BrickNash In many ways I actually prefer this film to the first. The script isn't quite as snappy as the original, but the cast are back along with a few new faces and it's a great fun ride. The theme of washed up celebrity is quite a clever one and it's played out nicely in the film, although maybe not as strongly as it could have been.The jewel in the crown is the end set-piece in the desert, because it's huge, magnificently choreographed, and it really is a sight to behold. It blows the socks off the first film's ending and is definitely one of the best "trucker film" sequences ever put on celluloid. The elephant story is sweet too, and it's nice how it manages to help the Bandit find himself again.Honestly, this is a great film and a worthy sequel. Overall it's not quite as good as the first film, but in a lot of individual places it's far stronger and is definitely worth checking out, regardless of what the sea of negative sheep out there say.

disdressed12 I was fairly disappointed in this sequel. The original was funny and fast paced and the characters were likable. Not so for the second go round. The gang is all back, more or less but they don't seem to be having fun with their characters,like they did in the previous film film. The plot is not much different to the first film, and it feels like the actors are just going through the motions. Yes,there are a few mildly amusing moments along the way but they are few and far between.as for whether I would watch this film again,i would have to say I could wait at least five years before doing so .it isn't anywhere near the worst movie I have seen.it just isn't really a good movie.i would not recommend it,unless you have absolutely nothing else to do.for me Smokey and the Bandit is a 5/10.

willcundallreview Smokey and the Bandit II is a follow up adventure movie that reunites Burt Reynolds as the Bandit and his good old bud Cledus better known as "Snowman". We also see the return of the bride to be in the first movie as well a bride again, but the bandit comes a calling and off she goes leaving the same man as in the first film, Junior Justice. With Junior Justice you have good old Jackie Gleason as Sheriff Buford T.Justice alongside him, and yet again for another time he is after the bandit, this time trying to deliver an elephant (Ran out of ideas quickly me thinks).It all plays out rather fast paced which is both it's biggest positive but also negative, the story is fairly frantic and not well thought out in parts and just a little bit shaky. It's good old fun don't get me wrong but the laughter isn't flowing and some of the things that happen are just downright stupid, by the end you feel almost like doing something dumb. The stunts are the best thing in the story and I won't doubt the movie on it's skill of keeping you engaged, but that doesn't mean it is good.Hal Needham directs OK but never well enough to save this from being average, his touch is both too cringe but also dampens some of the moments that could have had laughs. The writing is not well done and possibly one of the worst things about this, it just makes the story as mentioned more stupid and contains moments and characters that are just needlessly un-needed. What the film really needed to be even OK was just to have an injection of good writing and some more clinically funny bits to be the kind of alright movie I felt the first one was.Reynolds comes back not as good as before but still has a little bit of his style that he gives Bo Darville aka the Bandit and he gives a performance that I felt was good albeit not as funny as he was in the first. Jackie Gleason as the Sheriff is for me the funniest person in this in fact if anything he gets funnier in this movie than previous, the jokes are well suited to him and the funny relationship with his son is at times fun to see. Sally Field is the bride to be yet again who comes to the aid of the bandit and the snowman and she brings plain acting, I won't criticise her so harshly but she is far from OK, makes her scenes stale and also for some reason disappears for most of the second half of the movie then returns out of nowhere. I think all in all this was fun-ish, but not fun enough for me to kind of like it; it was more for me a kind of dislike and disappointing actually. That said I know for a fact fans of the first will enjoy this as it basically lifts off from where the first finished in a sort of way, it tries too hard to remake what made the first a smash and does create a so-so piece. So overall I wouldn't really recommend it but then again I wouldn't say don't try it, just don't watch it if your looking for a bit more "smart" entertainment, but sure if you want a quick watch that doesn't require much thought then this is perfect, but still mediocre.

utgard14 Poor sequel to the highly enjoyable Smokey and the Bandit. Part two brings together the same ingredients as the first film but adds a lot of cornball slapstick and a disappointing character shift for the Bandit. Gone is the charming, slightly enigmatic Bandit. Here he's a goofy man-child.Sally Field and Jerry Reed return as well. Both do fine although Field sometimes seems like she would rather be anywhere else than in this movie. Can't blame her. She looks lovely though. Jackie Gleason is back and this time playing multiple parts. He starts out OK but quickly becomes unbearable. We also have the comically challenged Dom DeLuise. Reynolds was buddies with Dom and overlooked Dom's obvious lack of talent and got him roles in several of his movies. I've never found Dom DeLuise funny and this movie is no exception.If you're a fan of the first Smokey movie, perhaps it's best you just avoid this sequel and for the love of God, definitely avoid part 3. This movie doesn't improve upon the first in any way. Hell it doesn't even match it. It's a stinker that happens to have a decent country soundtrack.