Pitch Perfect 2 is a movie roughly just as good as the first. Better? Probably not, it's on the same level, but nothing particularly made me think it was better than the first. That doesn't mean it's bad, as I found the movie heavily enjoyable and would recommend it to those who had seen the first movie.
The good is that the main cast returns, and you can tell they clearly love what they're doing. The songs are terrific and put to a good use of the acapella, and the guest film stars are quite good (special mention to Katey Segal who's only in three scenes but has a fun character, David Cross, and even Snoop Dogg manages to leave a memorable scene with his unknown duet with Beca being one of the films music highlights). The humor is strong, and Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins once again steal the film every time they're on screen. I'm surprised at how little Bumper annoyed me, given that he was such a jerk and an (intentional) pain in the first film (the scene with Amy singing dramatically towards him as she paddles across the lake on a boat is one of my favorite scenes).
Not to say the movie doesn't have problems, because it does. I take it we're meant to find Benji adorable and endearing but his entire romance with Emily just seemed annoying, with his bumbling over lines just at the sight of her being tedious to watch. Of their real on stage performance, the Bellas screw up continuously until the big finale, which is a shame because the on stage ones are one of the best. The character of Flo exists to make numerous racist jokes, and it barely got a chuckle from the audience I watched it with. I'm not sure how I feel on Emily. She seems like a reverse Beca, given how Beca was incredibly reluctant to join the Bellas, Emily is incredibly eager to join as her mother (played by Segal) was once a member herself. Also, as much as I love John Michael Higgins, his character can get tiring with the numerous misogynist jokes which I know we're not supposed to find that hilarious, but still tick me off.
Also in all, it's a good film, and most of the complaints can be bypassed if you're loyal to the first Pitch Perfect. Given how the movie ends with most of the Bellas graduating, I wonder if any sequels will focus on the graduates or Emily and a fresh batch of Bellas.
Pitch Perfect 2
Pitch Perfect 2 is a movie roughly just as good as the first. Better? Probably not, it's on the same level, but nothing particularly made me think it was better than the first. That doesn't mean it's bad, as I found the movie heavily enjoyable and would recommend it to those who had seen the first movie.
The good is that the main cast returns, and you can tell they clearly love what they're doing. The songs are terrific and put to a good use of the acapella, and the guest film stars are quite good (special mention to Katey Segal who's only in three scenes but has a fun character, David Cross, and even Snoop Dogg manages to leave a memorable scene with his unknown duet with Beca being one of the films music highlights). The humor is strong, and Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins once again steal the film every time they're on screen. I'm surprised at how little Bumper annoyed me, given that he was such a jerk and an (intentional) pain in the first film (the scene with Amy singing dramatically towards him as she paddles across the lake on a boat is one of my favorite scenes).
Not to say the movie doesn't have problems, because it does. I take it we're meant to find Benji adorable and endearing but his entire romance with Emily just seemed annoying, with his bumbling over lines just at the sight of her being tedious to watch. Of their real on stage performance, the Bellas screw up continuously until the big finale, which is a shame because the on stage ones are one of the best. The character of Flo exists to make numerous racist jokes, and it barely got a chuckle from the audience I watched it with. I'm not sure how I feel on Emily. She seems like a reverse Beca, given how Beca was incredibly reluctant to join the Bellas, Emily is incredibly eager to join as her mother (played by Segal) was once a member herself. Also, as much as I love John Michael Higgins, his character can get tiring with the numerous misogynist jokes which I know we're not supposed to find that hilarious, but still tick me off.
Also in all, it's a good film, and most of the complaints can be bypassed if you're loyal to the first Pitch Perfect. Given how the movie ends with most of the Bellas graduating, I wonder if any sequels will focus on the graduates or Emily and a fresh batch of Bellas.