ironhorse_iv
The original 'Leprechaun' movie might had a lot of flaws; but the film had a few things going for it; that this sequel directed by Rodman Flender is lacking. One of them is Jennifer Aniston. While, her acting ability at the time was super green. Her premise in the film, gave a good reason for modern audiences to look back and check it out. After all, her television series 'Friends' (1994-2004) has be off the air, nearly two decades now, but that hasn't stopped us millennials from continuously watching reruns of it. There is something about her, that fascinating, beside her good looks. She seem to radiate charisma and charm. She has that 'it factor', the je ne sais quoi. Sadly, 'Leprechaun 2' also known as 'Leprechaun II: One Wedding and Lots of Funerals' does not have her character, nor any other from the first film. None of the original characters get even a mention, in this movie written by Turi Meyer & Al Septie. We know, nothing on what happen to them. The sequel also abandoned any continuous storylines from the first movie, instead, focusing on a really disturbing angle, in which, the sadistically evil leprechaun (Warwick Davis) tries to force a nuptial on a woman, Bridget Callum (Shevonne Durkin) in order to consummate; while her off & on, boyfriend, Cody Ingalls (Charlie Heath) tries to prevent it. Without spoiling the movie, too much, I hate this plot; as it goes against everything, the leprechaun folklore is known for. Leprechauns are solitary creatures, whom avoids human beings in fear of them, stealing their gold. They are not horny little dwarfs looking for offsprings. Not only that, but adding the threat of rape, kinda undermine the comedy shenanigans, & sucks the fun out of the room. It's stinks, because normally, most of the time, the performers playing the main leads, are so utterly poor in acting ability & charisma, plus their characters so unlikeable, that I find myself cheering for the leprechaun. Sadly, I can't root for him, here. Not only that; but the whole threating to rape somebody, kinda ruin the fan service. The appearance of obvious badly done body double boobs make everything seem more in poor taste. Plus, 'the damsel in distress force to wed' trope has been done to death. It's a horror trope that seem out of place in today's world. Plus, it has been recycled, way too much. Even, the direct to video "Leprechaun 4: In Space', use this. That's how generic, it is. Not only that, but the marriage plot doesn't make much sense. Why is the leprechaun trying to get revenge on a dead theft, by marrying his descendant in a thousand years-time on St Patrick's Day!? I don't think, the theft cares! Seeing that he been long dead by then. So, what is the point? Also, why does the Leprechaun need children? That's just more gold to share. It just doesn't add up. Another problem with this sequel, is the fact, that the leprechaun cannot hurt anybody that holds his coin. Yet, in the first movie; he was able, too. Even, if this is a completely different leprechaun who just happens to be in Los Angeles, and look like the original who was burn up and toss in a well in North Dakota. That 'can't kill the person holding the coin' gimmick still doesn't make sense. The reason why, is because the leprechaun was able to kill, another character holding a pot of gold, later in this same film. Having this gimmick, felt like a really lazy ex Machina to keep the hero, in the same playing field. Along with the wrought iron. It really doesn't seem well plan out. As for the action scenes. They were still highly unbelievable & silly. However, they didn't stand out as much as the first movie. Much of it, seem like rethread; such as the case, with the Leprechaun riding a mini Go-Kart. Nevertheless, the deaths were a lot better than the first film, even if some of them, lack the gory special effects like the lawnmower scene. Although, much of those sequences, was uncalled for, as it didn't move the plot, along. If anything, it slow the movie, really down, like the Barista scene. The movie already had enough filler scenes. It was dragging so much. Mostly, involving the love triangle between the two leads and a secondary character. Despite that, the movie still has plenty of scenes of Warwick Davis hammy it up, as that is what the audience pay to go see. Nevertheless, I still wish, he did better films. Davis has a wonderful voice. He really didn't need to do a series of offensive Irish stereotypes in make-up. He would had done, better. Overall: This is my least favorite movie of the film series, besides the 2014's reboot 'Leprechaun: Origin'. In the end, there isn't enough booze in the world to make me, watch this film, again. There is a good reason why this was the final entry in the series to be released theatrically & it shows. This movie is not a pot of gold. It's a pot of shite. Avoid at all cost.
dawsonswenson6
Leprechaun 2, lacks the kind of humour that was in the original. I find that it makes up a bit in horror, but it tries to hard to be funny! And when it should focus on letting the funniness just happen itself. Warwick Davis again is great in the part, I especially like the part when he gets drunk and tries to use his powers, but fails! Another creative kill is when the guy thinks he is making out with the girl he wants, but is being tricked by the Leprechaun and really kisses a fan and his face is cut to pieces and he dies. That being said, this movie lacked the good acting from the original. I did not care one bit for the acting of the young actress that played Bridget and I did not care for acting of the guy that played Cody. The only really solid acting is from Warwick Davis himself, as he does a good job working with such bad work. The major problem I have with this movie is just that it completely misses the comedy! For Leprechaun with Davis to work it needs comedy, but like I said it tries to hard.And when you try to hard to be funny, you fail altogether. THe only really funny part in this movie is when the Leprechaun is drunk and tries to rhyme. That actually made me laugh pretty hard. But other that the, the film was a total bust. Chartacter and writing wise. Overall, if you want a cheap laugh, go see Leprechaun 2. Its not amazing like Leprechaun 2, but its not terrible. Its a 5 out of 10.
Christopher Smith
I caught this for the first time in years as part of Syfy's Saint Patrick's Day movie marathon today and, despite expecting the absolute worst, I was somewhat surprised that it remains mildly entertaining. It's still not a great movie at all, but it's not quite as bad as its reputation. If nothing else, Leprechaun 2 is a major improvement upon the first, and definitely the best in the Leprechaun series.Director Rodman Flender opens the picture well enough with a prologue that takes place in Ireland. The prologue and the opening credits sequence are goofy, fun, ridiculous, and unfortunately, also the best part of the entire film. Once the two teenage protagonists are introduced, the next 75 minutes or so never measure up to what came before it. From seeing Rodman Flender's much more enjoyable later work like Idle Hands, it's hard to tell just how much of Leprechaun 2 is supposed to be intentionally bad. Warwick Davis is creepy as the evil leprechaun (though the make-up on his face looks like Play-Doh), but some of the other performances are so wooden that I wouldn't be surprised if Flender wanted the acting to be bad as part of the "B" movie tradition. As with the first Leprechaun flick, the characters are annoying which makes it hard to really care for any of them. The story itself is decent even without a whole lot of logic to the proceedings. What hurts the flick more than anything is the poor effects. Whether it's the fact that the film is almost twenty years old or the film didn't have the budget it probably needed, everything looks super cheap, so much so that I find it hard to believe this received a theatrical release. Scenes that could have been cool or scary end up laughable and groan-worthy. The big scenes that don't rely on special effect are rather well done. The bar scenes and the go-cart scenes are the most entertaining to watch, mainly since they are the few parts that show some creativity. Despite the many flaws, Leprechaun 2 is still better than it could have been considering that it's a sequel that was produced and released a mere year after the original. Besides, any movie that features random appearances by both Tony Cox (of Bad Santa fame) and Michael McDonald has at least a little value to it. Recommended for Saint Patrick's Day viewing only. 5/10
