Will Ferrell returns to the role of Ron Burgundy in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, which finds the popular San Diego television newsman pulling up stakes with co-host Veronica (Christina Applegate), his intrepid reporter Brian (Paul Rudd), overenthusiastic sports reporter Champ (David Koechner), and imbecilic weatherman Brick (Steve Carell) in order to move to New York City and launch the first ever 24-hour news network. Adam McKay, who directed the original, returns as well to helm this comedy. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
Director: Adam McKay
Cast: Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, Christina Applegate
Release Date: Dec 18, 2013
Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, drug use, language
and comic violence
Runtime: 1 hr. 59 min.
Genres: Comedy
Review:
Let’s get this out of the way right from the start. Anchorman 2 isn’t as funny or consistent as the original. Sky high expectations from fans, like myself, left the sequel with the nearly impossible task of topping the first film. That being said, the sequel does have plenty of bright spots with certain sequences veering into outlandish hilarity especially a certain cameo filled sequence near the end. Will Ferrell loves this character, in case you didn’t notice his 5 month in character publicity tour, and I still think it’s his most complete creation. The returning cast is all fun even if some get less screen time while others get more with varying results. Kristen Wiig’s role isn’t as large as the trailers lead you to believe but she has good chemistry with Steve Carell. I do think their portions of the film will split people, some loving it and others finding it utterly stupid. Meagan Good is a solid addition to the cast and she shows off some real comedic chops throughout. The plot is fairly clever even though there are a handful of recycled sequences from the first film. The biggest issue is that the film overall is overlong. The original film was a lean hour and half comedy. The sequel clocks in at nearly 2 hours and it has too many dead spot to warrant that runtime. All in all, the sequel is like Ron Burgundy’s life, filled with hilarious peaks and so-so valleys.
B-
