(1984)
1.5
Jeremy Wheeler
After the immense success of the first Cannonball Run, the whole gang got back together for this mega-bomb of a sequel that proves that the second time isn't necessarily a charm for Burt Reynolds and company. If a film were to be judged by pure star power, then Cannonball Run II would win the comedy race of 1984 hands down. The problem is that the cast was seemingly given carte blanche in the ad-lib department, thus making the entirety of the torturous proceedings feel like an overlong collection of blabbering outtakes that leaves few real laughs in its wake. Despite its shortcomings, the movie is always good-natured and does feature more than its share of wacky stunt-car antics from director Hal Needham. The pairing alone of James Bond villain Richard Kiel with Jackie Chan is almost worth a viewing, as is the charming duo of Marilu Henner and Shirley MacClaine as the love interests (yes, Dom DeLuise does end up with one of them!). Still, there's little doubt that Cannonball Run II is better left in the warm memories of its multitude of early cable constituents, whose repeated viewings on the tube gave this lousy film its biggest audience.
Cannonball Run II on AllMovie
Cannonball Run II (1984)
