The Pink Panther 2

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Kylo S Apr 24, 2019 The Pink Panther 2 (2009): 6 out of 10: Steve Martin reprises his take on that classic Peter Sellers role as Inspector Clouseau. To the surprise of no one in the viewing audience, the Pink Panther diamond is stolen along with other artifacts from around the world (Shroud of Turin, Popes ring, Emperor's sword from Japan) A master thief named The Tornado claims responsibility and a Dream Team of Detectives are sent in to solve the case. The Good: The Pink Panther 2 sports an all-star cast and it certainly has some stand-outs that carry more than their weight. Jean Reno, in particular, is excellent as Clouseau's French partner. He is the perfect foil for Steve Martin's character even though he does seem to possess a haircut that is more appropriate for an eight-year-old on school picture day. A shirtless Jeremy Irons hams it up as the suspected villain Tornado. He is only in the film for a few minutes, but he makes them count. Pink Panther 2 also skips the part in every Pink Panther film where we see the thief steal the Pink Panther diamond. Good for them I say. That was always ten minutes or so that while interesting didn't fit with the rest of the film. It is actually kind of refreshing not to have to sit through it again. The Pink Panther 2 is beautifully shot with gorgeous location shots throughout Paris. Almost worth a viewing for the travelogue. While slapstick is not for everyone, there are some genuine laughs in this film. Steve Martin puts his own spin on the Inspector Clouseau character which is refreshing. Martin's Clouseau has more agency and is more physically coordinated than the traditional reading but often still as dim. Steve Martin mind you is no Peter Sellers in the role, but at least he is no Ted Wass either. The Bad: There are some genuine laughs. Some. Not a lot. There are stretches of this movie where a gag is not working, and yet it seems to go on forever. In all fairness, this is a bit of a Pink Panther tradition as well. The Ugly. John Cleese plays the old Herbert Lom role of Clouseau's boss Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus and "As Time Goes By" alumni Geoffrey Palmer plays his boss Joubert. You could not find two more British people to play the French roles, and neither even take a stab at an accent. I almost expected to see Michael Caine show up as the French President. In Conclusion: This is a light, breezy comedy with magnificent scenery and lots of fun cameos. Slapstick isn't my thing admittedly, but there are some pretty good laughs contained within. I also recently saw 1975's The Return of the Pink Panther and this is a better film. It has a much better story and has a broader well of humor to draw from. It is possible that this is the best Pink Panther film since 1964's A Shot in the Dark. which isn't as shocking as it sounds if you look at the state of Pink Panther films from the '70s, '80s, and '90s See more

Leia G Mar 9, 2019 doubling down on the lack-luster remake of the legendary Pink Panther franchise, was a terrible idea. For all of Steve Martin's comedic ability it fails to compare to Sellers portrayal of clueless inspector. See more

