‘Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2’ Is ‘Certified Rotten’ Thanks To Unanimously Negative Reviews
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 has set itself apart from pretty much every movie that’s come out so far this year, even the really bad ones. Perhaps if Paul Blart had limped into theaters during the January to March time period, no one would have noticed just how bad it really was. But instead, the Kevin James sequel made a bold error, dropping into theaters during a time when moviegoers and critics are expecting to be at least halfway entertained.
Perhaps Sony Pictures Entertainment has been so distracted by recent problems that Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 fell between the cracks. Whatever the reason or excuse, one thing seems to be painfully clear based on the reception: Sony could have kept it.
#PaulBlart2 “goes beyond mediocrity to offer possible evidence of a civilization in decline” http://t.co/noDFg7HEAE pic.twitter.com/ObDNEwNBZR
— Variety (@Variety) April 18, 2015
Just how bad is Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2? When you consider the fact that Rotten Tomatoes posted 37 reviews and not one review resulted in a “fresh” rating, there is nothing to be optimistic about. If this movie could be “certified rotten” that’s pretty much where it stands.
To understand specifically why the new Kevin James comedy flopped, you’ll have to consider the common complaints mentioned by the dozens of movie reviewers who panned it. First, is the opinion that Paul Blart simply isn’t funny. Entertainment Weekly reviewer Kevin Sullivan said that the movie “went through the motions” and met “the bare minimum.”
“Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 is far from the worst movie that you’ll ever see, but you might leave wondering why you, the people on the screen, or anyone else in the theater even bothered.”
Christy Lemire at RogertEbert.Com is far more blunt in her assessment that this movie is a blundering waste of time.
“Think of the worst movie you’ve ever seen…a movie that didn’t make you laugh, didn’t make you cry, didn’t move you or change you in any way besides giving you the desperate urge to flee the theater. Think of a movie that was a massive waste of your time and money. Hold that title in your mind.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 is worse than that.”
Lemire is one of a few critics that note that Sony refused to allow critics to preview the movie ahead of opening weekend, forcing them to observe it along with audiences. Alonso Duralde posted an “interesting” observation in his review for The Wrap.
“I watched the film with a paying, opening-night audience (Sony was happy to slap its name on almost every cell phone and watch featured in the movie, but they didn’t want to share this film with critics in advance), and the place was mostly silent as a tomb, save for the featured-in-the-trailer gag in which Blart runs smack into a plate-glass window.”
It’s sad to think that Kevin James may have surpassed Adam Sandler, a once-beloved comedian who is now considered box office poison. However, it seems that James may have set his movie career apart in all the wrong ways thanks to Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2.
Do you think critics were too harsh or was this Kevin James movie really that terrible?
[Image Credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment YouTube]
