Review of More American Graffiti (1979) by Christopher C — 15 Feb 2008

Unlike the Empire Strikes Back, this sequel with Lucas on board, did not quite hit the mark. This time, with Lucas standing as producer rather than director, a lot of the magic of the original American Graffiti has been lost.

All of the characters have returned, with the exception of Curt Henderson. This film, is very inventive, using a plot that involves New Year's Eve on four different years, inter-cut together, with a character(s) story taking place on one year.

Also, each year is shot differently, with the most inventive being the grainy super 16 mm film used for Vietnam and the spiltscreen psychadelia used for San Francisco. Although most of the characters have returned, much of the original magic that took place on that one night in '62 has been lost, with many filler characters inserted in.

Although, despite its flaws, perhaps if it not had a predecessor to live up to, it would be a good film. It is a very promising movie, with inventive story and camerawork, however, its attempt to bring the characters back did not work.