have to prevent my wife from knowing this exists.

[Gizmo]

I really enjoy the first one, and was pleasantly surprised by it. This one is just sad. It lacks heart and wit. I agree with the previous assessments provided by Henry above, almost completely.

[number8]

$70 mil. Highest opening weekend by any first time feature director.

[Dukefrukem]

Meh. It's a sequel though. I'm not trying to discredit her, I just think this franchise already had a pretty big fan base to begin with.

[number8]

So was David Fincher's debut with Alien 3, or Joe Kosinski with Tron: Legacy, or JJ Abrams with MI3.

[Dukefrukem]

Were those movies mentioned in whatever article you read? Because I would say the same thing about them too.

[number8]

Huh? Those are sequels I remember were by first time directors and I looked up on Boxofficemojo.com myself to see what their opening numbers were. They were lower than Pitch Perfect 2's.

[Dukefrukem]

I dont know what we're talking about anymore. Good for Elizabeth Banks I guess.

[Dukefrukem]

Sorry this is still fun. And I'm still in love with Anna.

"Say one more Hipster thing, and I will shove you in your vintage bassoon case" bwhahahaha