Blues Brothers 2000
Tags: cult

Plot synopsis:
Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd) is released from prison after serving eighteen years for the events of the previous film and is informed that his brother, "Joliet" Jake Blues (John Belushi) has died. He is picked up by Matara (Shann Johnson) a friend who works for his former drummer Willie Hall who wants to help him get back on his feet.
Before meeting up with Willie, Elwood asks to be dropped off to see Sister Mary Stigmata (Kathleen Freeman) who is now working at a hospital after the orphanage was closed. She informs him that Curtis (Cab Calloway) has also died but fathered an illegitimate son Cabel Chamberlain (Joe Morton) who is an Illinois State Police commander, and introduces him to an orphan Buster (J. Evan Bonifant) to suggest mentoring him.
Against Stigmata’s advice, Elwood tracks down Cabel at his police department to inform him of his real father and asks him to join The Blues Brothers Band that he plans on reforming. Cabel, upset by the news and offended by the suggestion to join him after seeing Elwood's and Jake's criminal history, throws him out of the building where Buster steals his wallet containing enough money for Elwood to purchase a new Bluesmobile.
Elwood and Buster begin tracking down members of the former band to recruit them from their current jobs. Willie runs a strip club and joins after it is burned down by the Russian mafia because Elwood enlisted the help of Willie’s barman "Mighty" Mack McTeer (John Goodman) to try and convince them to leave the club alone. Another member Matt "Guitar" Murphy joins again at the advice of his wife (Aretha Franklin) who now run a Mercedes-Benz dealership together. Three members work at a radio station and quickly agree to join, and finally Murphy Dunne joins after his boss at call center gives him permission.
The newly reformed band uses their old agent to book them a show. On the way to the show they are followed by Cabel and the Illinois state police who are now looking for Elwood for stealing Cabel’s wallet earlier, and believing that he has kidnapped Buster. While avoiding the police Elwood interrupts a Militia group meeting unintentionally destroying their boat full of explosives they planned to use. The Band arrives at the show to find they have been mistakenly booked as a Bluegrass Band but perform the show anyway. Afterward they evade capture by the police, but they catch up with them at a Tent revival where Reverend Cleophus James (James Brown) is preaching. Before Cabel can arrest them he has an epiphany brought on by Reverend Cleophus that he should join the band instead of being a police officer. The Band evades capture once more now with Cabel joining them who the police believe they have brainwashed.
The band continues on to their next booking, a tryout for a Battle of the Bands put on by Queen Mousette (Erykah Badu) who Mack informs is allegedly a 130 year old voodoo witch. Queen Mousette requests the band play something Caribbean, and when Elwood beings to explain they don’t play that kind of music, she casts a spell on them to play anyway. Mousette accepts the band into the battle, however Elwood, Mack, and Cabel are turned to stone statues.
At the show, Queen Mousette undoes the spell to allow The Blues Brothers band to play against The Louisiana Gator Boys; a supergroup of blues musicians who they lose the battle to. After the battle the show is interrupted by the arrival of the Russian mafia and the Militia group from earlier who are turned into rats by Queen Mousette. The Illinois state police arrive but stand down after Cabel informs them that he is all right. Elwood suggests that two bands jam together on stage, and uses the performance as cover when Sister Mary Stigmata arrives to say goodbye to Cabel and Mack and escape with Buster with the police giving chase.

Review: It takes guts to make a sequel to a movie after 20 years, especially after the original has become a legend and the star has died since.However this movie does a lot of things right and frankly, even if it had been perfect, some people would hate it anyway.
In fact all elements from the original are here in slightly inferior forms, with the exception of the car chase, which is better.To be honest, it is worth seeing this film just to see how all the band has aged.
Blues Brothers 2000 is a movie with good intentions, Aykroyd and Landis once again team up to recapture the magic in tribute to John Belushi, and almost all of the original cast are still here.
I just didn't find this film funny, with a few rehashed gags and some new ones that didn't work Blue Brothers 2000 really does struggle to entertain.John Goodman doesn't try and replace John Belushi, and he actually does a good job in poor role, but the introduction of a kid to the Blues Brothers Band seemed completely pointless and adds absolutely nothing to the film.The saving grace is the music, with Eric Clapton, BB King, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, etc.
and the original Blues Brothers Band, the music is damn good, but this alone is not enough.Thanks for trying, but must try harder.
