un-nec-es-sar-y - not necessary or essential; needless; unessential.

pink pan-ther 2 – see unnecessary

It amazes me that there are people who think that The Pink Panther films were based on the cartoon when in fact, they came about simply because of the popularity of the opening sequence of the original 1963 film. It also never ceases to amaze me that Hollywood just can’t get past this idea of doing remakes for everything if it’s needed or not, though technically the 2006 adaptation of The Pink Panther isn’t really a remake so much as a reboot of the series. That didn’t sit well with fans of the original, and The Pink Panther 2 is probably going to be even less appealing.

The film opens with a number of priceless artifacts being stolen across the globe. These include the Shroud of Turin, the Imperial Sword of Japan and the Magna Carta. The only clue that has been left is the thief’s calling card which brazenly states his name; the Tornado. In order to catch him an international “Dream Team” with the best detectives in the business have been assembled and Inspector Clouseau (Steve Martin), who has been assigned to traffic ticketing by Chief Inspector Dreyfus (John Cleese) is asked to be a part of the collective. Before he can leave France however, the Pink Panther diamond is stolen and Clouseau along with assistants Nicole Durant (Emily Mortimer) and Gendarme Gilbert Ponton (Jean Reno) head to the scene of the crime.

There, they meet with the other members of the team which includes Chief Inspector Randall Pepperidge (Alfred Molina) of London, Italian Inspector Vicenzo Brancaleone (Andy García) who has eyes for Nicole much to Clouseu’s disliking, Kenji Mazuto (Yuki Matsuzaki) and latecomer to the group Sonia Solandres (Aishwarya Rai.) The clues lead them to Alonso Avellaneda (Jeremy Irons) who they suspect might be the Tornado, or at least has information on his whereabouts though the lead seems to meet a dead end, but Clouseu thinks otherwise. While the team is able to recover some of the items, the Pink Panther diamond still remains missing and Clouseau has a suspicion on who the real thief is which is someone right under their nose.

The 2006 reboot of The Pink Panther was panned by critics, but that didn’t stop audiences from flocking to the movie, something which often has me questioning why critics like myself continue to review films if no one is going to even pay attention to what we have to say. The Pink Panther 2 was also blasted by critics and rightfully so. If the first version to star Martin wasn’t bad enough, a sequel proves to be highly unnecessary and apparently isn’t the end as The Pink Panther 3 has already been mentioned.

I was never a fan of the original series of films, but I can understand the appeal that they have with some, but this newer version just lacks everything that The Pink Panther originally brought to audiences around the world. The Pink Panther 2, as well as the 2006 incarnation of the series, tries to work on the same premise of having slapstick comedy, but it just doesn’t work as in the original films. Martin is simply the wrong choice for the role to begin with, but I also feel that the reality is that this brand of humor is something that just can’t be presented in films the way it once was. It would be like trying to revive the keystone cops type of humor from the silent film era; that might work for a children’s cartoon, but for a live action film it just doesn’t manage to do anything relevant or, most importantly, funny.

Nothing about The Pink Panther 2 comes across as paying tribute to the original source material. The jokes aren’t hilarious in the least and often times simply rely on the same gimmick, not being able to understand Clouseau, to the point where it might have been funny were it not for the tendency to take each and every effort and beat it into the ground. The rule of “comedy in three’s” apparently was just cast aside. The physical humor doesn’t pay off either and ends up being just a half-hearted effort at best which showcases nothing more than a bland and simplistic display of third rate gags. Even trying to add in someone like Aishwarya Rai as eye candy can’t help save a movie that was doomed from the very beginning. Even an appearance by Lilly Tomlin who plays Mrs. Yvette Berenger, a manners teacher brought on to try and correct Clouseau’s behavior, doesn’t end up adding anything to the film.

The film does look good though, not that this is really a point in its favor. There are some very good locations used to help highlight the feeling of being in Europe, but there are documentaries that deal with the same subject that provide a better feeling. The Pink Panther 2 however does comes across as being very vivid and eye popping in some segments, but this isn’t the type of film where I’d say to pick it up based on visual pleasantness as that’s not really what is at the core of the film.

The Pink Panther is has been released as a three-disc set, one of these being a digital copy and another addition disc which contains twenty-seven of the original Pink Panther animated shorts. While it’s a nice touch to have the cartoons included, if at least in part, the down side is that these haven’t been presented in high definition and the use of a single blu-ray could have easily accommodated all of them as the DVD complete collection is five discs. The blu-ray itself includes additional features as well for those who thought that the first film was comedy gold and feel the need to pick up the sequel. There’s a gag reel filled with plenty of “had to be there” moments, but most of the other extras feel more like the usual EPK material that is haphazardly tossed onto discs without much thought. Drama is Easy…Comedy is Dangerous attempts to show why The Pink Panther 2 is a step above its predecessor, but to no avail. A Dream Team Like No Other is obviously more about the cast but serves more as being a means for them to pat each other on the back, rant and rave about Martin, and is really just another effort to sell you on the film. Finally, there is a trivia game, Master Thief-Global Crime Showdown, which has a number of cities around the globe to choose from and answer questions about. These fortunately don’t relate to the film.

The reboot of The Pink Panther wasn’t necessary; the sequel is even less needed, and a third movie is just pushing things too far. I have a feeling that beyond three, we’ll probably start to see the series take on the same approach as Dr. Dolittle with a straight-to-video release just about every year. I think what the dream team should have been looking for wasn’t who stole the artifacts so much as who stole the comedy, and apparently the thief will never be caught.
 

-mike-
 

Directed by: Harald Zwart   Written by: Scott Neustadter Michael H. Weber Steve Martin   Cast: Steve Martin Jean Reno Alfred Molina Emily Mortimer Aishwarya Rai Andy García Yuki Matsuzaki Johnny Hallyday Lily Tomlin John Cleese Jeremy Irons

BluRay Features:  Disc 1 Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audio: English DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio, Spanish/French/Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 English SDH, Spanish, Portuguese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean Subtitles Gag Reel Drama is Easy…Comedy is Dangerous A Dream Team Like No Other Master Thief-Global Crime Showdown! Disc 2 Digital Copy File of The Pink Panther 2 for Portable Players Disc 3 Bonus disc featuring 27 Pink Panther cartoons