Synopsis:
The gang from the first Madagascar returns in
this sequel following the team on an escape to
their homeland of Africa. The pleasantry
of being around their own kind turns to a
struggle within the pride for the leader of the
group, Alex the Lion. Fighting against his
species' ferocity with dance moves, Alex
attempts to win the respect of members of the
tribe as well as his parents.
The Freak's
Rating: D : There is a time period in every
actor's life where they begin to do movies for
their children. Some are lucky enough to
land a speaking role in a movie such as the
original Madagascar or Ice Age. Some tend
to hang onto this child-approved acting tendency
a little too long, as some have in the case of
Madagascar 2.
Madagascar 2 opens to one of the darkest family
film scenes in recent memory. A
traumatized Alex the Lion is torn from his
father and floats away from his homeland in a
tiny box, crying all the way. Not only
does this scene frighten some children (I took
note while in the theater), it pulls them out of
the element of a fun family film, sometimes
along with their parents. A few children
cried, resulting in parents leaving the
auditorium to take them for a stroll to feel a
little better. I did not envy those
parent-child discussions should the child
remember the opening scene.
All the original team is back, the amazingly
funny penguins, the solid Chris Rock and Ben
Stiller and the incredibly annoying little
meerkat. Along with wanting to strangle
the meerkat for his overwritten and over
delivered lines, I would much rather have
located the writers for the same judgmental
drumming. The script is awful here, with
romance (yes, I said romance) thrown in quite
awkwardly. Lines delivered with enough
punch to merit a cymbal afterwards are ill
effective, resulting in few laughs. A New
York grandmother character is an incredibly
violent human towards animals. She is
overused and not amusing in any way.
Stiller and Rock should hang it up after this
sequel. Jada Pinkett Smtih and David
Schwimmer don't have much going on so I'd look
for them in the third film should the studio
heads make enough scratch to deem one necessary.
Madagascar 2 doesn't have near the humor of the
first film and should be skipped in lieu of many
better family films. For those
considering, I'd encourage you to visit your
local video store and pickup a copy of Kung Fu
Panda instead.
Chana's Rating:
D- : VERY disappointed!!! I still am not
sure what the romantic innuendos message
was...not humorous, for sure! My kids watched
it, but at points, weren't sure what they were
chuckling for. If you never see it, you'll miss
nothing!
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