Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues - C'mon, it's not THAT bad!

The original 'Anchorman' film was a comedy classic.  Apparently.  I watched it and didn't like it.  Then, as the years went by and everyone raved about how 'hilarious' it was, I gave it a second chance.  And I loved it!  I guess it's one of those films you have to (a) be prepared for and (b) be in the mood for.  Either way, I guess a sequel was the only way to go for the producers.  Some fans wanted it, others didn't - either way many were sceptical about what it was going to be like.  It certainly seemed to divide!

Both films are set in the eighties and centre around a news anchorman, Ron Burgundy (played by Will Ferrell) and his news team of familiar faces (possibly most notably Steve Carrell).  And, the reason I said you need to know what you're getting and be in the mood for it is largely to do with the 'Anchorman' himself, for he's a complete idiot.  He's stupid, sexist and a complete tool.  So, you need to expect this of your leading man in order to get any sort of enjoyment out of either outing.

Both films are therefore pretty low-brow entertainment.  Nothing wrong with that and yet the second instalment didn't seem (that) much worse than the first and yet it gathered colossal amounts of hatred from a fair proportion of the fans.  I suppose it does re-tread old ground and hardly offers much new in terms of story, but it's one of those films that's so close to the original that I sort of feel that if you enjoyed the first I can't really see how you wouldn't appreciate the second almost all the way.

Maybe because I only thought the first outing was 'good' rather than 'amazing' that I found plenty to enjoy about the second one.  Yes, it's just as silly and sexist and Ron is most likely not someone you'd really want to hang out with on a day to day basis, but it's just entertaining enough to have on in the background and get a few daft chuckles out of it.

I've seen plenty of 'one star' reviews for this film and I think that's a little harsh.  No matter how much it doesn't capture the originality of the original it's definitely not that bad.  Steve Carrell is only really a minor character in this film and yet every time he was on screen he had me in stitches (he's possibly the only man alive even less blessed in the brain department than our hero-anchorman himself!).

If you like your humour dumb then you could do worse.  One of those films that you should probably rent before you buy (assuming anyone out there still rents DVDs - but you know what I mean).

6/10 Should probably keep you awake if Freddy Krueger was haunting your nights