** out of (***)
The first Child's Play surprised audiences with its decent tension build-up and likable characters, but with #2 going straight for the kills, the suspense is killed and Chucky is about a fraction of menacing as he was in the first.
The problem is that Chucky is shown during the killings. This is a problem because when we're supposed to be cringing, we're laughing. The first did this perfectly because we only saw a silhouette of the doll, nothing else (sans the third act). If the doll HAD to be shown, maybe less screen time and witty jabs?
Moreover, I had more fun when the film tried on different hats. For an example, the scenes between Andy and the other foster child, and how the values like family, trust, etc. are put to test. That alone made for an interesting character background, and I would've preferred to have that relationship carry on throughout the film as the doll slashed his way from victim to victim.
The highly-talked about toy factory sequence does not disappoint either. The gore is amped up to about infinity, the races are on, and that's pretty much when the sh*t hits the fan. Too bad the whole film didn't have that spark.
What would've made Child's Play 2 a more taut film? Dispose of the whole "no one believes Andy" subplot. It happened the first time, it just gets more "been-there-done-that" as it continues to happen. Furthermore, develop Andy and the foster child (as I previously stated). And less screen time on Chucky would pay off in spades.
All in all, this is not a bad sequel. This movie could've gone in much worse directions as its future sequels (the abysmal "Seed of Chucky"), but they should've just scrapped the material. The first by itself would've made for a terrific little thriller. Now that it's a franchise, all appeal is lost. Well on the brightside, if you like this little bugger, you have 4 more movies with him. As for the rest of us, we'll be re-visiting the original. So I guess everyone wins?
The first Child's Play surprised audiences with its decent tension build-up and likable characters, but with #2 going straight for the kills, the suspense is killed and Chucky is about a fraction of menacing as he was in the first.
The problem is that Chucky is shown during the killings. This is a problem because when we're supposed to be cringing, we're laughing. The first did this perfectly because we only saw a silhouette of the doll, nothing else (sans the third act). If the doll HAD to be shown, maybe less screen time and witty jabs?
Moreover, I had more fun when the film tried on different hats. For an example, the scenes between Andy and the other foster child, and how the values like family, trust, etc. are put to test. That alone made for an interesting character background, and I would've preferred to have that relationship carry on throughout the film as the doll slashed his way from victim to victim.
The highly-talked about toy factory sequence does not disappoint either. The gore is amped up to about infinity, the races are on, and that's pretty much when the sh*t hits the fan. Too bad the whole film didn't have that spark.
What would've made Child's Play 2 a more taut film? Dispose of the whole "no one believes Andy" subplot. It happened the first time, it just gets more "been-there-done-that" as it continues to happen. Furthermore, develop Andy and the foster child (as I previously stated). And less screen time on Chucky would pay off in spades.
All in all, this is not a bad sequel. This movie could've gone in much worse directions as its future sequels (the abysmal "Seed of Chucky"), but they should've just scrapped the material. The first by itself would've made for a terrific little thriller. Now that it's a franchise, all appeal is lost. Well on the brightside, if you like this little bugger, you have 4 more movies with him. As for the rest of us, we'll be re-visiting the original. So I guess everyone wins?