Quick Reviews!!

Rating: 8/10 (25 November 2004)

POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!
Not as good as the original, let's get that out of the way. It is part of a trilogy, and sequels are for the most part inferior. Wes Craven knows this, lets get that out of the way. But when the fans want more, and when the story isn't finished, sequels are inevitably made. But it is still a good movie, still better than any over the other teen slasher movies of the period, and retains many elements which made the original so good.
OK, now that we understand Wes Craven knew exactly what he was doing, we can discuss the good and bad points. Bad- too many unnecessary characters, though strangely many of them are not killed or even attacked, and most of them do not do much, the twists are too unpredictable to work well, and it is maybe too short. Now the good stuff- each performance is good, though the Killer (s) is (are) too over the top. Neve is excellent again, and i'm not only saying that because i'm a fan, but she has grown as an actress now coping with the fame Scream brought her, ironically mirroring the fame Sydney gets from what happened in Woodsboro. The Arquettes are both very good, Randy is very funny again, and the scares are pretty good. The police car scene stands out. Again the film deals with mistrust and uncertainty, like most of Craven's films, and we sympathies with Sydney's struggles- it seems inevitable that she will never put these events behind her, and that it will be a great struggle for her to get close to anyone- her relationship with her new boyfriend shows this (played brilliantly by O-Connell). The script is sharp, and there are many in-jokes.
Overall it is a good film, but a continuation a story because the impact the characters of the first film had was so big, we had to see how they would move on. It cannot be as original or fresh (grr) as the first film, but that does not matter, that's not the point. 8 out of 10.