Many sceptics think that film sequels are never as good as the original or the first time around, and they may be right most times as it really isn't easy to have story continuity, character consistency and still hold the audience the second or even third time around especially in Comedies, but a few films such as Matrix have managed not only to remain true to the essence of the story but to also-at least all in all-preserve the content integrity and keep the story line consistent and more or less intact.
Paul B. Mall Cop may have been an average idea to start with but the main cast carries the comic situations well enough to attract at least a fair number of people and keep them coming back for a little more. I must admit having seen the sequel recently, I genuinely believe the cast carries the film better than the story line or even better than the situations that the characters are put in.
The setting as the Mall helps a great deal as the Mall is a fairly good background for a versatile agenda of shots, props and colourful characters to interact with, as well as a wide range of objects to use in comedy.
Vegas is also a very good location for comic relief as it has a lot to offer in terms of bright lights and loud noises, to set the comic scene so to speak.
All in all this sequel wasn't up to standard throughout (a little slow at times and forced) but a few scenes were comic enough with the exception of one hilarious scene which was a stroke of genius in this lay woman's opinion (idea provided by another writer?) or perhaps two scenes even; one being where Paul misplaces his daughter and is extraordinarily embarrassed to find her safe and sound within the scene where he is cooking up a storm with the other imposing male security guards to find her. This particular scene is built up very well indeed to offer the let down reaction of Paul who is super embarrassed in front of the very competent and critical ego maniac security men.
The most hilarious scene was in my opinion a very random off the wall one where Paul going out for a bit of relief in the serene gardens amongst the dulcet tunes of the forever calm and smiling piano player, suddenly provokes and gets attacked by, a wild crazy looking lone bird who picks on him and continues to do so for no reason. It not only made me laugh looking at this in contrast with the clueless piano player who kept shaking his head in approval and smiling like a robot but also brought back my laugh after the scene was done just remembering the randomness of it and the crazy contrast of the bird with the rest of the props and characters.
One more strong comic element was the old security guy with a missing tooth who kept nodding off into 'lala' land at the most action packed and inopportune moments. He was for instance sleeping standing up and during a fight of all times!
Comedy is very personal of course and judgement here can never be too harsh as each person's cultural background, language and own experience triggers their own understanding and appreciation of comedy. Paul B. was for me a cross between MacGyver as a superhero with his inventive ideas to get him out of trouble last minute, and Police Academy with team work and funny characters being at the forefront of the film.
Toothless security guard or not, the film did touch upon a few important things, family being one of them as well as social responsibility being another for example. No job is too small when its for a worthy cause was the moral I felt.
To me the funniest element in the film was Paul's multifaceted personae and mostly his relentless ego which honestly admits its own shortcomings but still thinks it is king of the world and all things to all women, a little bit like My Cousin Vinnie in that sense which was a truly hilarious gem of a movie.
I recommend to only see this film if you are not expecting too much and perhaps wait for it to be out as a DVD rather than on the big screen and perhaps even watch My Cousin Vinnie again before watching it; it feels somehow that those very few parallels with these other films would make it funnier.
Hopefully not another Mall Cop sequel coming out soon, but then again they did make about a hundred Police Academies so I am not holding my breath.
Paul B. Mall Cop may have been an average idea to start with but the main cast carries the comic situations well enough to attract at least a fair number of people and keep them coming back for a little more. I must admit having seen the sequel recently, I genuinely believe the cast carries the film better than the story line or even better than the situations that the characters are put in.
The setting as the Mall helps a great deal as the Mall is a fairly good background for a versatile agenda of shots, props and colourful characters to interact with, as well as a wide range of objects to use in comedy.
Vegas is also a very good location for comic relief as it has a lot to offer in terms of bright lights and loud noises, to set the comic scene so to speak.
All in all this sequel wasn't up to standard throughout (a little slow at times and forced) but a few scenes were comic enough with the exception of one hilarious scene which was a stroke of genius in this lay woman's opinion (idea provided by another writer?) or perhaps two scenes even; one being where Paul misplaces his daughter and is extraordinarily embarrassed to find her safe and sound within the scene where he is cooking up a storm with the other imposing male security guards to find her. This particular scene is built up very well indeed to offer the let down reaction of Paul who is super embarrassed in front of the very competent and critical ego maniac security men.
The most hilarious scene was in my opinion a very random off the wall one where Paul going out for a bit of relief in the serene gardens amongst the dulcet tunes of the forever calm and smiling piano player, suddenly provokes and gets attacked by, a wild crazy looking lone bird who picks on him and continues to do so for no reason. It not only made me laugh looking at this in contrast with the clueless piano player who kept shaking his head in approval and smiling like a robot but also brought back my laugh after the scene was done just remembering the randomness of it and the crazy contrast of the bird with the rest of the props and characters.
One more strong comic element was the old security guy with a missing tooth who kept nodding off into 'lala' land at the most action packed and inopportune moments. He was for instance sleeping standing up and during a fight of all times!
Comedy is very personal of course and judgement here can never be too harsh as each person's cultural background, language and own experience triggers their own understanding and appreciation of comedy. Paul B. was for me a cross between MacGyver as a superhero with his inventive ideas to get him out of trouble last minute, and Police Academy with team work and funny characters being at the forefront of the film.
Toothless security guard or not, the film did touch upon a few important things, family being one of them as well as social responsibility being another for example. No job is too small when its for a worthy cause was the moral I felt.
To me the funniest element in the film was Paul's multifaceted personae and mostly his relentless ego which honestly admits its own shortcomings but still thinks it is king of the world and all things to all women, a little bit like My Cousin Vinnie in that sense which was a truly hilarious gem of a movie.
I recommend to only see this film if you are not expecting too much and perhaps wait for it to be out as a DVD rather than on the big screen and perhaps even watch My Cousin Vinnie again before watching it; it feels somehow that those very few parallels with these other films would make it funnier.
Hopefully not another Mall Cop sequel coming out soon, but then again they did make about a hundred Police Academies so I am not holding my breath.
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