I love this movie so much

Truly Dreadful Film

Good concept, poorly executed.

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) ** (out of 4)Big Enos and Little Enos offer the Bandit (Burt Reynolds) $400,000 to take a package from Miami to Texas. The problem is that the Bandit is now an alcoholic so Cledus (Jerry Reed) has to get Carrie (Sally Field) back to get him into the mood. This here causes Sheriff Justice (Jackie Gleason) to enter the picture.SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT was released to great reviews and an even bigger box office success so it was obvious that a sequel would follow. Of course, usually when sequels are made they're just a copy of the first picture since producers don't want to attempt anything different than what fans of the first film paid to see.The problem with this movie is that it's one of the most unoriginal sequels in the history of Hollywood. That might seem a bit harsh but there's really not a single original thing here. Whereas the original had them transferring alcohol, this one here is an elephant. Is that really enough of a change? No because everything that happens in the first picture pretty much happens here. The sad thing is that even though they had a bigger budget there's nothing here that comes close to the original.We get countless car chases but none of them are as good as what the first film offered. There's a romance between Reynolds and Fields but it's just lifeless here. Reynolds and Gleason go back and forth with their insults but they're all just rather lame jokes that don't have the same ring. You've got Dom DeLuise who appears as a doctor but he doesn't add much. Several guest performers show up but none of them bring any magic.SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT II is far from being an awful picture. There's enough here to keep it mildly entertaining but at the same time you can't help but wish they had tried to make a better film. Gleason steals the show again but it's just not the same and the end result is a disappointing picture.

Following in the footsteps of the popular first "Smokey and the Bandit" movie, "Smokey and the Bandit II" is a very average sequel that follows the trend of most sequels; let's cash in on the success of the first movie and make more money.Even the storyline is very similar to the first movie, just thrown in a different cargo to be transported. That being said, don't get me wrong, because the movie is still entertaining.The Bandit (playd by Burt Reynolds) has fallen on hard times with alcohol, but as a business opportunity comes around, The Snowman (played by Jerry Reed) and Frog (played by Sally Field) persuade The Bandit to sober and clean up and drive a 400.000 dollar cargo. But the police, led by notorious Sheriff Buford T. Justice (played by Jackie Gleason) is in hot pursuit.It was nice to see the original cast return for this 1980's sequel, that being Burt Reynolds, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Sally Field, Paul Williams, Pat McCormick, Mike Henry and the dog Fred. But "Smokey and the Bandit II" also brought the wonderful Dom DeLuise into the frame."Smokey and the Bandit II" is entertaining enough for what it is, and it should be seen if you enjoyed the first movie. It does, however, suffer under the pressure of being a sequel.

