Do you know what the biggest problem with current critics is? The stop outside the scope and exaggerated. Acclaimed director Steven Spielberg once said that trips to the cinema are always “magical, and it doesn’t matter what movie it is”. So, why not simply understand that melodrama and adventure novels are different from each other, Marvel productions may not please cult tasters and vice versa, and that action edias are simply intended to impress and entertain? See, 'Midsommar' and 'Parasite' are wonderful to watch, so the 'Double Explosive 2 – And the First Lady of Crime', but proposals that are 100% different and therefore impossible to match.
In a clichéd and over-the-top way like any action movie, and wrapped in frenetic explosions with a lot of comedy involved, the sequel to the 2017 film starring Ryan Reynolds e Samuel L. Jackson is as well-executed as the first film, but more directly embraces the "clueless" or "don't take me seriously, just have fun" premise. a great cast – and he puts a big spin on it: Salma Hayek, Frank Grillo, Richard E. Grant, Antonio Banderas e Morgan Freeman -, the sequel directed again by Australian Patrick Hughes brings what worked in part 1 and multiplies. In other words: more fast-paced sequences, shootings, murders and practical humor and “slapstick”.
And it's not that the script by Tom O'Connor (along with the brothers Brandon and Phillip Murphy), who also wrote the story of the first 'Double Explosive', doesn't make sense, however the prehension is in the background. After all, it's practically two hours of, well, everything happening on screen at the same time. So even the most attentive audience will probably give up on understanding 100% of the plot and focus on the violent and absurd journey of the protagonists, so that we can't (or don't have time to) pay attention to holes, succumbing to the great scenes of action (which, for a product of the genre, are quite excessive).
About the true main character of the continuation, there is no reason not to burst out laughing every time Hayek appears. Sonia, wife of assassin Darius Kincaid, is insane, impulsive and simply steals the protagonism of the original 'Duo Explosiva', bringing to the public all the sexualization and the best of the Latin stereotype in the sense of comedy, many "fucks", outbreaks and unpredictable moments . If there was to be a rating for her performance, in general, she would certainly be above Reynolds and L. Jackson.
And don't get me wrong: if you loved the story of the first film, you'll be pleased to know that the downgraded private security officer and the foul-mouthed hitman are still as comical as ever. In the case of L. Jackson, it's always amazing to see a 72-year-old actor, who is already considered a legend in Hollywood, in intense action scenes that require some preparation, but at the same time "making fun" of everything - be the joke more rant about “cocks and balls” to the fact that Morgan Freeman is black (he is).
For his part, Reynolds has struggled to get out of the role of Deadpool since 2016, however this is not a bad thing at all and it works very well in 'Double Explosive 2'. The actor benefits from being the protagonist to joke about the absurdity of being at the center of several extreme situations, screaming to the heavens and anyone who can hear how wronged he is and, in the end, making fun of himself – all of this constant attempts to break the fourth wall. This modus operandi is, today, nice to be beaten and laughs, but I believe that at some point in the near future it may saturate. Fortunately, in the film in question, this is not the case.
Regarding supporting actors, the feature strives not to fail, since films with many stars and stars on the scene are very difficult to direct. Like 'The Expendables 3', Hughes also loses his hand when trying to score several big names on the screen simultaneously. Except for the three protagonists and Freeman, who at 84 still shows that he knows how to fight class in action scenes, the sequence has the rest of the performances almost disposable. Frank Grillo can't be funny, Antonio Banderas disappoints the villain, Richard E. Grant appears in a scene and it's not to resolve everything he did in 'Loki' and Tom Hopper, brother No. 1 of 'The Umbrella Academy', seems like didn't want to be there.
In any case, the entire cast is enhanced by a production that is a spectacle in the eyes of those who are watching. Lionsgate, Millennium Media and four other producers invested well in the budget of US$ 70 million and were able to bring a beautiful photograph of European scenarios in Capri and Florence, in Italy, and in other locations in Greece and Croatia, in addition to a well done. And even though action movies always ask for CGI “here and there”, it's nice to see when scenes are shot outdoors and without the aid of technology… just actors, lights, camera and action.
Explosive and funny, 'Dual Explosive 2 – And the First Lady of Crime' is a good sequel
'Explosive Double 2 - And the First Lady of Crime' finds overkill the formula for near-perfect action comedy. The continuation develops very well, causing several good moments of right laughter from the audience. After all, it is a film that is not enough to revolutionize the scenario or be “bigger than that one or that one”, but to entertain and impress – and this is very well done, by the main actors and by the excellent production full of plot twists.
Obviously, the film is no masterpiece, but who's going to watch it looking for one? 'Doupla Explosiva 2' fulfills the role of entertaining both in terms of action and adrenaline, as well as in the media. In the end, that’s what “action comedy” movies are all about, for God’s sake…
Did you want to watch the movie? Know that 'Explosive Double 2 - And the First Lady of Crime', starring Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson e Salma Hayek, premieres this Thursday (28) in movie theaters throughout Brazil. Check out the official synopsis and trailer below:
Bodyguard Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) will have to give up his sabbatical to protect Darius (Samuel L. Jackson) and Sonia (Salma Hayek), the world's most lethal stranger couple. As Bryce is pushed to the limit by his two protégés, the Kincaid couple get involved in a global plot, where they are chased by a powerful, vengeful madman (Antonio Banderas).
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