Review of Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) by Rj M — 18 Aug 2008

Talk about a difficult movie to review. Let it be known that I consider The Blues Brothers to be one of THE greatest movies ever made. The greatest musical ever made, and the best movie to ever show off the city of Chicago.

No movie before or since has come close to capturing the essence of the city. You would think that NO ONE would have the audacity to even think of a sequel without the late, great John Belushi. But Dan Aykroyd, John Landis and company went ahead, cast John Goodman as Aykroyd's new partner in crime, re-assembled the band, and forged ahead.

There are two ways to look at this movie. As a sequel, it is a complete bastardization of every single thing the original movie was. It commits the cardinal sin of sequels, and that is introducing a kid into the mix.

It's tamed down PG-13, tries to pass of Canada as Chicago, goes for slapstick humor and pratfalls, and has none of the cohesion that made the original a masterpiece. As a sequel, it's enough to make a fan of the original vomit, and storm Universal Studios screaming for the heads of John Landis and Dan Aykroyd.

However...viewed as a stand alone movie, and trying to put aside any thought of the original...it's not that bad. The movie does have some chemistry between Aykroyd and Goodman. Credit must be given to Goodman for stepping into shoes he must've known would be impossible to fill.

Took guts. The movie does contain a couple of good car chases that hold on to the over-the-top spirit of the chases from the first film. It also contains perhaps the biggest car pile-up in movie history.

The biggest plus is that the music in the movie is OUTSTANDING!!!! The musicians in the Blues Brothers Band continue to deliver the goods. Throw in tons of legends from rythm & blues, jazz, rock, and even country, and you have a soundtrack nearly as worthy as the original.

So whether or not you can watch this movie with any level of enjoyment, really depends on if you can distance yourself from the original classic. If you can't, then for the love of God, avoid this movie at all costs.

If you can put your brain on auto pilot, enjoy some decent humor, car chases, and awesome blues music, you just might have a good time.