Year of Release: 1993
Director: Jim Abrahams
Starring: Charlie Sheen, Valeria Golino, Lloyd Bridges, Richard Crenna, Miguel Ferrer, Brenda Bakke, Rowan Atkinson, Jerry Aleva, David Wohl, Mitchell Ryan, Michael Colyar, Ryan Stiles
Genre: Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only: 5
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Synopsis and Review:
Jim Abrahams quickly followed the success of "Hot Shots!" with a sequel, which was released two years later. The film once again focuses on Topper Harley, who this time around, we come to learn has isolated himself in a monastery in Thailand. However an international crisis with hostages once again demands his intervention. In order to further persuade him to come back, Col. Walters is sent to convince him, alongside the beautiful Michelle Huddleston. Even though Topper resists their pleadings, he eventually agrees to go on a rescue mission, once Walters is taken prisoner himself. While on the mission Topper is once again reunited with Ramada, who previously had to abandon him for reasons she kept secret, until now. It's up to this group of people with seemingly different agendas, to work collectively and rescue all the prisoners.
If "Hot Shots!" poked fun at a series of films of the 80s and early 90s such as Tony Scott's "Top Gun", Adrian Lyne's "9 1/2 Weeks", Steve Kloves's "The Fabulous Baker Boys and Kevin Costner's "Dances with Wolves", this sequel definitely goes after another string of hits/culturally recognizable films to anchor its satire and silliness that underlines some of these features. The sequel specifically targets the overly Reagan-inspired military type of films which dominated the 80s, in particular the Sylvester Stallone fronted "Rambo" films, but also manages to poke fun at Roger Donaldson's iconic "No Way Out" and even Paul Verhoeven's "Basic Instinct". What has always been rewarding about the films devised by the ZAZ talent team, or Jim Abrahams and David Zucker individually, has been the irreverence they spin from films and situations that are typically associated with heavy drama. They manage to maintain a semblance of credibility to the events taking place, until they drop the cover on the trick, much like a magician exposing its tricks, but in this case, going for laughs while exposing the ludicrous aspect that populates some of these films, that are at times, too serious for their own good. Once again, the cast is up for the satire, with Charlie Sheen, Valeria Golino, Lloyd Bridges, Richard Crenna, Miguel Ferrer, all keeping a straight face, even if the situations are way over the top. The film doesn't take itself seriously, and while it may not be as effective and polished as the first one, it still gets its message across, loud and clear. Worth watching.
If "Hot Shots!" poked fun at a series of films of the 80s and early 90s such as Tony Scott's "Top Gun", Adrian Lyne's "9 1/2 Weeks", Steve Kloves's "The Fabulous Baker Boys and Kevin Costner's "Dances with Wolves", this sequel definitely goes after another string of hits/culturally recognizable films to anchor its satire and silliness that underlines some of these features. The sequel specifically targets the overly Reagan-inspired military type of films which dominated the 80s, in particular the Sylvester Stallone fronted "Rambo" films, but also manages to poke fun at Roger Donaldson's iconic "No Way Out" and even Paul Verhoeven's "Basic Instinct". What has always been rewarding about the films devised by the ZAZ talent team, or Jim Abrahams and David Zucker individually, has been the irreverence they spin from films and situations that are typically associated with heavy drama. They manage to maintain a semblance of credibility to the events taking place, until they drop the cover on the trick, much like a magician exposing its tricks, but in this case, going for laughs while exposing the ludicrous aspect that populates some of these films, that are at times, too serious for their own good. Once again, the cast is up for the satire, with Charlie Sheen, Valeria Golino, Lloyd Bridges, Richard Crenna, Miguel Ferrer, all keeping a straight face, even if the situations are way over the top. The film doesn't take itself seriously, and while it may not be as effective and polished as the first one, it still gets its message across, loud and clear. Worth watching.
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