
SYNOPSIS:
The Pink Panther 2, the sequel to the 2006
worldwide hit, stars Steve Martin as he reprises the role of
intrepid-if-bumbling French police detective, Inspector
Jacques Clouseau. When legendary treasures from around the
world are stolen, including the priceless Pink Panther
Diamond, Chief Inspector Dreyfus (John Cleese) is forced to
assign Clouseau to a team of international detectives and
experts charged with catching the thief and retrieving the
stolen artifacts. Martin is joined by his co-stars Jean Reno
(as Ponton, his partner) and Emily Mortimer (as Nicole, the
object of his awkward affections). The investigative dream
team is played by Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina, Yuki Matsuzaki
(Letters from Iwo Jima) and Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai
Bachchan. Lily Tomlin also stars. The story is set in Paris
and Rome.
REVIEW: Insp.
Jacques Clouseau: Let me bring you up to speed... We know
nothing. You are now up to speed.
It is the Pink Panther way, or should I say the Jacques
Clouseau way. It is slapstick at its best plus an
exaggerated French accent. I was finally able to take both
my parents to a screening and they really enjoyed it. They
don’t go to the movies much, believe me. My Dad told me
afterward that nobody will be able to compare to Peter
Sellers in this timeless comedy franchise and I agreed. But
we also agreed that Steve Martin does a good job with the
role. Peter’s shoes are hard to fill when it comes to this
character and I for one admire Steve for taking a successful
stab at it. A prerequisite for seeing this movie is that you
need to like or at least stomach the slapstick, corny, silly
humor. Those of you that are familiar with the traditional
Pink Panther style humor will know what I’m talking about.
This movie follows suit quite well. It is a good laugh with
a touch of mystery, romance, and plot twists.
Overall the film was enjoyable but too many times it seemed
to deviate from the main plot. The purpose was mostly for
comical moments which were funny but it also distracts you
from the main plot. It does have a star studded cast
including Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina, John Cleese, Jeremy
Irons, Jean Reno, and the incomparably beautiful Aishwarya
Rai. Each of them does as good as you would expect in this
context but their roles were too small for them to really
stand out. It was all about Steve and I think he did a
better job this time around. He seemed more in tune with the
classic Peter Sellers version of Inspector Clouseau. It was
a little disappointing that Kevin Kline was replaced by John
Cleese, but then again, it’s John Cleese so it’s forgivable.
It was really great to see Lily Tomlin on the big screen
again. I hadn’t seen her in a long while and she was sharp
as ever. She played the counterpart character to the
linguistics teacher from the first one. This time it’s Lily
and she is an ethics instructor. Although brief, it was a
fun character. Andy and Alfred join that group of
entertaining characters as well. Andy plays an Italian
investigator and Alfred a British investigator.
The movie also provides nice views of beautiful France as
well as Rome. But again, the majority of the picture is
focused on Clouseau and his antics. For you Pink Panther
followers, there is an interesting surprise toward the end
of the movie, that involves Clouseau of course, that might
leave you slightly stunned. The moviemakers of this film
decided to change from Shawn Levy to Harald Zwart as
Director. Shawn has a heavier resume but Harald did just as
good if not better with this sequel. This is a fun,
light-hearted picture that I can tell you first hand, the
family will enjoy.
Movie
Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
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