Action-sequel with no thrill.

Rating: 6/10 (6 December 2002)

Yes, it is indeed a very good movie. Both for movies in general and as a Fantazy Saga. But it has something that is missing or feels incomplete. Why didn't I feel as thrilled as when I watched the first movie? I actually felt a little bit disappointed. I think it has some problems. And the most of it has to do with the rythm of the movie. What I really liked with the first movie was rythm in it. The way it was cut and told was in fact - excellent! The way the characters were introduced, the way of telling the story with the camera which sometime really rested on the pictures. If it was a children's movie or not has nothing to do with if it was good or bad. It was indeed a really excellent handicraft. But this movie lacks the balance of the first one. Even if it is long, I actually think the movie would have been better if they made it even longer! Why? - The story and the characters are not introduced properly. The editing is faster then that in the first one and details which could have been exciting or funny gets lost or actually even destroyed because of this. It feels like that they could have done so much more with everything. In this movie I have no feeling for the characters. Not for the new ones nor even the old ones. Only a stupid owl and a Phoenix gets my sympathy. they were indeed the best with this movie!
Another problem is the one of all sequels. This movie rely too much on the first one. Old jokes and ingredients have already past the "best before date". Why didn't they concentrate on the original stuff and characters in the second book? Now the result becomes only "so so". This means that if you haven't seen the old one, you can not see this one. You are not properly introduced. And if you see the second first, you also destroy the jokes in the first one. If you have seen the first one, you will feel disappointed on this one.
They tried to do an action-sequel. It is still a good movie but it failed in its intentions. Because of the lack of originality and the fact that the team did a better movie before this one, if I had to be the judge, I can only give this movie a 7 out of 10. Sad, yes . . . But you still have to go and see it!