But after almost two decades, Aykroyd wanted to do something to revisit the classic film and pay homage to his friend and co-star Belushi, so he assembled this "Concert Movie", which is supposed to be all about THE MUSIC, not the story.
They need to chill a bit and realize the purpose of this film: simply a tribute to the music.How could any fan of "blues," not like this?
The movie sports a "Who's Who" of modern-day blues musicians and singers and also is directed by John Landis, who has directed some of the most entertaining films of the last 25 years.Plus, it was simply a funny movie with two funny guys - Dan Akyroyd and John Goodman - and a really neat-looking little kid in J.
But I highly discourage anyone who liked the original Blues Brothers from wasting their time on this crassly commercial, soulless, and painfully unfunny movie.
Every scene in the movie, including the musical numbers, took too long-from Elwood talking to the Penguin, to the Car chases-long shots of police cars-to the car-under-the-water routing-to the 50 car pile up that seemed to take 10 minutes.The musical numbers-the lifeblood of the original-were completely devoid of soul.
Who could believe that the `Dunn and Cropper' radio talk show could possibly exist when they both seemed to be reading off of cue cards the entire movie?The things that we funny and subtle in the first film-Elwood's parking ability, Jake's transformation at the hands of Reverend Cleophus, the miracle performance of the Bluesmobile, the new jobs of the former band members, were hackneyed and overdone in this film.The lack of energy from the band, though, is the coffin nail for this film.They perform with such little life that CGI animation of a skeleton riding a skeletal horse over the stage has to be imposed during their rendition of `Ghost Rider.'  This comes from the same Blues Brothers band that made the theme to Rawhide sound like a hit twenty years ago.Finally, the movie seems too bright and too clean.
The new Bluesmobile didn't even look right until Elwood littered up the dashboard with trash, and-get this-the cigarette lighter worked!Other fatal flaws: dumbing-down Elwood Blues, inserting a kid into the cast, having Elwood eat something other than dry, white toast, the shaving-cream-ball schtick, no SCMODS, no lines like `Man, I haven't been pulled over in six months.'  All the jokes hit you in the face-like they all have to be explained.
It was cool that they tied in the deaths of John Belushi and Cab Calloway into the movie's plot, making the characters they played dead as well.
The kid, I must add, was a nice touch, and it was cool to see twice as many blues legends in this movie, including some new artists like Johnny Lang and Erykah Badu.
The original movie made a big thing of overdoing car chases in very funny ways.
In particular, there are no original ideas in the car chases.So don't expect too much, just enjoy the music and the fun parts (they sure exist).
As good as the original Blues Brothers movie was, as bad is this sequel: After a rather boring warmup of old scenes which are by far not as good as the original ones, it looks like the producers have run out of money - because the end is where there was the first hope that there will be some action.
The only good thing here the is music, so I recommend shopping around for the soundtrack.Has anyone noticed that there is no "special edition" package of both Blues Brothers movies?
THIS I do not) are only a partial list of the offenses committed by this steaming pile of cinematic excrement.The extensive use of the impossible (Ghost Riders in the sky, zombifying people, transformations into rats) made this seem like a nasty parody of the original film, which, while it did take a few short detours into the realm of 'no way' (the backwards car flip), generally confined its antics to the at-least-theoretically-possible realm.
He DOES belong in the movie (most of the Blues Brothers albums feature him on keyboard, not Murphy Dunne), but his over-the-top performance makes him seem like the Frenchmen in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
For all the amazing movies big Dan has done, he definitely regrets letting his fans down with this pile of steaming Hollywood "hey they loved the original, lets make money with a remake" flop fest..
Okay, I have read most of the reviews here for this sequel and I, like most of the people who have responded with reviews of their own, LOVED the original and John Belushi, and I really have no problem with people trashing the film, or John Goodman even, but when someone like this one dude trashes The QUEEN OF SOUL because she's gained weight over the years or because she sings one of her most famous standards.
John Belushi, John Candy and Cab Calloway are dead and nothing can be done about that, but to say this film is totally without merit is silly and so is comparing it to the original Blues Brothers movie, which, by the way, has plotholes you could drive a CONVOY of trucks through.
Because of the real life death of John Belushi, the writers instead throw in John Goodman and a child as new band players.First of all, I want to point out that I respect in this film that when Ellwood tells Goodman about Jake, the writers didn't come up with "Oh, he's down in Florida vacationing" or something stupid excuse for his absence like that.
