The first "Nicolas" movie was a comic delight, mainly because it successfully evoked the uniquely wild and wonderful mental universe of children, where the most sensible ideas sound ridiculous and the most ridiculous ideas sound sensible. The movie also provided an original (and very funny) take on the age-old subject of sibling rivalry.
Sadly for all concerned the sequel is far, far worse than the original. There is a considerable decrease in charm, wit and imagination. I don't exactly know what causes this slackening, but I suppose it's got something to do with a shift in emphasis. The parents, both husband and wife, gain in importance, which is a problem since the screenplay provides them with far-fetched and unconvincing adventures. (The dance sequence involving the wife needs to be seen to be believed.) Meanwhile, we're getting a lot of new (child) characters, at least a number of which are not as funny or memorable as the originals.
Last but not least I was amazed by the absence of Nicolas' baby sister, whose arrival pretty much dominated the first movie. Listen, people, you can't make a whole movie revolving around the birth of a second child, and then make a sequel in which the said child is never shown or mentioned : it creates a continuity hole the size of Ginnungagap.
So I can't really recommend the second movie - but do watch the first, it's delightful.
Sadly for all concerned the sequel is far, far worse than the original. There is a considerable decrease in charm, wit and imagination. I don't exactly know what causes this slackening, but I suppose it's got something to do with a shift in emphasis. The parents, both husband and wife, gain in importance, which is a problem since the screenplay provides them with far-fetched and unconvincing adventures. (The dance sequence involving the wife needs to be seen to be believed.) Meanwhile, we're getting a lot of new (child) characters, at least a number of which are not as funny or memorable as the originals.
Last but not least I was amazed by the absence of Nicolas' baby sister, whose arrival pretty much dominated the first movie. Listen, people, you can't make a whole movie revolving around the birth of a second child, and then make a sequel in which the said child is never shown or mentioned : it creates a continuity hole the size of Ginnungagap.
So I can't really recommend the second movie - but do watch the first, it's delightful.