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Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) More at IMDbPro »

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37 comments in total

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
It needed Olivier, it Got Kramden, 25 May 2005

Author: douglas lally from Hoboken, NJ

OK, I'm kidding. Hey, listen, this film is no strain to the synapses. It's another Hal Needham carwreck fest wrapped up in a really dumb plot that at times tries too hard. However, I find an odd entertainment value in this genus of southern cheese. An aging professional highway show-off, an even more annuated hick sheriff in hot pursuit, an oddly swift and resilient Trans Am, a very talented yet dumbed down leggy sidekick, a country singer turned epitomal southern truck driver, Dom Deluise, and an elephant. Add plenty of incompetent law enforcement officers and marlboro reds and you have the makings of one fine redneck cross-country chase movie. I don't know why but I actually enjoyed this. It's really about the stunts I think and when it comes to Hal Needham you never can have too many car crashes. In the spirit of Cannonball Run and the Dukes of Hazzard there is an odd appeal in watching good IL boys tear up backroads to the tune of Hank Williams and police sirens. And of course there's always a way out leaving a pile of police cruisers in the dust behind. It's an action flick and as such you shouldn't expect it to be anything other than what it is; it's just fun to watch. You may notice it does have some very talented actors so it begs the "what were you thinking doing this film?" question. Perhaps. But on face value it's all about the car chase. And who doesn't love a good car chase?

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Not that great, 21 July 2004
Author: J from Iowa

As much as I liked the first movie, I find that I don't really like the second film. While the film had it's moments, especially with Jackie Gleason as Buford T. Justice, there really wasn't much to redeem this film.

Everything about the film seemed rather contrived, especially the comedy. The comedy seemed to be forced most of the time.

While I can watch the first film over and over and it never seems to get old for me, the second film wore out its welcome almost right away. I don't know, but maybe if they hadn't tried so hard with the second film to measure up to the first film it would have been better.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Extinguished, 21 July 2005

Author: Mr Ben from Hampshire, England

It's fair to be said that hairy-lipped ladies man Burt Reynolds has had something of a chequered success rate when it comes to his movies. From highlights in "Boogie Nights" and "The Mean Machine" to real clunkers like "Striptease", Reynolds has never been consistent in his movies with the exception of being consistently inconsistent. Redneck rampage classic "Smokey And The Bandit" was one of Burt's best so it was no surprise when the predictable sequel arrives and it's a serious test of how much vehicular destruction you like in a movie. It also proves that a movie needs much more than comedic cops and smashed squad cars to make a plot.

Reynolds returns as the legendary Bandit, a hero among the high-speed CB radio community. Washed up and a wreckage of a man after Carrie (Sally Field once again) leaves him, Bandit is reunited with his old buddy Snowman (Jerry Read) and Carrie in order to transport an elephant from Florida to Texas in three days. The promise of a substantial reward is apparently motive enough because I couldn't find any other reason to do this. Anyway, Bandit is tracked every mile of the way by persistent Sheriff Buford T Justice (Jackie Gleason) and his wet-behind-the-ears son (Mike Henry) and this time, he's brought a few family reinforcements...

You can picture the meeting of the producers before shooting began. "Let's get everything that made the first film great and double it." So we have more cars and crashes, more stunts and jumps, more trucks, a prolonged love-hate story between Field and Reynolds as well as Dom DeLuise as a slightly eccentric Italian doctor, more Buford T Justice and oh yes, even more crashes. Sadly, the mix is a mess. The film's plot veers this way and that like one of Buford's pursuits and very little ever makes sense. Coupled with a comic-book approach to the story (Burt doing a standing back-flip onto the back of the elephant?) and the first film's action gives way to simplistic and unconvincing set-pieces. Gleason easily acts everyone else off the screen, which is not good when you sympathise with the baddie of the piece while watching our crew of redneck racers with ambivalence. Come the film's climax, there is an overwhelming sense of 'deja vu' as increasingly chaotic scenes fail to impress.

In truth, there wasn't much they could do with the sequel. The first, while hardly a classic itself, pretty much covered all the bases when it came to road movies so what "Smokey And The Bandit 2" thought it could add to the mix remains a mystery because this film does nothing but improve your opinion of the first (if you've seen it, anyway). Like the first, this is a mildly diverting film in a just-returned-from-pub kinda way but quite frankly, you'd be better renting something else or re-watching a DVD. Stick with the first but don't touch this or the third unless you're an extremely forgiving viewer. And Reynolds really should have trimmed that moustache...

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8 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
The sequel with heart., 1 April 2004
Author: mack3175-1 from Metairie, Louisiana

There are a real amount of bad reviews of this movie on the IMDB. Especially I WANTED TO KILL MYSELF AFTER SEEING THIS MOVIE, which I felt was a bit dramatic. But I liked this movie, it had great action, comedy, and it was quite heartwarming. Cledus and the bandit are appoarched to make another run. For 400 dollars there asked to deliver an elephant across country. Bandit who is still broken hearted after his break up with Carrie/frog almost a year ago. Bandit sees this oppurtunity to revive his image. Cledus asked Carrie to come along for the ride. But will sparks fly again for bandit and Carrie? And will sheriff Buford T. Justice and his simple minded son Junior catch them this time? A fun sequel, for whoever is a fan. Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, and Jackie Gleason know how to deliver the goods.

