Zoolander 2 (2016)
Directed by Ben Stiller
Derek and Hansel are modelling again when an opposing company attempts to take them out from the business.
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The jokes are repeated and the storylines are rehashed, and not in a witty, self-referential way as say Mike Myers did with the Austin Powers franchise.
This feels like a total rip-off of Austin Powers, with Zoolander and Hansel becoming spies, Penelope Cruz stepping in as the tightly clad female sidekick, and a daddy issues subplot involving Zoolander’s long lost son, not to mention Mugatu has become a sad riff on Dr. Evil.
For the sake of argument, let’s say that the original “Zoolander,” a 2001 Ben Stiller comedy based on a character he introduced in a 1996 short film, was 50 percent nonsense and 50 percent inspired nonsense, however often reminiscent of “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.”
Although never a box office dynamo, Zoolander , much like Austin Powers , found new life on home video.
What we got was a sixth rate “Austin Powers” clone that chases away the good memories from Derek’s Blue Steel gaze.
Some cameos are amusing, such as Susan Sarandon and Kiefer Sutherland playing themselves but referencing their characters in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and 24 respectively.
It's perhaps not surprising to discover that Zoolander 2, for the most part, comes off as a fairly substantial disappointment that pales in comparison to its affable predecessor, as the movie falls prey to the bigger-is-better syndrome that seems to affect most comedy sequels.
Estos factores operaron a su favor para que en 2001 y bajo su dirección, Derek Zoolander (el propio Stiller en un personaje creado para The Ben Stiller Show, circa 1992) encontrara cabida en la pantalla grande, con una película que ha alcanzado un culto considerable.
Zoolander 2 isn't Citizen Kane.
Therein lies its main problem: it is essentially a copy of the first film (and I don’t know if anyone else thought this, but I found that seriously frustrating about Star Wars: The Force Awakens as well…).
The film is superbly shot by Daniel Mindel ( Star Wars: The Force Awakens ), the fluidity of his images and use of a number of iconic Rome landmarks rather wonderful.
As an example, the recent emergence of the legendary “Star Wars” universe was jump started by the highly anticipated release of 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
Ditto The Force Awakens for Star Wars .
After gestating for nearly fifteen years—far longer than the wait from “Revenge of the Sith” to “The Force Awakens”—this lumbering, laugh-free sequel to the 2001 farce about a rock-stupid male fashion model does for Ben Stiller’s reputation what “The Love Guru” did for Mike Myers’.
Cinematographer Dan Mindel, coming off “The Force Awakens” no less, manages a degree of coherence.
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It seems a fundamental misread of what ticked by incoming screenwriters Justin Theroux (who also reprises his Evil DJ role) and Nicholas Stoller (who would have no movies worth a damn were it not for “The Muppets”).
While there are enough gags to put a smile on your face at times, the writing generally isn't as strong as you'd expect from a team made up of Stiller, Zoolander screenwriter John Hamburg (Meet the Parents), Justin Theroux (who co-wrote Stiller's Tropic Thunder), and Nicholas Stoller (The Muppets, Get Him to the Greek).
Cannon Films "Zoolander 2," with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson reprising their roles, came out 15 years after the original.