As for these scenes, they paid absolutely nothing worthwhile to the film, other than filling in 20 minutes of stupid cheap gimmicks (Ellwood gets on stage and sings blues as the strippers come out) This is so dumb, and while the original had obvious dumb sequences, they came out funny-dumb, this film did not.
You'd expect to pick this video up and have a music CD pop out instead of a film.How anyone could think up such a lame excuse of a sequel is beyond me, and how Dan Akyroyd would ever join the cast again just completely mind boggling to me.
Even the usually excellent John Goodman was well below par, and this is to say nothing of the washed up Ackroyd.Terribly photographed, crippled by being utterly devoid of plot, jokes, charisma and with even the music shoehorned in with no thought to aesthetics or taste, I can honestly say that BB2K ranks alongside root canal work as the least pleasant way one could ever spend time.
Aside from everything, like Dan Aykroyd's dwindling ability to write a compelling story with good dialog, the ridiculous "say whaaa" parts, and Elwood's complete change in character, what grinds my gears the very most, is the poster, it was advertised "Aykroyd, Goodman: They're back in blue" completely disregarding the existence of the great John Belushi.....plus the movie sucked major balls if not for the music, and the kid's dance skills, i couldn't watch it....so very sad, and unfair!OHHH SCHNICKELFRITZ!.
Add John Goodman's equally goofy character, "Mighty" Mack McTeer, into the mix and you've got a recipe for disaster.The only things that saves this movie from being a 0/10 are the outstanding musical sequences (with the exception of Johnny Lang's "contribution").
The Blues Brothers Band and the various cameos from famous musicians throughout the movie are reason enough to watch it.
BLUES BROTHERS 2000 was a little too fast and simple, but the music and the inclusion of John Goodman was really good.
What they've done here however is production line fodder which, ironically for a movie about a blues band, has no soul in it at all.Obviously this movie doesn't have John Belushi in it which means that one thing that made the first movie great, the interplay between him and Dan Aykroyd is missing here.
I sat through the entire movie thinking "Okay, it's really bad now, but I have the great ending chase to look forward to."  It was one of the worst disappointments ever when Elwood and that stupid kid just drove off and the credits roll.
The original movie was reflection of the late 70's, and all those who fell for the Blues Brothers when they were actually performing live absolutely loved the cult classic.Don't get me wrong, I LOVED the first movie, but it has that certain feel that you just don't get in the second movie.You could tell that "2000" was more or less going for the whole "family film" feel (thus "the kid", a younger member of the cast with whom younger children could identify with).
If you haven't seen the first movie yet, rent them both at the same time, watch this one first (with the kids), then send the kids to bed and watch the original, but don't expect them to be anything alike.I also found it interesting that it took three whole people to make up for all of the aspects found in the late, great, John Belushi.Rating : A+.
Don't get me wrong, the music's still great and the car crash scene is hilarious too but there's just something missing here and that's John Belushi!.
Many could have played Ackroyd's part in 'The Blues Brothers' but no-one, REPEAT, no-one could or can replace John Belushi when it comes to 'The Blues Bothers'...And I'm disappointed in just how BAD this film is.
There have been some reviews that point out the "fact" that this movie needs to be appreciated as a tribute to the original, but we should not have to read interviews with cast members and directors etc before we can appreciate and enjoy a film.
The beauty of the art form of film is that its immediate and has no need for explanation.I think the reason that there has been so much spleen vented in relation to this appalling film is that the original movie was so fantastic that to see a pale imitation/sequel/tribute was just gut wrenching to us followers of the original Blues Brothers as a cult film.
Tacky, crass, stupid and irritating, I write this with a near-migraine as the sheer inanity of the whole venture has given me a severe headache.It starts well enough, with a dedication to deceased original stars Belushi, Cab Calloway and John Candy (what's that spinning sound I can hear?) and a touching scene where Elwood (Aykroyd) learns of his brother's death.
Belushi-dead, Cab Calloway-dead, John Candy-dead, Aykroyd-a shell of his former self, The Blues Brothers Band-did we HAVE to see these guys almost 20 years later?
They can't think of anything, so they make a remake or a sequel of a cult hit and we end up with movies like this.I love the Blues Brothers.
Here's what is wrong: First of all, its not the Blues Brothers its just Elwood[his character seems different] and 3 other dudes[one is a kid, how lame] why couldn't they just get some other guy to play John Belushis part.