Theodore S Jul 11, 2018 Sometimes, when I watch movies based on other, older movies, I have no idea what how to compare it to the original movie(s) it is based on because I haven't seen them myself. So, obviously, I can't comment on films I haven't seen and hope to maintain any sort of credibility. When it comes to the Pink Panther, however, I'm casually knowledgeable. Out of the five movies Peter Sellers plays Inspector Clouseau in, I've seen four of them. The only one I haven't seen is the original Pink Panther and, in that movie, Clouseau is a supporting character. You may have noticed that I didn't include Trail of the Pink Panther in here simply because that film, shot after Peter Sellers' death, uses cut footage from the previous films and flashbacks. So, in my opinion, I don't consider it part of the Pink Panther canon and most people don't, to be fair. Anyway, I think we should talk about Sellers for a second and just how tremendous of a performer he was. Despite the fact that, essentially, every film in the franchise (minus the one where Dreyfus becomes a super-villain with his own league of super villains) is very similar in tone and execution, Sellers' performance made it so that each and every one of those movies ended up being very entertaining. At least to me it was. We all know Inspector Clouseau is a bumbling, stumbling fool, who caused chaos everywhere he went and Sellers embodied that character perfectly. There's no one else, in my mind, that should have ever played a role. There's a big but in all of this (sorry for the play on words). And that but is that if anyone else should ever play this character, and I were given all these actors to choose from, Steve Martin would be the one that I would go for 9 times out of 10. I really would. And this is knowing nothing about these Martin Pink Panther movies, other than their reputations (which isn't great, of course). The first reboot with Martin wasn't available on Prime, so I went with this one instead. I don't think there's any sort of arc that I missed out because I skipped the first one. This isn't Breaking Bad. Anyway, with that being said, having now seen Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau, I can safely say that Martin did not do a good job as Inspector Clouseau in the slightest. At first I thought it was because Martin has, pretty much, made a career out of being the smart, sarcastic, but lovable, jackass that, essentially, asking him to play a character that, for all intents and purposes, is an idiot was too much for him. But then I remembered that Martin was in My Blue Heaven, and his character wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed either. His character is not as buffoonish as Clouseau is in this movie, but he's not exactly Stephen Hawking. So I've discarded that theory. The next one I have in mind is more probable. And that is the fact that Martin had to step into Peter Sellers' massive shoes proved to be too daunting of a task for someone as talented as Martin is. In My Blue Heaven, there was no pressure. With the Pink Panther, there's definitely a lot pressure. And I'm certain that this pressure was more internal than external. I'm certain that Martin is quite familiar with Sellers' work and knew that it wouldn't be easy to step into his shoes and play the role quite as effectively. I'll be honest, I never expected Steve Martin's performance to reach even half of the effectiveness of Sellers' performance as the character. But I'm still genuinely surprised that Steve Martin didn't even reach 25% effectiveness as the character. Obviously, it doesn't help that the movie is really quite unfunny. But the thing about Martin's performance that's so off is that he seems to be trying so fucking hard to be funny. As if he's overcompensating for something. And that's a shame because, honestly, Steve Martin is a natural when it comes to comedy. This guy can't help but be funny, he doesn't even have to try to be funny and he's funny. I think it should be clear that I'm a fan of the guy and I have been for a really long time. I'm more familiar with his filmography than I am with that of Sellers, that's just fact. This movie, no matter how you slice it, is just bad. There's certainly some funny bits here and there. Like when Clouseau and Pepperidge (Alfred Molina) have a deduct-off, where they deduce things about the other. It's obviously a dick-measuring contest between the two, but it's one of the funniest bits of the entire movie. Clouseau being sent to manners training for his inappropriate and suggestive comments about women and for being racially insensitive to his Japanese counterpart in this international dream team of investigators. These work mostly because Martin gets to play off of Lily Tomlin and their exchanges are also very entertaining. Just two veteran actors doing what they do best. Other than that, however, there's very little else that I remember. Some unfunny slapstick/gags and poorly-written jokes defending Clouseau as some brilliant detective just before he does something idiotic. It's just not funny. And, to prove a point, I'll just list the cast here. Steve Martin (duh), Alfred Molina, Emily Mortimer, Andy Garcia, JOHN CLEESE, Jean Reno, Lily Tomlin, JEREMY FUCKING IRONS. Is there anyone else that I'm missing? I mean, all of these incredibly talented people under one roof and you can't get anything better than a star and a half movie? That's how you know you messed up. When you have all of these insanely talented people and you can't do absolutely anything of value with them. I'm sure there's been many movies throughout history that wasted its cast, but, in recent memory, I don't think I've seen one as bad as this one was in mishandling its cast. Just, how is it possible? The narrative is nothing to speak of. It's just there to get Clouseau to get to the next set-piece or a big slapstick moment. And you could say that the original movies were structured that way as well. But, at the very least, those movies had a funny a script and a committed lead performance from Peter Sellers. Though, to be fair, Steve Martin was certainly committed to the role, it's just that he wasn't any good at it. I've seen worse movies, particularly recently (Stepfather 2 was worse than this), but I'm really disappointed in this. I don't know what I was expecting, to be honest. I wanted to be entertained. That's, deep down, why anyone watches movies to begin with. They want to be entertained. I don't know if I expected this to be a good movie, but I expected something better than what we ended up getting. This is a very bad movie and I wouldn't recommend it. The old Pink Panther movies still exist and I'll take solace in that fact. That's what fans of the old movies are gonna have to do, because this movie provides nothing of what you loved. Umm, yea, don't watch this. See more

Finn S Jun 30, 2018 One of my all time favourite films. It's hularious, and got a talented cast

Kylo M Apr 3, 2018 While it does have its moments, this film has a hard time balancing providing an engaging, coherent narrative with providing laugh-out-loud humor ultimately achieving just enough in both to make for an okay sequel. See more

Mar 21, 2018 This movie is a cinematic masterpiece. It moved me from several emotions all at once. I was experiencing laughter, crying, anger, and a stroke. This movie's nuanced approach to race and culture, having a united team all working together, is just what this global climate needs. As tensions rise between Trump's America and "Rocketman", we need a hero like Inspector Cluso. Steve Martin's portrayal of a French man of the law is extremely well practiced and executed for the 2nd time. While this movie pales in comparison to the genius which was the first movie, it holds its own as a treasure itself. It was totally snubbed for an Academy Award the year it was released. With performances of a lifetime, a steel solid riveting plot, and the hopeful message of justice, Black Panther deserves five full stars. PS: I can't wait to see Clouseau in Infinity War!! See more

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The Pink Panther 2

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