Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Writer/director Jim Abrahams spoofs Rambo (as well as Terminator 2, Basic Instinct, Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz), with Charlie Sheen returning as heroic Topper Harley, who leads a team of soldiers to Iraq on a mission to rescue hostages taken during Desert Storm (and to free the men who were sent to rescue the men who were sent to rescue the hostages).It's funny how your tastes change over the years: back in 1993, I thought that Hot Shots Part Deux was unrelentingly hilarious; this time around, the film had me giggling a few times, but the majority of the jokes seemed incredibly lame and puerile. I guess I'm more sophisticated than I give myself credit for.Sheen is passable as a comic actor, Valeria Golino is ravishing as love interest Ramada, and Richard Crenna mercilessly mocks his Col. Trautman role in the Rambo movies. But it's 'Tug' Benson, the incompetent President of the USA, who made me chuckle the most. Surely no-one that inept and boorish could possibly be elected to the post of Commander in Chief (looks at today's news and rolls his eyes).

It is rare that a film based on sight gags can get released period, much less spawn a sequel. Look at the "Airplane" movies. The first one was hilarious and deserves a place in the "greatest comedies of all-time" category. The second effort? Not so much. Remarkably, though, "Hot Shots 2" actually exceeds its predecessor by spoofing a specific film genre: the action flick.For a basic plot summary, "Hot Shots 2" sees Topper Harley (Charlie Sheen) once again called to serve his country to aid a rescue mission in the Middle East (this film was produced during the Gulf War era). While carrying out the mission set forth by President Benson (Lloyd Bridges), Topper must also deal with his feelings for Ramada (Valerie Golino).What sets this sequel apart from the original is its more effective spoof of the Sylvester Stallone- type action films, especially the Rambo series. Heck, it even stars Richard Crenna! There are some scenes spoofing parts of Rambo 2-3 that could be almost frame-for-frame remakes, and they are hilarious. If you're not a fan of the action genre, you'll laugh AT it. If you are a fan, you'll laugh WITH it.This movie also succeeds character-wise (something comedies usually quickly discard) by building on plot themes from the original. For example, Topper still struggles through his feelings for Ramada and ultimately comes to a hard conclusion, showing more character development than a typical gag flick.Also, who can forget the screen presence of Lloyd Bridges in these films? Without him, the series would be lost, as his lines/actions are easily the funniest.Thus, as with the original, this is a film that you'll either get, or you won't...there's no middle ground. You'll either find it incredibly insipid/stupid, or raucously funny.

Saddam(Haleva, looking the part) has taken hostages taken by a foreign dictator, and several failed rescue attempts, the US is running out of specialists to send in. Topper(Sheen, doing a good Rambo) is tracked down, but he's heartbroken over the loss of Ramada(Golino, sultry as ever). Maybe something will motivate him... like Crenna playing the same role he did in the First Blood series.With the new military-themed blockbuster ripe for parodying chosen(one with a grander scope, as it should be), a cast of new and old faces alike all game, this sequel does a lot to live up to its predecessor. Like the franchises of Naked Gun and Airplane!, this works in part because so much of it is played straight. One element in a scene or bit will be off, but usually only that, so that it contrasts against the "real" backdrop.The pop culture references, gags and jokes are plentiful, with a gradual rise towards the climax. We get to breathe, and it doesn't rush so that anything really goes completely unnoticed. Rarely does something fall flat. The material is both visual and verbal, with cleverness, silly stuff, plays on words, etc. Roles are well-cast, and no one is really given too much or little screen-time or laughs.This is Abrahams before these got excessive - in spite of the "drop in/out" nature of the hilarious antics, they never feel disjointed, and there is a clear whole... one with a defined plot, I might add, another thing some more recent entries in the genre have gotten wrong. FX and stunts look and feel real, thus successfully convincing us that we really *are* watching a big-budget action flick - just one where a lot "goes wrong", strange things are said and done, etc.There is a lot of violence, some sexuality(both comically over the top) and a little strong language in this. I recommend this to any fan of send-ups. 7/10

The first "Hot Shots", whilst not exactly bowling the critics over, remains a popular addition to the spoof genre. But despite having seen the original many times, the sequel had largely passed me by. I guess I wasn't that bothered by it - how many spoof sequels can you think of that match the original - but thankfully, I shouldn't have been that worried. By switching its focus from mocking "Top Gun" to the likes of "Rambo", "Robocop" and "Commando", the film retains its delightfully silly outlook on things but still goes for the jugular against a soft target.Rock God from Mars Charlie Sheen returns as Topper Harley who has now left the military and is living a simpler life in a Tibetan monastery after having his heart broken by his former squeeze Ramada (Valeria Golino). But Topper is soon back in action after President Tug Benson (Lloyd Bridges) sends Colonel Walters (Richard Crenna) and CIA agent Michelle Huddlestone (Brenda Bakke) to get Topper leading a rescue mission in Iraq to free the guys who were sent to free the guys who were sent to free hostages from the first Gulf War. But as before, there is a saboteur in the side and soon, Topper must seriously rack up the body count in order to get the job done."Hot Shots: Part Deux" is not a film to take seriously - this is as stupid a film as I can recall. Like the first, it crams every scene with sight gags, one liners and slapstick and also like the first, a fair number do raise a smile if few out-and-out laughs. It isn't anything like as funny as its spiritual predecessors like "Airplane!" or "The Naked Gun", despite the director being one of the three responsible for them. However, it is funnier than modern spoofs like "Scary Movie" or "Meet The Spartans" but to be frank, I find the BBC News channel funnier than those films. Sheen is surprisingly funny as Topper, aping Sly Stallone perfectly despite launching a chicken from a longbow with intent, and so is Crenna who is basically playing his "Rambo" character for laughs instead. The rest of the cast do OK, mainly following Bridges lead but he does provide another link to the earlier, better movies. It's as if the film makers were pleading for legitimacy, saying that this is a proper spoof even if there is no Leslie Nielsen in it.I understand that "Rambo"-style films aren't exactly hard to spoof but "Hot Shots: Part Deux" does a decent job of bringing them down a peg or two. It isn't a laugh-a-minute mickey-take but it does make you smile and remind you how utterly stupid most action movies from that era actually are. Even compared to the first "Hot Shots!", it holds up pretty well but I couldn't escape the sense that they were trying a bit too hard. What made the likes of "Airplane!" so special was the screenplay which was simply hilarious on its own. There was no need for special effects besides the crude aeroplane model being buffeted by lightning - the lines and performances were enough. Here, the gags are almost drowned out by the explosions and fire fights - each scene simply takes its cue from scenes in other films but replays them for laughs. Nothing wrong with that, as such, but I just preferred the earlier spoofs to these ones. And remember, it's been a long time since spoof movies enjoyed this level of success.