Review of The Smurfs 2 (2013) by Alexproductions — 06 Sep 2013

I was not sure what to expect when walking into Smurfs 2. Knowing the target audience was for little children, I didn't feel I was bound to enjoy the little blue critters for 100 minutes. Though I still wasn't a fan of the film, I did find myself laughing a few times, and seemed to be entertained with the story.

Smurfette; the main character in the film, was originally captured by Gargamel, is caught again by his Naughties. As Smurfette bonds with them and becomes closer to Gargamel's family, the other Smurfs, Patrick (Neil Patrick Harris), and Grace (Jayma Mays), try to save her.

Writing this review, I have mixed feelings about Smurfs 2. I actually enjoyed the story, but they really simplified it, so that kids would understand the movie. It was blatantly obvious throughout the film that the children did not have to think about what they were watching. Something would happen, and then a character would explain what just happened on screen. I thought that Hank Azaria (Gargamel) really enjoyed his time in the movie and he became his character for Smurfs 2. Neil Patrick Harris also did as good a job as he did in the first film.

I did not like that all the characters would add "Smurf" to a lot of the words that they would say, and could tell that some of the scenes were just filler, and didn't really add anything to the movie or storyline. After thinking very hard about this review, and re-watching some scenes to get a better understanding, I have come to the conclusion that I actually enjoyed the film.

I thought that it was funny at some points for me, even though I’m not the target demographic and had a few good plot turns I was not expecting. I truly felt that the kids really had a good time watching it.

Overall, I’d actually recommend The Smurfs 2, and think you will have a good time watching it, even if you are not the right age group. If Alvin and the Chipmunks took a big step forward in quality, with a more “advanced” script, we would have Smurfs 2. After looking online, it got an average of two stars, and I think that this is one film that you should ignore the ratings for, and go see.