Movie Review: Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)

The movie stars Rebel Wilson, Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Hailee Steinfeld and Anna Camp.

Much as was the case with the first film, my wife and I had this movie for about three months before we finally took the time to watch it. We enjoyed the first film immensely when we finally got around to watching it. However, part of our hesitation with this one was the fact sequels rarely are as good. After watching it last night, I unfortunately have to say it didn't change my mind about that opinion.

I'm going to start out by saying the movie wasn't bad. In fact, there were quite a few things I did like about it. For one, the musical performances were, as expected, entertaining to watch, especially when the songs were recognizable classics (which always are at a whole new level when performed a cappella).

I also found I loved the scenes involving their efforts to bond by attending a boot camp run by their former leader, Aubrey (Camp). The combination of singing, physical challenges, sharing (a very cramped) tent and avoiding various booby traps made that much more entertaining than I was expecting it to be.

I think my biggest problem with this film is, while it still managed to be funny, it just didn't seem to have the same magic as the original. Part of the reason for this, I think, is the heavy focus on Kendrick and Wilson's characters.

Yes, they were the stars and deserved the most screen time. But, when a movie is about a team, the team really should still be the focus, as it was in the first film. This is especially true when there are so many other quirky characters that really deserved more than a few lines.

The original was considerably better than the sequel. That being said, the movie still proved to be a fun movie to watch and I would still recommend it as a result of that.

My Grade: B