Hot Shots! Part Deux
1993 · Directed by Jim Abrahams
Original language: English
- action
- comedy
- war
The story
Topper Harley is found to be working as an odd-job-man in a monastery. The CIA want him to lead a rescue mission into Iraq, to rescue the last rescue team, who went in to rescue the last rescue team—who went in to rescue hostages left behind after Desert Storm.
What it’s like
Bright, flat, deliberately cheap-looking studio comedy: sunny desert exteriors that read as painted backdrops, saturated primary colours, quick zooms and wipes, and a bouncing, synth-stabbed score that never lets up. The sound is broad and cartoonish, full of pratfalls, sight gags and sudden slapstick impacts rather than anything tense or grounded. Pacing is brisk and nearly nonstop, with one visual joke stacked on another, so it works best as a loose, giggly watch rather than something to sink into. Its tone is silly, self-aware and warm, with a hapless hero who blunders his way toward competence and a supporting cast that plays every line with straight-faced commitment. The violence is cartoonish and constant but bloodless, with explosions, shootouts and fight-scene send-ups that are mostly harmless; there is some crude, innuendo-driven sexual humour and no real cruelty or dread. It suits a lazy Friday evening, a group watch, or a comfort rewatch for people who want big, dumb, good-natured laughs and parody of action-movie clichés without any emotional weight.
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