Toy Story 2 (1999) Review

"You have saved our lives!  We are eternally grateful!"
-Aliens




While trying to rescue a toy from a yard sale, Woody (Tom Hanks) is kidnapped by Al McWhiggin (Wayne Knight) to be sold to a museum.  While held captive, Woody learns more about his past and has to confront his future, while Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) launches a dangerous rescue mission.


What Works:

Toy Story 2 is similar to The Empire Strikes Back in many ways.  Sure, there are the obvious moments like all of the sound effects in the Buzz Lightyear video game and the plot twist surrounding Zurg (Andrew Stanton), but the story structure is similar.  This movie divides our characters into two groups.  I like that this movie does something different and doesn't make the same movie over again.  Plus it's really great to see a whole movie where Woody and Buzz are friends.

Speaking of Woody and Buzz, Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are, once again, fantastic.  They were born to play these roles and do an amazing job.  The other actors also do a great job and it's great to see some of them get expanded roles.

The opening sequence is awesome and radically different than anything we saw in the first movie.  Watching Buzz makes his way through Zurg's base is a lot of fun and I love all of the Star Wars sound effects.

Woody has a nightmare scene early on in the film that is legitimately terrifying.  Watching him be dragged down into a garbage can by severed hands is some serious nightmare fuel and has stuck with me for years.

Finally, I love having a second Buzz Lightyear.  Delusional space ranger Buzz is my favorite Buzz.  Having old Buzz react to new Buzz is hilarious especially when he realizes that he used to be just like that.


What Sucks:

Not all of the scenes in Al's apartment work for me.  It just doesn't have the same energy as Buzz's storyline or anything from the first movie.  It's mostly fine, just not as interesting.  Plus the scene where Woody tries to get his arm back from Al doesn't make sense.  What was he planning on doing when he got it?  Sewing it back on himself?


Verdict:

Toy Story 2 is a worthy follow up to the original and just one step shy of being on the same level.  The performances are all excellent, there are a lot of really fun sequences, and Woody's nightmare will haunt me for ever.  Apart from a few minor issues with Woody's storyline, this movie has absolutely got it going on.

 9/10: Great    

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Argylle (2024) Review

Image
 "The human skull is shockingly brittle." -Aidan Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) is a very successful spy novelist.  She draws attention from the espionage community when plot points in her books come true.  When Elly is attacked on a train by a group of spies, she is rescued by another spy, Aidan (Sam Rockwell), who needs her help with his mission and to do that, she needs to write another chapter of her latest book. Spoilers Below.  Go ahead and read on because I don't recommend this movie, but either way, you've been warned. What Works: Argylle has a really fun premise that really works in the first half of the movie.  It's a fish-out-of-water, buddy-cop, spy movie, and it's a blast.  Watching Ellie predict where to go based on what the characters in her books would do is a lot of fun.  It's what the whole movie should have been. The opening sequence follows Agent Argylle (Henry Cavill) on another dangerous mission as he pursues the villainous LaGrang
Read more

Top 10 Movies of 2023

Image
2023 is finally over and it's time for me to put my Top 10 list together.  2023 was definitely a weaker year for movies.  There were definitely some great movies, but there were also plenty of disappointing and bad movies as well.  I still managed to put together a great Top 10 with a couple of worthy contenders that just missed the cut.  Let's take a look! #10. They Cloned Tyrone They Cloned Tyrone is a wild and fun sci-fi tale that takes place in the hood.  A drug dealer, a pimp, and a prostitute discover a cloning conspiracy and the results are intelligent and hilarious.  This is a really smart and funny movie with some amazing performances across the board.  This was a movie that kept me guessing the whole way through.  What an absolute blast. #9. Renfield I'm guessing Renfield will be the most controversial entry on my list as I feel like I'm the only person who liked this movie.  I love the old Universal monster movies and the fact that we get a direct sequel, whi
Read more

Madame Web (2024) Review

Image
 "When you take on the responsibility, great power will come." -Santiago Cassie Webb (Dakota Johnson), a New York paramedic, hits her head in an accident, which unlocks the ability to see glimpses of the future.  When she sees Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) attempting to murder three teenage girls, Cassie intervenes to save them.  As Cassie learns to understand her power, she also discovers the connection between her, the girls, and Ezekiel. What Works: I think the core idea at the center of this movie is a good one and has the potential to be interesting.  Cassie's superpowers are kinda lame.  It's not like they're going to help in a combat situation.  Ezekiel is basically evil Spider-Man.  He has legitimate powers and is a massive threat.  That's an interesting conflict.  How does someone with lackluster superpowers take on a supervillain.  It's a fun idea that I would like to see tried again with greater success.  What Sucks: This movie was embarrassing to
Read more