Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (Value-Sized Version)

My recommendation for this edit is a qualified "yes"... I probably did not take the editor's warning on the description seriously enough. Seriously, unless you HATED Anchorman 2, there's a good chance that this edit will cut things that you liked.

Firstly, technical bits: audio was great, new song edited in seamlessly. Video crops and trims were done very well, and only on one occasion did I even notice any difference in the fidelity of the video footage. Really well done on converting that to be near-seamless.

So now it comes down to a matter of taste. Comedies are highly subjective, and while I admit that a great many of the jokes in Anchorman 2 didn't land with me, some did. And a few were hysterical. Unfortunately, pretty much everything is cut out of this one. Which might be okay if it were replaced with other awesome jokes, but mostly it isn't. We lose most of the horrible stuff and most of the great stuff and are given mostly mediocre stuff. So the overall film is indeed tighter, but nothing new was really that funny, so the end result is entirely inconsequential and disposable. I actually think I might prefer the original, just for those few highest of highs.

The description of the edit is to cut bits that "went on far too long", and admittedly that's an issue with the original. On the other hand, it's part of what made the first Anchorman (and Ferrell in general) so funny. Sometimes a bit isn't that funny at first, but then the player keeps working it until it becomes so ridiculous that it comes back around to being funny again. No scene is given the time to develop in that way here. Replacements also don't work. The shark bit (and Ron's son in general) are actually stupid and annoying. It's the song that pushes it so far that it comes back to being funny. Walter is trimmed too much here and is just back to being annoying. Everything at the lighthouse is cut down until it's dull. Brick is mercilessly cut (including his romance sub-plot, arguably the funniest scenes of the film) leaving him with only one-liners. But there is no "I love lamp" here. His one-liners are mostly horrible.

Rudd comes off the best in this edit with additional material as Fantana, because, well, Rudd is just always great. He becomes almost a believable character in this. But that's not the movie I wanted to see. I missed the big RV scene. I missed some Greg Kinnear stuff. I actually didn't realize how many bits of Anchorman 2 worked for me until I saw the alternate takes they didn't use! It's a comedy, so this will be entirely subjective, but for me this becomes less of a broad comedy and more of a satire. And hey, it's Adam McKay, the satire of CNN and Fox is on point! But it's just not interesting enough to sustain the film, which just presents a few chuckles now. I wanted guffaws.

So: if you HATED Anchorman 2, you might like this. It's that different. I guess I would've preferred more of just a trim to what was already there. All thanks to the editor besides...this was very well done, just not to my taste.

This is a classy edit of Anchorman 2. The reduction of racist and sexist material not only makes this a less offensive film, it also enhances the satirical ridicule of contemporary news coverage.

Along with some crude humour, the editor has cut Brick's (Steve Carell) romance, Brian's (Paul Rudd) criticism of Koala Airlines and Ron's (Will Ferrell) fling with his boss, Linda (Meagan Good). The removal of these sub-plots doesn't harm the film. Instead, these changes accentuate Ron's poor parential skills and his troubled marriage with Veronica (Christina Applegate).

When I first watched the sequel, I felt that Veronica had been relegated to a minor character. In this version, she is integral to Ron's character development, which now becomes the central narrative. Also, her desire to broadcast important news is juxtaposed with Ron's wish to entertain the masses. Their contrasting styles provide a topical commentary on contemporary news.

It is a shame that Judah Nelson, who plays Ron's son, Walter, is so wooden. Unfortunately, if his screen time was minismised it would probably affect the climax.

As for the technical aspects; the sound editing is flawless and the mixing of higher and lower resolution footage is excellent. Please note that the MKV format played far better with VLC software than through other media players.

This version of the sequel does not raise the comedic standards to the same hilarious levels as the first film. Some mediocre one-liners remain, but sacrificing them would have spoilt the story. Fortunately, there are enough amusing antics to make this version a pleasurable experience. Unlike with the original film, it is worth watching again!