Somewhat recently I talked about The Cannonball Run and how I felt that while it was certainly a product of its time, it held up and was still a fun movie. As a kid, The Cannonball Run felt like it was on TV multiple times per year, but the sequel, 1984’s Cannonball Run II was something that I do not remember seeing as much.
How to Download Cannonball Run II
Cannonball Run II was released on June 29, 1984. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review – Revisiting Cannonball Run II
I picked up the Blu-Ray double pack of The Cannonball Run and Cannonball Run II, mainly because of my love of the first movie. However, after watching the first, I decided to watch Cannonball Run II for the first time in many years and I hate to say it, but it was worse than I remembered it being. This is pretty bad as while I have a ton of love and nostalgia for the original, even as a kid, the sequel never clicked with me.
The Cast – A Legendary but Wasted Lineup
Where to start with this one? Ok, I will start with the good, they got most of the cast back including Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Sammy Davis Jr, Dean Martin, and Jamie Farr to name a few. They also have Frank Sinatra, another member of the Rat Pack so that is cool. Actually, a fun bit of trivia about Cannonball Run II is that this would be the last theatrical release for our three Rat Pack legends. Kind of sad that this was their last theatrically released movie.
The Plot – A Forced Attempt at Recapturing the Magic
The plot is similar to the first movie. After losing the last race, Shiek Abdul ben Falafel is ordered by his father to go back to the USA and win the race to prove that their family is the fastest. The problem is, there is no Cannonball Run race happening right now, but they are so rich, that the King tells Shiek Abdul to just buy one and win that!
He heads to America where our crew from the first movie including JJ McClure and Victor, Blake, and Fenderbaum, and more take part in the race. As well as the race, a gangster kidnaps Shiek Abdul which sees our racers teaming up to save him.
The Comedy – Hits and Misses
My favorite part of the movie has to be the orangutan who is freaking hilarious, especially his love of using the middle finger.
On paper, Cannonball Run II sounds like it should be just as much fun as the original movie. However, this movie feels like a cheap imitation of the original Cannonball Run. It is very much like what happened with Smokey and the Bandit and Smokey and the Bandit II. They caught lighting in a bottle with the original movie and then tried to replicate it again and they just could not recreate that original magic they had with the first movie.
Final Thoughts – Should You Watch It?
I would not say that I hate Cannonball Run II and it does have some funny moments, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis JR dressed up as belly dancers still gets a chuckle out of me. However, most of the comedy in this movie feels very forced and like it is trying way too hard to be funny. Outside of the orangutan stuff, it feels like they just took the jokes and scenarios from the first movie and tried to tweak them a little here. I would always recommend watching the first movie, but this one, this one is safe to skip!
