Review: Horrible Bosses 2 (2014)

                       

       
                  'Horrible Bosses 2' Is Indeed Rather Horrible
            I may have mentioned this before, but I hate when a film has little for me to review because it makes my review seem as mailed in as the film itself.

         Story:
      Horrible Bosses 2 continues the story of Nick, Kurt, and Dale (Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jason Sudeikis) who decide to start a business and become their own bosses. When they find an investor named Bert Hanson (Christoph Waltz) for their product, Hanson ultimately leaves them in debt after backing out of their deal. The trio then decides to kidnap his son Rex (Chris Pine) and mayhem ensues from there.

        Ups:
     I did like Kevin Spacey's tiny cameo. Despite his small role, he was the one that interestingly got the most laughs out of me. Also, I loved how Chris Pine did his best to try and elevate the subpar material he is given since he brought a lot of energy on screen.

       Downs:
     First, I'll go into Jason Bateman. When watching this film, I couldn't tell whether his character is such a downer this time around or if Bateman just wanted to collect his check and go home because Nick, who is supposed to be the voice of reason, is constantly so negative and talking down on everyone. His negative energy brings the film down as a result. Also, the supporting players like Jennifer Aniston and Christoph Waltz are wasted. Especially Waltz because he is literally given nothing to do. Jamie Foxx also returns and other than the climax, he doesn't do much either.

    Like with other sequels, the film also felt more of the same with the same plot structure. Some of the same jokes are used and even the newer jokes fell completely flat. Because this felt like such a carbon copy, it made me wish I was watching the first again.

    Consensus:
    Overall, Horrible Bosses 2 is a barely serviceable sequel to its predecessor with near-invisible laughs and wasted talent. I do applaud some of the actors for trying to make it work, but it felt like they just wanted to be horrible bosses themselves and fire their agents.

    Would I Recommend It?:
   Sadly, no. Just watch the first one.

Grade: D+