Pitch Perfect 2

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for innuendo and language
Run Time: 115 Minutes
My Rating: 3.5/5
So last night my wife and I saw Universal Pictures' Pitch Perfect 2, the sequel to the 2012 surprise hit. The film returns the cast members from the previous film including Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp and many others, while introducing the newest cast member Hailee Steinfield (True Grit). The film picks up almost 3 years after the first film ended.  The Barden Bellas are riding high after their 3-year National Championship reign. However after an unfortunate incident in front of the President of the United States, the Bellas find themselves in their senior year of college and their A'Capella dreams crushed when they become disqualified from Collegiate competitions.  Now as they try to figure out who they are and who they want to be after college, they are given one more opportunity to reinstate the Bellas good name by participating in the World A'Capella Championships.
So when the first movie came out, I loved it.  I thought it was hilarious.  The film had a great story and a wonderful soundtrack. It became an instant classic for many people and a sequel was inevitable.  With that being said, unfortunately the sequel never quite hit the same "notes" as the original.  That's not to say it isn't good, because as a film it is quite entertaining, but compared to the first one, there is just a lot lacking. First focusing on the negatives, the film tries way to hard to be like the first one instead of being its own movie.  The film relies on a lot of the same jokes and ideas from the first one and doesn't try to form its own identity.  There are a few new jokes and ideas in the film that are actually quite great and if there would have been just more of those, this film would have reached the greatness of the original. Also, the film puts its main focus on the music, which isn't a bad thing because the music is just as amazing as the first, but it takes away from any sort of fully coherent or plausible story that there could be.  There were also a lot of major plot points in the original that barely even got touched upon.  The film just lacks a lot of important elements that the first one did perfectly.
Though there were a lot of negatives, there were some things that the film did great.  Like I said above, the soundtrack and music is still amazing and this time around they added a brand new original song which is quite stunning.  It has a great message and a great sound that honestly I wouldn't be surprised if it was nominated for Best Original Song next year at the Academy Awards. It's definitely one that you should listen to.  Another great thing  about the film is its addition of actress Hailee Steinfield.  She is an incredible actress and I think that she will have a fantastic career, but it was great seeing her in this role.  She does a great job and brings something fresh to the film.
Overall, I thought the film was good.  Honestly if it didn't have to follow its predecessor this film probably would have gotten a higher rating and I would have liked it a lot more.  However, it just borrowed way too much from the first film that there was not a lot of originality.  There are good things about this film and if you liked the first film, this is definitely one that you should go see. However, if you didn't like the first one and was hoping to give this second film a chance, I would wait until you can see it at a cheaper price and just purchase the soundtrack in the meantime.

Thanks again for reading!!!  If you have any questions, comments, or ideas just let me know!!!