Hal Needham is back with Reynolds and all the gang for another dose of pedal to the metal, tarmac burning, high octane, highway speeding...I think. This time the movie has gone for a more all out comedy slapstick route, more along the lines of Needham's other movie 'The Cannonball Run', or dare I say, Disney's Herbie franchise.Once again the plot revolves around the Bandit and his partner the Snowman, transporting a cargo across the country as quickly as possible. This time its from Miami to Dallas, once again the challenge is set by Big Enos, once again there is a big monetary reward and lastly the cargo is an elephant (only thing that is different). Here lies the problem with this movie, its exactly the same sh*t as the first movie, exactly!! Once again the duo team up with Sally Field's character Frog, who has once again left Junior Justice at the altar, which naturally means Sheriff Buford T. Justice is back on their trail...again. The entire premise of the first movie is basically rebooted or remade here, accept the cargo is an elephant.I really couldn't believe my eyes as I was watching this (first time viewing), the plot simply retreads everything. When we find the Bandit he has become a drunk which adds a new dimension to the character, but that is quickly forgotten as the plot recaptures the same old vibe, but not in a good way. Frog is once again lured away from getting married to Junior, which begs the question why on earth is she still even wanting to marry this guy! I thought she was over him in the first movie. The fact that this leads to Buford Justice chasing the Bandit and co across the country yet again feels really really rehashed and boring.This movie seriously takes a nose dive in terms of dignity, talk about selling out and milking your original idea. The whole project just feels like its patting itself on the back whilst slapping product advertisement stickers all over itself. I mean lets look at the Bandits attire in this one, he's wearing a shiny red jacket with the words 'Bandit' and 'Trans Am' down the sleeves and across the back. Even the car has 'Bandit' on its paintwork which makes me wonder why really, it that really necessary? is the Bandit a product within this movies universe? Plus how the hell did they manage to afford a Pontiac Trans Am by chopping in that crappy old car?As the story unfolds more and more ridiculous things happen which make no sense and have clearly been chucked in to be funny, apparently. Enter Dom Deluise, a Needham regular, a regular movie partner of Reynolds and a regular slapstick comedian of the time. If you ever needed your movie to be bolstered with in your face comedy then Deluise was your man, and sure enough he is on good form here as expected. The only problem is his character has obviously been jammed in just to extract the best from Deluise and nothing more, the character is a throwaway job. The fact the Bandit and co take him along on their adventure makes no sense either because they could of dropped him off anywhere, he's obviously there to salvage the movie. Now lets talk about the cargo, the elephant. Yes that's right, they stuff a living creature into the trailer of a big rig, no light, no food, no water and most importantly no air! Couldn't help but wonder if this would have been allowed these days, of course its not real but we do actually see the animal climb into the trailer. The point is its the whole idea of doing it, and the way the characters think its perfectly OK, although admittedly they do look after the animal much better later on. Gotta ask why a Republican party would need an elephant, yeah sure its your mascot but you really need a real one?!The whole thing is so drab, just watching Buford chase the Bandit all over again, doing the same spiel but without any grown-up edge to it. Everything is so childish, the chases are almost like Benny Hill sequences, the carnage is tame and has this cartoon-esque quality to it, there is never any real threat or danger etc...because its all so light-hearted. In the first movie it felt relatively realistic, like it could happen, here its all over the top and off the wall, which in- turn takes away any proper enjoyment. Perfect example being the big money sequence where the Snowman and all his big rig buddies take on an entire squadron of smokies. Now this is the sequence which I refer to as (Disney's) 'The Love Bug' sequence, this is what I meant at the start of this review. The whole thing is pretty cringeworthy and virtually destroys any self respect this movie had.I was seriously disappointed with this sequel, never knew it was such a rehash...or reboot basically! Its exactly the same as the first movie with minor alterations, watered and dumbed down incredibly. There isn't even any car or truck porn to get excited about, they have completely jettisoned that idea leaving only the famous black Trans Am. I can't count all the big rigs in the Love Bug sequence simply because it was so crap and infantile, clearly not about the trucks. Do yourself a favour and don't bother with this shockingly woeful attempt at a sequel.3/10

This film is so terrible that the most interesting thing is watching the toupee on Burt's head threaten to fly off and start filming Cannonball Run without him. Goodness, this film is a disappointment. The original was fun, somewhat exciting, had funny lines, and an intriguing premise. With part 2, we are left with a lazy, low-speed retread that amounts to little more than spotting cameos by high profile country singers and athletes. There are some huge stunts here, as you would expect, but in between them we are treated to nothing but boredom. Much of the plot deals with Reynolds, Reid, and Field trying to transport a pregnant elephant across the country in order to make several hundred thousand dollars. Along the way, we have to sit through Reynolds and Field having a long, slow make-up/break-up session. Ughh!Dom Deluise is on hand as an annoying ethnic-sounding doctor who keeps trying to get them to pull over so the elephant can receive proper care and deliver her baby safely. Maybe that makes for interesting viewing if you are a kid (I loved this movie as a child), but now it seems so anti-climatic. The only person who seems to want to keep this story moving is Reynolds, who has to know this script is a loser and needs more action. The only bright spot is the return of Jackie Gleason as Sheriff Buford T. Justice. Once again he sets out to track Reynolds down as Field has left his son at the altar to join the Bandit in another wild escapade. As funny as Gleason is in his multiple roles, when you watch this movie on basic cable, you miss most of his lines. Since most of them include a sum bitch or PG rated slur, someone apparently went back and re-dubbed most of his dialog for the small screen. In some ways, its almost like Gleason isn't even really there in some scenes. Too bad. There really isn't a lot here to recommend. 3 of 10 stars.The Hound.