My Review of Ted 2 · 6:52pm February 11th
Rating Scale:
12/10—a complete masterpiece; flawless and outstanding
11/10—Excellent, near-perfect film
10/10—the standard rating; awesome film with a couple of flaws
9/10—a wonderful film with several flaws
8/10–a great film with numerous flaws but not enough to ruin it
7/10—a fun and entertaining movie; not great but still enjoyable
6/10—a slightly above average film; it is something I might watch again
5/10—mediocre movie; not awful but not great either
4/10—a below average film; it could have been much better
3/10—a bad film; poorly written and poorly executed
2/10—a very bad movie; the few good things in the movie overshadowed by the bad things
1/10—a terrible movie; a total waste of time
0/10—a worthless piece of abomination; should have never been made
Greetings, folks! This is Mr. J back with another movie review for today. This afternoon, I will be reviewing “Ted 2” from 2015. As I concluded from last week’s review of the first movie, it was a mature, fun, weird, flawed, yet entertaining film about loyalty, maturity, and friendship.
Just like with the first one, I saw this sequel last year for the first time and thought it was decent as well. Now that I have re-watched this movie, I gotta say…it has some awesome ideas with a decent execution. In other words, it’s not as good as the first movie.
This movie is about Teddy losing his civil rights as a person and being deemed as property in the eyes of the government. He and John must fight back for his rights with the help of a young lawyer who eventually has a romantic bond with John.
This has such an interesting premise because it involved high stakes in the story and much more emotional conflict. After working and living life like a regular person for so long, the state suddenly is now taking his privileges away because he’s a stuffed toy while ignoring the fact that he can walk and talk like a fully sentient being.
However, it feels a little strange the government has now decided to revoke his civil rights instead of…well…sooner. I mean, what compelled them to suddenly decide to ruin Teddy’s life? Were they now bored of a sentient stuffed toy waltzing around town? It just feels out-of-nowhere in my opinion.
Furthermore, the story quickly shifts from one major issue to another in a matter of minutes. His wife, Tami-Lynn, can’t give birth because of a long history of drug use, and now we’re forgetting all that because it’s all about Teddy’s civil human rights. The pacing was just not in the right place for all these things to happen so suddenly.
Regardless, Seth MacFarlane admittedly drove the story through his solid voice performance as Teddy and through his mature writing. Ted is still the same loud-mouthed, shameless, vulgar little bear with a lot of heart and humor.
I feel like John was more laid-back in his second main character role in this movie. Every time Mark Wahlberg spoke his lines, he looked like he was a little tired or just slightly unenthusiastic in some scenes. Thankfully, he brought out his best in every other scene.
Samantha was a decent character, thanks to Amanda Seyfried’s serviceable performance. She isn’t groundbreaking or anything, but at least she’s a better love interest than Lori ever was. Speaking of which, this movie made me hate Lori even more after learning about what John shared with Sam—concerning his divorce.
I felt sorry for him, and it made me appreciate his new bond with Sam. Even if Sam doesn’t have much character development, at least she’s more supportive of John and actually gave a shit about Teddy’s situation. Lori was just so self-centered and focused on just what’s best for her. Honestly, I’m glad she’s no longer with John. He deserves better like Sam.
Oh, and the comedy was slightly more hilarious than the first. My favorite parts were the gang randomly throwing apples at a jogger which made him so mad…until he was hit by a cyclist. And also the part where Ted was arguing with a random neighbor below his apartment until an angry Karen lashed out at them.
Those guys instantly became friends due to their mutual hatred of that lady. Hahaha!
Also, I feel bad for Liam Neeson’s character in that he had to be jumped by people simply because he likes Trix cereal. Was that supposed to be a reference to Liam’s drug addiction or something?
However, I would’ve been fine if there weren’t any racism jokes or that whole scene with the sperm collection. I—just—I mean, that wasn’t necessary. It’s in poor taste, and it’s not even remotely funny. Oh, wait, I forgot Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy, wrote these jokes.
Donny wasn’t really needed in this movie. I get that he was still obsessed with Ted, but honestly any CEO of a business incorporation could pull off what Donny did, and there would be no difference. Besides, he’s barely in the movie.
Lastly, I love the fact that this movie went all out in promoting and featuring Hasbro merchandise. You see ponies, power rangers, Transformers, and even non-Hasbro characters like Star Wars. Although I’m confused how they feature characters from “Transformers 4” that also starred Mark Wahlberg while his character…is here? Does he have a look-alike in universe? How does that work?
Overall, this movie is fun and entertaining that suffers from inconsistent pacing and a half-baked execution. But hey, they got Morgan Freeman in this, so that’s an automatic win. Therefore, I will rate this a 7/10.
Peace!
