I’m not sure how well a review of this will go down. When asking the question, ‘Are you excited for Anchorman 2?’ divides the audience pretty quickly. Fans of the first triumph are either; ridiculously excited for a second encounter or totally dreading the horror/shambles that could await (but of course then there are those that answer my question with ‘What the hell is Anchorman?’)
If you truly haven’t seen Anchorman or have never heard of its magnificence, I suggest you check it out. It is one of those totally absurd comedies that gets funnier the more you watch it, and when you discover others that have seen it, somehow the quotes you exchange get funnier. It sounds like a cult? The best kind of cult to be in.
I went into the cinema fully prepared to be disappointed, I was so worried that even making a second film could be, let’s face it, crap; resulting in a poor film that would drag down the legend of Ron Burgandy with it. I think a lot of fans had a similar expectation, and as sequels versus originals go, they are kind of losing there. Having discussed the films with fans there has been a total mix in reaction. What I will say is that Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is, obviously, not as hilarious and brilliant as the Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy, but it is a great film. It was a lot funnier and outrageous than expected and now come to think of it, why would we ever doubt Will Ferrell?
Leaving San Diego and his wife Veronica behind him, due to an upset in Veronica’s promotion, Burgandy is asked to get his news crew back together to have a slot on the first ever 24 hour news show in New York City. Although in 2013 that sounds like a normal thing, in the late 70’s it was unheard of. We get to see what the boys, Champ, (David Koechner) Brick (Steve Carell) and Brian (Paul Rudd) have been up to since leaving the studio and of course they have taken to the most random career paths. Back to New York: While the boys are given the graveyard shift on the Global News Network they are soon presented with a challenge of redemption from top anchor and rival Jack Lime (James Marsden).
They really didn’t go half-assed for cameos in this production, throughout the film and especially in the repeated ‘News Team Showdown’; that was so much bigger and more ludicrous than the first movie. It was crazy; Will Smith, Kanye West, Liam Neeson. I was shocked; there are some big guns in that scene alone! Of course there was chaos throughout the movie; there were sharks, blindness, car chases and BRICK GOT A GIRLFRIEND; the world basically moved.
7.5/10
Written by Sophie Cohen
