Cannonball Run II (1984)

First, I must admit with great shame that I've seen this movie at least fifteen times. But it's back when I was a teenager. At the time, I felt like this one was a sure classic. Times change. Thank god! This is a very stupid movie with tasteless humor and bad acting. A lot of cameos by famous stars didn't save the movie. Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. appear in this one, so is Telly Savalas, Jackie Chan, Tony Danza, Henry Silva and Frank Sinatra. I guess the only interesting aspect is the concept of the race itself. It would be great to be part of one of those trek!

I give it 4 out 10. Watch it on TV but don't pay for the rental.

Fmovies: Having shamed his family by failing to run the original Cannonball Run, The Sheik is sent back to America by his father to restage the race with $1,000,000 of the King's money. Spreading the word brings out most of the previous competitors as well as some new racers as well as some new trouble –Don Canneloni's son (Don Don) is failing in his new business venture and the Don has sent some men to sort out his debtors, namely one Morris Fenderbaum. When the Don's men catch up with Fenderbaun they learn of the Cannonball Run and decide that they will make some money by kidnapping the Sheik during the race.

A quiet night in with a few glasses of wine meant that somehow Cannonball 2 became a viable proposition but sadly, regardless of the influence of libation, this was a pretty poor film that didn't have much in the way of entertainment value. If you are the sort of person that thinks Smokey & The Bandit 3 is the height of cinematic art then you'll probably love CR2 but for the majority of us, this is just a collection of noisy scenes, hung together with the most basic of plots and a load of stars having fun; or at least I hope they were having fun because I certainly didn't. The basic plot is used to produce a few fights, some fast cars, a little bit of cleavage and a whole load of not much else.

The comedy is of the most basic sort and the cast do seem to be having fun with all their mates but this does not make their performances any good. Reynolds just sleeps through it in the way he always does, while anyone hoping that Dom DeLuise will be good for laughs deserve everything they get in life. Martin and Davis Jr seem happy for the paycheck but really you get the feeling that they are crying inside. Likewise Savalas and MacLaine are much better than this, while Rocco, Silva etc all deserve a damn good kicking for this mockery of their most famous roles. Elam, Danza, Farr, Chan and Kiel all fill the screen but at least Montalban and McClure are good value (although that may be less to do with their ability and more to do with Star Trek 2 and the Simpsons spoof respectively).

Overall a very, very basic comedy that does very little worth seeking out. The stars all appear to be enjoying themselves and it is really just as well that somebody is because the majority of viewers won't be. In its defence though, if you're watching this film then what did you expect – although that doesn't really excuse any of this nonsense.

Truly one of the greatest American films of the 20th Century. Superior comedic timing, wit, intelligence, chemistry-- a poignant social commentary on the conspicuous consumption of the mid-1980s. Hilarity only surpassed by its taut direction, superior pacing and production value, the likes of which had been unseen since Battleship Potemkin or 2001.

The editing on this masterpiece (by William Gordean, famous for his genre-defining work on Tank Girl-- yes, that William Gordean) exceeds brilliance. How did they get it to look like Frank Sinatra was really in those scenes? How? How? Magic, my friend. Hollywood Magic.

To think that in 1984 this film was overlooked by the Academy for the likes of trivial, petulant "movies" like The Killing Fields and Amadeus is the greatest tragedy in cinematic history. Shame on you, Oscar. Shame. On. You.

Cannonball Run II fmovies. Once again Hal Needham brings together a half respectable cast like in the first Cannonball movie, but again forgot to bring a script. The mad-cap lunacy is still here, as are the cheap gags and stunts, but now it seems strange that all of this actually worked in the first movie, because it sure doesn't here. I found Burt and Dom laughing at their own jokes more than I did. It's no wonder Reynolds' career took a dive around this time if he was starring in films as dire as this.

The usual suspects are here while a few have (sensibly) dropped out of the race. Catherine Bach and Susan Anton are attractive enough, but don't quite cut it like Adrienne Barbeau and Co. did, and all they had to do was smile and flash their t**s once in a while. Richard Kiel is an unusual partner for Jackie Chan, but the little and large pairing works well. Chan also helped by bringing along his own stuntmen for the fight scenes, and it shows. Shirley MacLaine seems oddly at home with her trashy lines, while Telly Savalas fittingly over does things but is ultimately wasted in the movie, the same could be said for most of the cast. Frank Sinatra's inter-cut scenes are sickeningly shoddy and make the film appear as amateurish as it undeniably is.

If you did like the first Cannonball Run, (and there are a few!) you'll undoubtedly be disappointed with this outing, while those who didn't enjoy the first movie will no doubt detest the sequel.

RELEASED IN 1983 and directed by Hal Needham, "Cannonball Run II" is a car chase comedy about a second Cannonball Run race from the West Coast to the East Coast. The teams include JJ & Victor (Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise), Blake and Fenderbaum (Dean Martin & Sammy Davis Jr.) with other teams involving Jackie Chan & Richard Kiel in a submersible Mitsubishi Starion and Mel Tillis & Tony Danza accompanied by an orangutan. There are at least a dozen other notable co-stars in various roles: Jamie Farr, Telly Savalas, Sid Caesar, Tim Conway, Foster Brooks, Ricardo Montalban , Charles Nelson Reilly, Don Knotts, etc.

This is a fun turn-off-your-brain flick with an incredible all-star cast that's worth the price of admission. Unfortunately, the script needed a rewrite with better jokes but the producers obviously didn't want to blow the money. As it is, too much of the humor falls flat, but "Cannonball Run II" is still leagues better than comparable junk like "Smokey and the Bandit Part 3" (1983). And there's a worthwhile sequence where Dom does an amusing Brando impersonation.

Moreover, the movie scores good marks on the female front with Catherine Bach jaw-dropping in form-fitting blue spandex during the first half, teamed with her Amazonian-ish partner Susan Anton (who's no slouch in the beauty department). Bach's buttocks looks like it was sculptured by God Himself. In addition, there's Marilu Henner and Shirley MacLaine, who catch a ride with JJ & Victor, masquerading as nuns before revealing their real identities. Maclaine was 48 during shooting but still had a great figure.

THE FILM RUNS 1 hour, 48 minutes and was shot in Nevada (Las Vegas, Henderson), Arizona (Tucson, Bisbee) and California (Redondo Beach).

GRADE: C

It was not all bad, but to completely honest I thought "Speed Zone" was a better sequel to the "Cannonball Run" than this movie was as this movie was almost the exact same movie only with inferior parts to it. Throw in a unfunny kidnapping plot for the only real difference in the movie and you have your sequel that came out three years after the original. That is another sad thing about this sequel, it came out long after the first one and they still went in exactly the same way. Burt Reynolds, Dom Delouise, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin are back along with a few others from the original. In though are a lot more B ranking actors. Roger Moore out, Richard Kiel in (the guy who played the villain Jaws in "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "Moonraker"). Adrien Barbeau out and two chicks I do not know in. Farrah Fawcett out and two others I do not care for in. Jim Nabors and Tony Danza in, which is definitely not a good thing. Ambulance that was a great idea out and for some reason a military car and uniforms in. That one made no sense they would have been better off just using the ambulance again. The plot is the same, race across the country, the only difference being the guys trying to catch the sheik character to hold him for ransom and this does not stay original as it basically sets up another brawl like that found at the last part of the first movie. After this fight though the race just about is over with no fanfare. Just a pointless sequel, that has a few humorous moments, the best being the scene with Tim Conway and Don Knotts.