So here's my suggestion for the furture - whenever Dan Akroyd wants his next career boost and asks to do a BB3 - why not just record a pile of good songs and release a CD instead?That way I won't need to sit through another poorly plotted, overdone, messy copy of a much better film.What a mess!
Police cars topple each other, one after another, and the film knows when to start and when to end them," and conclude with, "The Blues Brothers is a fun, energized comedy that starts fast and rarely lets up in terms of comedy and music.
Elwood also recruits Mack McTeer (played by John Goodman), a bartender from a new strip club he has just found out about, and Cab (Joe Morton), the illegitimate son of an old friend who is initially bitter and cold towards the idea of a band but soon can not refuse.One of the strongest moments is the three minute long musical rendition of Wilson Pickett's "634-5789," about a phone number, when dialed, will connect the lonely caller to attractive women who will provide them with a good time.
It is written by Aykroyd himself and John Landis (who again assumes the director role), two men who should know the material better than any soul, and we can see they desperately tried to work around the deaths of co-workers John Belushi, Cab Calloway, and John Candy in order to make a sequel work, and John Goodman seems as good as anyone to proudly boast the suit and glasses, yet the pieces do not fit like they're supposed to.
There is no plot to mention.The only passable thing is the music but even that is presented in a flat and contrived fashion.This film is often compared with the original Blues Brothers movie and what is often forgotten is the original was not all that good either.
Mind you, it had a big plus with John Belushi whereas Blues Brothers 2000 has John Goodman looking lost,Joe Morton making a fool of himself and some extremely annoying kid dancing about to no avail.John Landis may have directed worse than this but he should have had sufficient artistic integrity to realise this was a poor idea.
Blues Brothers 2000 is a dreadful movie with a very poorly developed plot and a star studded cast that could not do anything to save this film.
They are used in the original film to serve the plot, but in this case the plot is used to serve the music, every scene is merely used to set up another song.The main reason this film does not work out, as you would imagine, is John Belushi's absence, and it all feels a little disrespectful to the great comedian who died several years prior.
Unfunny, uninspired and lacking the originals charm, Blues Brothers 2000 is a movie that was better off not having been made.
Evan Bonifant.18 years after the original film, Elwood Blues (Aykroyd) is finally released from prison, only to discover that his brother Jake and mentor/father-figure Curtis have both passed away.
They are the one part of the film that easily lived up to the original, if not slightly exceeded it.And beyond that, many of the jokes do work, particularly an uproariously funny recall of the "car pileup" sequence from the original movie that plays like a deranged cartoon.Those things being said, this is not a good film.
I like John Landis, and I consider Blues Brothers(along with An American Werewolf in London) his best movie.
Elwood also gets stuck with an orphan Buster and car chases and musical numbers ensue from there.Review: This really isn't that bad a film.
If one does not compare this film with the original "Blues Brothers" movie, viewers will have a good time.
BB King, Eric Clapton, Koko Taylor, Charlie Musclewhite, Taj Mahal, Clarence Clemmons, Doctor John...to name a few!Aykroyd, Landis and the original Blues Brothers Band provided something fun with a good soundtrack, better than most modern day stuff.There is a respect for music that is often lacking in most modern movies.
The only thing the second film lacks is John Belushi as Jolliet Jake and just as much if not more places that the Blues Brothers explore, and John Candy and Cab Calloway.
I feel terrible for not watching the original "Blues Brothers" film seeing as how popular it is.
Blues Brothers 2000 is a good sequel to the brilliant 1980 original.
Before I saw this it I was a little worried that director John Landis and his co-writer Dan Aykroyd were going to make an abominable disgrace, but I was worrying for nothing because they ended up making one heck of good sequel.It is about Elwood Blues trying to put his life back together after he finaly gets out of prison.
That's also the reason why I didn't watch it until now, so 15 years after "Blues Brothers 2000" was released.After watching the movie I was relieved: The film was a lot better than I expected.
But it's just a copy from the original one without the great characters of John Belushi or Cab Calloway.Overall the film is average, but the music is so good that it's not as important as usual.
Evenmore I personally found car chases in the Blues brothers 1 pretty boring stuff, but i loved the movie, even more, for the performance and music.
I'm a big fan of the original Blues Brothers, but the sequel does not match up.The music is good (although I think the original was better), the cameos are outstanding (especially at the end) and visually, you cant fault it.The plot however..