Clerks II

Smith has elegantly avoided all the ills of his first film, turned up the humor (the donkey party), leaned neatly into The Lord of the Rings phenomenon, let the protagonists spout the truest of life's wisdom in brilliant dialogue, and cast Rosario Dawson. In general, what makes his films brilliant has once again come together in the fanciest guise imaginable. Thanks, Kevin. We'll see what the rest of the life that began at the end of this film turns into. (06/01/2007)

In the case of Clerks 2, the return to roots is not just an empty concept, because this is not another Mallrats or Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Maybe that's why I had a problem with the lower cadence of the jokes at the beginning, but once I tuned into the pace of the film, which, like the first, features completely serious dialogue alongside the brilliant jokes, Kevin Smith had me right where he wanted. In short, the return to Jersey was a success. Jay and Bob are at it again, Randall is talking like hell, and Dante has put on some weight. It's funny, it's clever, it's touching and it's exactly what Smith fans have been waiting for. And if this bunch returns in a few years, I'll definitely be there again. (02/09/2006)

A pleasant surprise, which I hadn't even hoped for after the uninteresting prequel. Except perhaps for the first 20 minutes or so, with some wannabe-funny dialogue in the vein of its predecessor, for which Smith deserves to be raped by Gandalf's staff, but starting with the great verbal duel Randal vs LOTR fans, the film catches its second wind and I enjoyed all the movie quotes, allusions to current modern trends and the dialogues with funny life observations, including Randal's surprising emotional outburst at the end. So, unexpectedly for me, I'm happy to rank this sequel alongside the smart Dogma and Chasing Amy. (04/01/2007)

For me, this overhyped comedy and Kevin Smith don't really click. There are a few decent lines (the discussion of Lord of the Rings vs Star Wars was cool), but otherwise it just flows without much surprise or interest. There's no downright burst of laughter and the story didn't seem very interesting to me either. Maybe ten years ago, it could've earned four stars, but definitely not today. 6/10. (24/01/2021)

I have really liked Kevin Smith since his debut, and I eagerly awaited the continuation of the adventures of his slackers from Jersey. To be honest, I endured the first twenty, maybe even twenty-five minutes of the film, because the characters have aged and they reminded me of my own deterioration, and looking at Dante, I painfully realized the shortcomings of my nutrition. Above all, the attempts at jokes seemed to me to be lacking in humor, and there was an excess of vulgarities that seemed purposeless without the support of functioning comedy. Then came the scene with the "elf in the crotch" and the "spittoon in the mouth" as defenders of virginity - a clear allusion to the sexual education used by President Bush. All that was missing was mention of the stork delivering babies. The argument between The Lord of the Rings fans and a staunch Star Wars worshipper was also great, and the anchor points kept on increasing. This film simply lacks the inventiveness and quotability of the first installment, and overall represents a more calculated production that clearly relies on the sentiment of its fans. On the other hand, it is also more mature, and professional, and clearly had a higher budget, which allowed for the hiring of more expensive and well-known actors. However, what saves Smith the most is his uncompromising and, above all, politically incorrect humor, which allows him to make jokes about black monkeys or employ a donkey as a perverted Kelly. Very few people in American studio productions dare to play around with political correctness like this. Overall impression: 75%. Although I consider myself a fan of Smith, I get the impression that he is starting to repeat himself, and I would be quite afraid of a third installment of Clerks... It is time to look for innovation and, above all, to find entertainment from a different perspective. (08/08/2008)