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Keep on truckin', 27 May 2000
Author: Lars Christensen (c@cool.dk) from Copenhagen, Denmark

* * * (3 out of 5)

Smokey and the Bandit II

Directed by: Hal Needham, 1980

Silly yet very loveable sequel finds Burt Reynolds and gang back for more. Needham again injects his energized sensibilities, and Reynolds and Sally Field keep the sparks flying.

Dom DeLuise is hysterical as a madcap Italien doctor, and was a breath of fresh air into what was looking more and more like tired formula.

DeLuise and Reynolds hit it off instantly, and went on to do The Cannonball Run I+II shortly after.

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Narcissism is hardly funny..., 1 January 2008

Author: moonspinner55 from redlands, ca

Fairly dreadful sequel to "Smokey and the Bandit" arrived some three years later, and most of the principal players look a bit sheepish about the entire enterprise--none more so than Sally Field as "Frog", the Bandit's main squeeze. In the film (and in the outtakes played at the end), Field seems edgy and defensive, which probably means she got a good look at this screenplay and felt trapped (an understandable reaction, but deadly in a comedy). Written by Jerry Belson and Brock Yates from a treatment by Michael Kane, the movie immediately gets off on the wrong foot with Field once again running out on a wedding (to Sheriff Justice's son for the second time). Seems she can't reach the Bandit, whose inflated ego and sense of self-importance has alienated all his friends. Moody, unhappy Burt Reynolds only perks up in his scenes with Dom DeLuise, but for the most part limps through these half-hearted proceedings like a celebrity on the downhill slide. Hal Needham's direction isn't any help (he's at the mercy of the woebegone script), but there is an elephant around for the occasional sight-gag--and Jackie Gleason in three roles. * from ****

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3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Blown opportunity, 16 October 1999

Author: jrs-8 from Chicago

"Smokey and the Bandit II" is a blown opportunity. I am not a big fan of sequels because they generally just repeat the same formula of the original. Here is no exception. But what bothers me is of ALL the ideas they could use they pick transporting an elephant? And why make the Bandit down on his luck? We want to see him on top of the world in the spoils of wealth from the first film. But all we get to see are he and Sally Field fighting. Jackie Gleason is good but the resurrection of some of his classic characters though nice, is totally unnecessary to the film. A big disappointment.

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Witless dreck, 17 September 2009

Author: mutty_mcflea from Bristol, UK

If you like to see cars being smashed up left, right and centre with no semblance of wit, logic or entertainment to be had, then this is the movie for you. The car stunts are the main attraction, sure, but this ain't exactly 'Mad Max 2'. It's a cinematic junkpile, pitiful in every department and inexplicably in love with its charmless characters. Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed and fit-to-bust sheriff Jackie Gleason are all back, and they're joined this time by Dom Deluise, creating a laugh vacuum guaranteed to suck any good jokes into it without mercy. Luckily for this movie, there were no good jokes to begin with. A smug and annoying film that does nothing but waste your precious time.

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Terrible sequel, 22 June 2009

Author: LuboLarsson from Scotland

Awful follow up to the fantastic Smokey and the Bandit this movie surely marks the beginning of Reynolds downfall as the Worlds number one movie star. Everything about this needless sequel is lazy, the story is poor the actors look uninterested and jokes are recycled from the first film. Burt's character doesn't even seem to be the same care free guy we loved in the first and Sally Field looks like she may have regretted appearing in this. In real life Reynolds and Field had broken up so maybe thats why the film has a depressing feeling all the way through it. Jerry Reed and Jackie Gleason aren't too bad but they have nothing to work with here the director seems only to interested in how many cars and smashes he can show on screen at the same time. Has no-one noticed that car stunts are not made more exciting by simply multiplying the amount and adding more and more cars? If anything its boring. I can appreciate car stunts, there was some great stuff in the first one and in other Reynolds movies like Hooper but by now it had run its course. Avoid this movie even if you loved the first.

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Just in case you missed the sign..., 13 January 2007

Author: Dimarc from New York, NY

All in all, a childishly fun revisiting of the characters and story. It'll help if you're already a big fan of cowboys, big trucks, and car jumps, and, of course, the first film.

A lot of drama went on behind the scenes during the shooting, and at times can be glimpsed on the screen, including Sally's and Burt's strained relationship, Jackie Gleason's health, and Hal Needham's direction.

The sign in front of the church wonderfully demonstrates the level of humor throughout this movie:

"Texarkana Reformed, United, Evangelical, Fundamental Church Of God, The Twelve Apostles And Assorted Saints"

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