Overlong but fun

Rating: 6/10 (25 November 2002)

The second film in this film series has the same general strengths and weaknesses of the original.. The production design and effects are excellent and the cast is uniformaly good. However the storyline and film itself is overly padded and slow paced... a flaw of trying to adapt too much of the book. While this one is less padded than the original, lacking so much of the expositionary stuff, it could still have used some judicial cutting, losing a good half hour of the running time from this 2 hour and 45 minute film would have helped tighten things up enormously. Still, the film does have its entertaining moments and the young cast is getting better with each entry.It's also a hoot to see Kenneth Brannah hamming it up as one of the instructors. GRADE: B