Little kids might enjoy The Smurfs 2, but adults? Only those who like looking at the Smurfs for 105 minutes, regardless of the plot.
The story is quite simple: Smurfette has been kidnapped by the evil wizard Gargamel and his two grey Smurf-like minion-children called "Naughties" that he created. Gargamel needs "Smurf essence" to take over the world, and he manipulates Smurfette to spill the secret formula. Will Smurfette, who's been recently feeling under-appreciated by the Smurf community, switch to the dark (and crazy) side? And will Papa Smurf die in the process of rescuing Smurfette?
No, nothing of that Papa Smurf drama, but the prospect of losing Papa Smurf would have definitely put some spice and heartbreaking drama into the otherwise banal story, which was amazingly collaborated by five writers. The Smurfs 2 is just a kidnapping story with a dash of father-child drama.
The special effects are superb that you can almost pull Papa Smurf's beard, and the Smurfs in 3D seem to be popping out of the screen and bouncing all around you, cutely voiced by Katy Perry, Christina Ricci et al, but the story is so oddly thin and uninspired that you'd scratch your head in great wonder, What is the point of this sequel?!
Also, the gross and idiotic character of Gargamel (Hank Azaria) with his huge two front teeth is a villain for babies. He's just a caricature of a dull, comedic bad guy. However, Patrick (Neil Patrick Harris), as the Smurfs' human friend, is the real evil villain here, perpetually treating his old stepfather (Brendan Gleeson) with awful disrespect. Of course, this horrible behavior is addressed in the end for an important Smurf lesson on respect and fatherly love, but since Patrick's surprising verbal and emotional abuse of his elderly dad makes up 70 percent of the movie, you just feel extremely annoyed and disgusted. Also, since the lesson on parental respect is delivered in a speech (by Papa Smurf), kids bored with dialogue might miss this, and will only be left with the image of Patrick breaking his father's heart.
The Smurfs 2 is perfect for really young children who still cannot comprehend movie plots but would definitely squeal in entertainment upon seeing 3D versions of these blue creatures come alive in superior CGI quality.
0.5 out of 5 stars
Opens August 7 in Philippine cinemas.
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