Smokey and the Bandit II (1980)

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Blistering performances.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

In order to become the next Governor of Texas, "Big Ennis Burdett" (Pat McCormick) and his son "Little Ennis Burdett" (Paul Williams) ask "the Snowman" (Jerry Reed) to approach "the Bandit" (Burt Reynolds) about picking up a crate in Miami and hauling it to Texas in time for a Republican convention. And Big Ennis is willing to pay a lot of money to get that crate to Texas. The problem, of course, is that "Sheriff Buford T. Justice" (Jackie Gleason) lives in Texas and he has not forgotten about the last time he and the Bandit crossed paths. Even worse is the fact that the Bandit is terribly heartbroken after his girlfriend, "Carrie" (Sally Field) broke up with him and has crawled into a bottle since then. So in order to persuade him the Snowman calls Carrie and offers her $50,000 to join them. Excited about the prospect of making so much money she leaves immediately. Unfortunately, she just happens to be in the process of marrying Sheriff Buford T. Justice's son, "Junior" (Mike Henry) at the time. Needless to say, this infuriates Sheriff Buford T. Justice to no end. Not only that, but the crate they need to deliver in 3 days has been quarantined for several weeks and when they decide to take it they provide the Sheriff the excuse he has been wanting for a very long time. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film was in no way as good as its predecessor. It wasn't funny and lacked any noticeable excitement. In short, it just wasn't very good. That being the case, I have rated this movie accordingly. Below average.

Hal Needham is back with Reynolds and all the gang for another dose of pedal to the metal, tarmac burning, high octane, highway speeding...I think. This time the movie has gone for a more all out comedy slapstick route, more along the lines of Needham's other movie 'The Cannonball Run', or dare I say, Disney's Herbie franchise.Once again the plot revolves around the Bandit and his partner the Snowman, transporting a cargo across the country as quickly as possible. This time its from Miami to Dallas, once again the challenge is set by Big Enos, once again there is a big monetary reward and lastly the cargo is an elephant (only thing that is different). Here lies the problem with this movie, its exactly the same sh*t as the first movie, exactly!! Once again the duo team up with Sally Field's character Frog, who has once again left Junior Justice at the altar, which naturally means Sheriff Buford T. Justice is back on their trail...again. The entire premise of the first movie is basically rebooted or remade here, accept the cargo is an elephant.I really couldn't believe my eyes as I was watching this (first time viewing), the plot simply retreads everything. When we find the Bandit he has become a drunk which adds a new dimension to the character, but that is quickly forgotten as the plot recaptures the same old vibe, but not in a good way. Frog is once again lured away from getting married to Junior, which begs the question why on earth is she still even wanting to marry this guy! I thought she was over him in the first movie. The fact that this leads to Buford Justice chasing the Bandit and co across the country yet again feels really really rehashed and boring.This movie seriously takes a nose dive in terms of dignity, talk about selling out and milking your original idea. The whole project just feels like its patting itself on the back whilst slapping product advertisement stickers all over itself. I mean lets look at the Bandits attire in this one, he's wearing a shiny red jacket with the words 'Bandit' and 'Trans Am' down the sleeves and across the back. Even the car has 'Bandit' on its paintwork which makes me wonder why really, it that really necessary? is the Bandit a product within this movies universe? Plus how the hell did they manage to afford a Pontiac Trans Am by chopping in that crappy old car?As the story unfolds more and more ridiculous things happen which make no sense and have clearly been chucked in to be funny, apparently. Enter Dom Deluise, a Needham regular, a regular movie partner of Reynolds and a regular slapstick comedian of the time. If you ever needed your movie to be bolstered with in your face comedy then Deluise was your man, and sure enough he is on good form here as expected. The only problem is his character has obviously been jammed in just to extract the best from Deluise and nothing more, the character is a throwaway job. The fact the Bandit and co take him along on their adventure makes no sense either because they could of dropped him off anywhere, he's obviously there to salvage the movie. Now lets talk about the cargo, the elephant. Yes that's right, they stuff a living creature into the trailer of a big rig, no light, no food, no water and most importantly no air! Couldn't help but wonder if this would have been allowed these days, of course its not real but we do actually see the animal climb into the trailer. The point is its the whole idea of doing it, and the way the characters think its perfectly OK, although admittedly they do look after the animal much better later on. Gotta ask why a Republican party would need an elephant, yeah sure its your mascot but you really need a real one?!The whole thing is so drab, just watching Buford chase the Bandit all over again, doing the same spiel but without any grown-up edge to it. Everything is so childish, the chases are almost like Benny Hill sequences, the carnage is tame and has this cartoon-esque quality to it, there is never any real threat or danger etc...because its all so light-hearted. In the first movie it felt relatively realistic, like it could happen, here its all over the top and off the wall, which in- turn takes away any proper enjoyment. Perfect example being the big money sequence where the Snowman and all his big rig buddies take on an entire squadron of smokies. Now this is the sequence which I refer to as (Disney's) 'The Love Bug' sequence, this is what I meant at the start of this review. The whole thing is pretty cringeworthy and virtually destroys any self respect this movie had.I was seriously disappointed with this sequel, never knew it was such a rehash...or reboot basically! Its exactly the same as the first movie with minor alterations, watered and dumbed down incredibly. There isn't even any car or truck porn to get excited about, they have completely jettisoned that idea leaving only the famous black Trans Am. I can't count all the big rigs in the Love Bug sequence simply because it was so crap and infantile, clearly not about the trucks. Do yourself a favour and don't bother with this shockingly woeful attempt at a sequel.3/10

This is an OK sequel to the first film - it's not as bad as some critics say it is. It still has quite a few laughs and good chase scenes. The first film we were introduced to the loony characters but in this second film they seem to loose their comical merit just a little bit.The movie is almost a repeat of the first film with smalls changes: Bandit and Cledus who are this time going from Florida to Texas carrying a strange load (an elephant). And you have to put Sheriff Buford T. Justice back in hot pursuit of The Bandit.If you simply like car chases and wrecks on film then you should like Smokey and the Bandit II.7/10

This film is so terrible that the most interesting thing is watching the toupee on Burt's head threaten to fly off and start filming Cannonball Run without him. Goodness, this film is a disappointment. The original was fun, somewhat exciting, had funny lines, and an intriguing premise. With part 2, we are left with a lazy, low-speed retread that amounts to little more than spotting cameos by high profile country singers and athletes. There are some huge stunts here, as you would expect, but in between them we are treated to nothing but boredom. Much of the plot deals with Reynolds, Reid, and Field trying to transport a pregnant elephant across the country in order to make several hundred thousand dollars. Along the way, we have to sit through Reynolds and Field having a long, slow make-up/break-up session. Ughh!Dom Deluise is on hand as an annoying ethnic-sounding doctor who keeps trying to get them to pull over so the elephant can receive proper care and deliver her baby safely. Maybe that makes for interesting viewing if you are a kid (I loved this movie as a child), but now it seems so anti-climatic. The only person who seems to want to keep this story moving is Reynolds, who has to know this script is a loser and needs more action. The only bright spot is the return of Jackie Gleason as Sheriff Buford T. Justice. Once again he sets out to track Reynolds down as Field has left his son at the altar to join the Bandit in another wild escapade. As funny as Gleason is in his multiple roles, when you watch this movie on basic cable, you miss most of his lines. Since most of them include a sum bitch or PG rated slur, someone apparently went back and re-dubbed most of his dialog for the small screen. In some ways, its almost like Gleason isn't even really there in some scenes. Too bad. There really isn't a lot here to recommend. 3 of 10 stars.The Hound.