Inspector Gadget 2 [VHS]
Get ready for more wild adventures packed with double the special effects, double the gadgets, and double the fun of the original. It’s Disney’s all-new INSPECTOR GADGET 2. Just when things are quieting down in Riverton, everything goes wrong. Inspector Gadget is put on probation. Claw stages a daring escape from prison and plots a new “Crime of the Century.” And the Mayor unveils a new and improved G2 — an all-robot, all-tech, all-female gadget! Could it get any worse for our hero? Mishaps, miscues, stakeouts, and showdowns ensue as Inspector Gadget (French Stewart TV’s 3RD ROCK FROM THE SUN) and G2 (Elaine Hendrix, THE PARENT TRAP) set off to go-go save the world with a little help from their friends — niece Penny, her dog Brain, and the wildly tricked-out Gadgetmobile!A live-action Inspector Gadget is back, this time with higher tech gadgets and more special effects. French Stewart (TV’s Third Rock from the Sun) replaces Matthew Broderick as the bumbling detective in a plot that revolves around the glitch-ridden Gadget’s replacement by a completely robotized female. Parent Trap‘s Elaine Hendrix does what little she can with the one-dimensional role of “G2.” Still, Gadget falls for his rival and the pair team up with his smart-as-a-whip niece Penny and her brainy beagle for a showdown with Claw. Where Broderick struggled to humanize the caricature of an inept detective in the 1999 original, Stewart doesn’t even try. Instead he plays Gadget as a cartoon, with endless mugging and over-the-top theatrics. The enhanced special effects may placate young viewers, but without the comedy of the original, that’s small comfort. The best thing about this movie? It’s rated G and, thus, harmless. (Ages 4 to 10) –Kimberly Heinrichs
The kids will love it! 0
You say Inspector, I say Inspector – Let’s call the whole thing off!! I have hit an all-time low. I have rebooted my film lifestyle. Prior to watching “Inspector Gadget 2”, I was willing and absolutely able to watching anything that came through the system. I was up for any low-budget feature, no matter what country of origin, I was up for good, the bad, and the ugly, AND I was even up for those direct-to-home features that make nearly every cineophile shudder. This was my life, up until about a week ago. I found myself trudging through both “Inspector Gadget” as well as the cartoon voiced by Don Adams, and the direct-to-Disney sequel, “Inspector Gadget 2”. It was after this viewing that I eliminated all the upcoming films in my list, opened a fresh page, and started from scratch. I am going to begin (after I finish watching “The Longest Yard” remake and original) watching more classic, foreign, and contemporary independent films. I want to bring the level of control back and impress those with more of a knowledge than whom was a better Inspector Gadget, Mathew Broderick or French Stewart – alas, friends, I do know the answer to that, and I am not proud enough to shout it on the highest mountain. It is embarrassing that I have to nominate one “Inspector Gadget” film over the other, but a critics work is never done. I have no favorite when it comes to this franchise, I have no favorite when it comes to stories that completely demolish the structure of the cartoon of which it is based. In closing, I have no favorite at all when you have two films that are only connected by the titles they share.”Inspector Gadget 2″ is possibly one of the worst sequels to dawn the direct-to-DVD call tag at the bottom of the box. Using nothings from the original film (not the same characters, not the same style, not the same comic timing), this film is one that you have to watch alone, not standing right next to the original Broderick vehicle. French Stewart (he is always squinting … why?), with the aid of director Alex Zamm try to bring the original concept back the the series without any known budget. Stewart brings a new Inspector to the film, a more arrogant, snobbish, seems to be tormented by life, protagonist that cares nothing for those surrounding him. He is a character that we cannot love, no matter how many times we have to sit through one viewing of this film. What is interesting about Stewart is that he is actually closer to the the animated Gadget than the original. Zamm also tries to create a Dr. Claw that is closer to the original – but the trouble occurs with the fact that the two share very little screen time and thus there is no real chemistry between the two. Claw used to always monitor Gadget’s doings, in this one, there seems to be a haphazard care as to what either is doing. Penny still doesn’t have her book and Brain still isn’t getting anyone out of trouble. Where is the consistency here? Too add to the mix, we are introduced to a new character “G2″, the newest upgrade to the Gadget line. Like anything this riddled with clichés, there is an initial problem with the two of them, but eventually a spark misfires and Gadget is introduced to yet another love interest. Considering the problems anatomically with this couple, there is no further spark between them. The only reason the two are put in a this film are to be together, not for any other purpose. There is no sense of individualism, just flimsy cause followed by an effect that could have been predicted before the opening credits ended.”Inspector Gadget 2” has not seen the best reviews, nor will it get a good one from me – it tried, but ultimately it failed. There was no purpose to create this erroneous sequel. Disney was hoping to cash in on the Broderick fan base, the younger generation that knows no better , or just to make some extra dollars to pad their bottom line, but there was no reason to resurrect this already problematic series. I hated Elaine Hendrix’s mesh between “Robocop” and “Judge Dredd”. She was funny at parts that were not meant to be funny, and chokingly bad at parts that were meant to draw sympathy from the audience. Perhaps it was the writing, or the campy way that it was filmed, or the cheesy ploy to get audiences to laugh, but this sequel just left me out to dry. If I had to speak positively about this film in any way, I would have to comment on the CGI which did improve a bit with this lower-budget film. I thought the idea of “freezing-time” was a fun concept equal to what Claw would do, but again, we seemed to lack the spunk and originality of the cartoon. I would never consider this franchise a remake of the cartoon, but instead their own unoriginal spin-off.I blame Disney a bit for this film because cutting corners and cost is not an excuse for making poor films. If Broderick or even the horrid Everett could not reprise their roles for this sequel, it should have just stopped there. Don’t push a circular peg into a…