I was really really bummed.. This movie was Terrible which emphasis on the capital T. I loved the first one and always will and respect Mr. Merendinos efforts to try and create another punk inspired movie with a uniqueness all its own. But this was a huge, HUGE fail. Probably my least favorite moment was the use of the word "fag" which I have zero tolerance for and in this day and age should never be used in a script. You couldn't find a better pejorative, Mr. Merendino? Moving on..The acting was mediocre at it's best. Sarah Clarke brought nothing new to the character of Trish. Her acting was bland, boring and could barely keep my attention. There was none of the quirkiness that I came to love with Annabeth Gish's portrayal of Trish. Jenny Jaffes character (can't remember the name and Ijust watched it) was ridiculously overdone by over dramatic acting and just plain, not believable. If acting is her career of choice she needs to rethink it. Ross was plain boring. Penny and Crash were pretty decent as far as acting goes. I give MGK props on his acting as this is, what I believe to be, his first major acting job. Bob really disappointed me. I felt his narration and acting were forced. As for Johnny Jekyll and Sean, well what can I say, they carried this movie. They were the only characters and narratives that brought even a hint of entertainment to this dull, lifeless film by bringing the nostalgia I had waited for. They were the only ones who's acting I can say was good. The worst part of this movie was the utter lack of character development and aimless plot. They could have developed Pennys character, for instance, when we see her (a little dramatically) bashing her father's car with no real explanation of motive (aside from the hit to the face) Merendino had a perfect chance to develop Pennys character but for whatever reason he chose not to. So, then, why did he even put that scene in the movie if he had no intention of expanding on it? Who knows but it's a good question to ponder. It was not just Penny though, the entire movie lacks any real character development necessary to bring this movie to life with characters that are relatable and interesting. Huge fail. And the plot? Boring and aimless with no real point. I mean, my 13 year old son could have written a better screenplay. The concert scene was drawn out and way to long. And the pivotal climax? Well that never happened. *Yawn* I could go on and on. When the credits hit, I was left scratching my head in astonishment asking myself "Did the movie really just end like that? Apparently, yes it did. Maybe he wanted to end it like that because he has plans for a trilogy? Scary thought. I'm also curious as to why he claimed there would be a couple awesome surprise cameo appearances. I suspect it was to get people excited about whom they could be. Will it be Mark? Could it be Stevos dad? Or maybe Sandy? Although Merendino made it clear Stevos (Lillard) and Mike (Segel) would not return, many fans still held onto hope that maybe they would at least make a brief cameo. So, in essence, I believe these supposed cameo appearances were just a ploy to excite fans enough to donate money to the indiegogo platform. Why, you ask? Because exploiting fans excitement was the only way they were going to get enough money to make this God awful POS. Again, I LOVE SLC Punk! I was a fan of Punks Dead page for years and kept myself updated on everything that was happening in the making of the film. Although I was skeptical I kept an open mind. I wanted so badly for this to be another cult classic. What it ended up being was another ultimate sequel fail and huge disappointment to many fans. And the fans that claim to love it? They must be delusional. Sorry. Not. Sorry.
Review of Punk's Dead: SLC Punk 2
