The News Team is back, Whammy! Scott Gentry reviews Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

"Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" (15)
Director: Adam McKay.
Starring: Will Ferrell, Steve Carrell, David Koechner, Paul Rudd and Kristen Wiig. 
Rated: 15 for containing infrequent strong sex references, and hard drug use.
Running time: 119 minutes.
Released: 18th of December, 2013. 

"Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" now finds Ron (Will Ferrell) and the gang putting the seventies behind them and embracing the eighties, with the job of working on America's first 24 hour news channel, to hilarious effect.

When its predecessor ("Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy") arrived in UK cinemas back in 2004, it almost failed to find an audience. Showing in a limited amount of screens, many people avoided the film and instead waited for the DVD release. Thanks to the release of the film on DVD, it achieved a cult following and it's fan base has since grown considerably in numbers. Some say that we've waited too long for a sequel, but I disagree.

The return of "Anchorman" was slightly feared by fans and many people argued whether the new instalment would be made terribly and ruin the reputation of its predecessor; but it honestly doesn't. In fact, the cast and crew have had nine long years to bring back some of our favourite comic creations, in classic style. Was it worth the wait? Definitely. 


Satirising America yet again, Adam McKay and his team provide their customary brand of zany and silly humour, which some people just can't grasp. It's unfortunate, because when "Anchorman" clicks, it works really well.

Much like part one, "A2:TLC"  provides plenty of hilarious one-liners and quickly descends into madness throughout the third act. There are plenty of memorable scenes, including a battle between all the news-teams (including a bucket load of cameos) and a scene involving a bottle fed shark. Confused? I certainly was! 

The cast are once again superb, with Will Ferrell leading an all star cast, including the likes of Steve Carrell and Kristen Wiig, who both provide a hilarious love interest/side story which works well, considering the already over-crowded plot-line. 

The film's only weakness is its length; teetering on the edge of two hours, the film unfortunately begins to lose momentum throughout the second act. However, it provides a brilliant comedy sequel that actually works where so many films have tried and failed. 

Verdict

A great sequel which could obviously never live up to the original, but entertains perfectly well, revealing new characters and plenty of genuine laughs; "A2:TLC" is definitely classy. 

7.5 Stars out of 10.

Written by Scott Gentry.

Film Rating Key

1-2 stars out of ten = Awful.

3-4 stars out of ten = Average.

5-6 stars out of ten = Good.

7-8 stars out of ten = Excellent.

9-10 stars out of ten = Amazing.