The Hangover Part II

What it's about:

It's been two years since that crazy night in Vegas when Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Alan (Zack Galifianakis) lost their friend Doug (Justin Bartha) during his bachelor party. Now the "wolf pack" is back together in Thailand for Stu's wedding to Lauren. After one beer on the beach, the gang find themselves in Bangkok with no recollection of the night before - and they can't find Lauren's little brother, Teddy. Feeling the worse for wear, they set out to retrace their steps.

What we thought:

Welcome to The Hangover Lite: The story we all know and love, now served lukewarm from Thailand.

The Hangover Part II is more like a headache from too much wine than a bodyshots-and-jagerbombs babalas. It's hard to match the insanity of The Hangover, but if you're going to try, you had better do it well. 

A tiger in the bathroom and a random baby far outweigh the WTF-ness of a cheeky monkey. Stealing a cop car is way cooler than accidentally driving into a pig. But I'll give it to them – a surprise tattoo is a major step up from a missing tooth.

Overall though, The Hangover Part II relies too heavily on its predecessor to be as successful.

So where did it all go wrong?

Director Todd Phillips retreats to what worked so well for him the first time and uses many of the exact same shots used in the first movie to convey the feeling of the unknown. The city skyline on fast-forward, the surveying of the chaos the morning after and the photographic evidence of their crazy misdaventures are presented precisely as they were two years ago.

The hive of anticipation surrounding Part II is palpable - and for good reason - but if you know the punchline because the set-up is so familiar, can these boys' unravelling tale of debauchery and petty crime still be as entertaining?

In The Hangover, Stu's girlfriend Melissa (Rachel Harris) provided much of the humour with her biting insults and foul mouth. Although Stu's current fiancée Lauren is a much better fit, she's far too nice to be entertaining.

Her little brother Teddy (Mason Lee, the son of Oscar-winning director Ang Lee) plays a pivotal role in the story, but he has the personality of tofu.

These two bland characters simply water down an already weak reimagining of a good plot.

Cooper, Helms and Galifianakis still share an easy, instantly likable chemistry and perhaps these three would do well in a Two and A Half Men-type sitcom. But watching them in this film feels like a rerun.

There was a certain charm to the events of the first film, because it felt fresh and genuinely thrilling. Seeing it all go down for a second time just makes you pity their stupidity.

Many will see a sequel like this because they crave more of that insane humour, not just a reminder of it. I have to agree with Stu in the trailer: "I can't believe this is happening again!"