Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (d. Adam McKay USA 2013)
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (d. Adam McKay USA 2013)
Please read ‘On Reviews‘ for a guide to how I write film reviews. Any spoilers are appropriately marked and, though I personally prefer to know little about a film before seeing it, there is a synopsis at the bottom for any who wish to see one.
Entertainment: 
Performances:
Predictability:
Technical:
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (d. Adam McKay USA 2004) was a ‘shotgun comedy’ (a comedy film based on a basic concept and pumped full of popular actors of the day) that was a financial success. With so many sequels remakes and adaptations out there, this film, the sequel, was inevitable. The primary cast are, indeed, back and this was a film that relied heavily upon its principal cast: Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) and Champ Kind (David Koechner). It would be a lie to say that a lot of the comedy isn’t dependant upon the performances of these actors and if you dislike any of them then, it may be the wrong film for you. Such is the way of a ‘Shotgun Comedy’.
As formulaic as a ‘Shotgun Comedy’ tends to be, unfortunately the same can well be said for its sequel – do the same thing but more. As such, the film is predictable in it’s narrative concepts. However, the things that may be unpredictable are some of the little jokes put in (visual or dialogue). These jokes really do make the film, otherwise the film would be entirely too performance based – which the film is, to a large degree, anyway. Fortunately, there are indeed many cameos from which to gain an extra laugh – well it is a sequel and we’d need more from a sequel, right?
What might be a bit of a surprise is some of the technical proficiency that is put into a film like this. Some of the shots in this film are truly beautiful with a careful attention given to colours and to a lesser degree the lighting. The CGI doesn’t always look accurate but the film uses self referential jokes in places such as this and the use of different footage in order to deliver jokes. Whether this element works or not depends on your type of humour.
This film has its moments and it can be surprising how many times the joke works without much input from the cast themselves. This is simply because this film, like its predecessor, is largely dependant on its stars to sell tickets, attracts audiences and, of course, to deliver the comedy through their performances. All in all, if you’re not a fan of any of the central actors then this film may well be lost on you, though perhaps not entirely. Simplicity, it seems, can sometimes work.
Further Reading
Interview with Paul Rudd and Steve Carell
Synopsis
After loosing his position as anchorman and falling out of favour with his new family, Ron Burgundy reforms his team in GNN and quickly rises to success. However, this success corrupts him and he soon alienates his friends before suffering from an accident that renders him blind. He then learns to appreciate everything in life. After an operation to cure his sight, however, he needs to decide whether friends and family matter more to him than his success in GNN.
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