Well, I was able to watch this the other day courtesy of Netflix, so I thought I'd provide my own unfiltered (perhaps slightly biased
) review...
First with the good. Like I said, maybe I'm a bit biased, but Dolph actually does really well here. He does a great job with the comedic aspects, and considering what he's working with, he doesn't appear as embarrassed as one might expect. He comes across confident and has a nice presence throughout it all. Plus, it's nice to see him interacting with young kids, something he really hasn't had much of a chance to do over the course of his career a lot. Also, as has been noted in other reviews, the fun jabs at the current "politically correct" educational environment are a nice touch. For a DTV sequel in name only, this was a clever, original touch.
Now, on to the disappointing aspects, none of which are at fault of D... On one hand, it is difficult to not draw comparisons with the original KC, but it's to be expected. In a sense, it's pretty much a carbon copy remake of the original. While the original wasn't great by any means, it still had a unique originality to it. And everything was believable to an extent. Here, the same storyline beats are hit. Dolph is a towering giant compared to the children, he has to ditch his old school ways to relate, he begins dating a colleague, etc. etc. They change things up slightly... Rather than Dolph infiltrating a school to find a kid, he's finding a magic flash drive... Rather than the climax taking place in the school, it's on a class field trip... Unfortunately, these aspects are not enough to make it stand out. The villain in the original KC was slimy and and one of the more memorable aspects... Here, the villain is a standard European baddie. Nothing memorable.
The attempts at humor can be a chore to sit through, particularly the character of Hal, who is apparently this film's comic relief. Other points of contention that left me a little disturbed was the blatant product placement for Twix (which is just bizarre) and the romance sub-plot. The fellow kindergarten teacher who Dolph falls for is old enough to be his daughter. It comes off as creepy...
Will this be one that's remembered? No. Yet it's a nice attempt by Dolph to exhibit his acting chops and have some fun. He actually manages to make you forget his "meathead" macho persona. Plus, the promotional push that this film has gotten has been great. Rarely, if ever, has a DTV film of Dolph's gotten this much publicity. In the end, it's about what anyone expected. Not much worse.
Posted: 07 May 2016, 09:56
