Review of Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015) by Giovanni M — 07 Apr 2015

Hot Tub Time Machine 2, another comedy sequel that failed to deliver many really funny moments. Now, I never saw the first Hot Tub Time Machine so I can't judge whether it was better or worse but as a comedy film this was definitely below average. There were a couple of jokes that made me laugh but the majority of them just didn't really work. I wouldn't say they all fell completely flat because some of them were still mildly amusing but not quite enough to get a good laugh. What I thought worked most about the film were the brief moments that it became a little self aware that it was just another stupid comedy sequel. If they had stuck with that the whole time it could have been more entertaining. There were quite a few pop culture references to other movies and they did work occasionally, I was able to get a bit of enjoyment out of them because I had seen the movies they referenced but there were a few that I had no idea what was funny about them. They were a bit of a risk but for me they were some of the highlights of the film.

What really bought this film down was the time they spent either not progressing the story at all or trying to explain what was going on. The first 20 minutes is spent re-introducing the characters that clearly would have been set up during the first film and even with a few jokes here and there it was just very bland. Also the overall story involving the time travel and multiple dimensions (even though they were spoofing Back to the Future) was just way too complex and confusing that I was just completely uninterested in the plot. And being completely uninterested in where the plot was going meant that I was just sitting there waiting for a funny movie reference or joke to happen so I could laugh a little. In the end this movie had minimal laughs and a very complex and boring plot, with a few jokes and some somewhat amusing movie references this movie becomes watchable but not very enjoyable. - 4.5.