Inferior follow-up

Rating: 6/10 (24 November 2012)

They're all back, they're in Thailand, and they don't remember a thing. Again. Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis and Justin Bartha all return in this sequel to the wildly successful 2009 comedy. This time it's Stu (Helms) who is about to be married and his friends are in Thailand for the wedding with Alan (Galifianakis) being brought along out of pity. However, this time Stu is determined to avoid being drugged. Imagine his surprise when, once in Thailand, that is exactly what happens. And while a member of the party is, again, missing, this time it's his future brother-in-law Teddy (Mason Lee) who is nowhere to be found. And upon inspection of their unfamiliar surroundings, they find his finger on the coffee table still bearing his class ring.
I'll admit that I, unlike most viewers, saw the first film and considered entertaining rather than hilarious. The second film is certainly lesser, at least as entertainment. In 2010, an action/comedy titled The Losers introduced the idea of 'green terrorism' by demonstrating a fictional explosive with all the destructive power of a nuclear bomb that created no radiation or fallout. The Hangover II is essentially a "green comedy". Whatever aesthetic differences there might be, it's primarily recycled materials from the previous film.