The Addams Family 2: Film Review
As the spooky season is now upon us, it’s time for the influx of Halloween-themed movies to begin! First up, it’s The Addams Family sequel.
As Wednesday (voiced by Chloe Grace Moretz) is seeming more down and despondent than usual, Gomez (Oscar Isaac) proposes that they go on on a three-week family holiday across America, beginning in Salem and ending in Death Valley. Naturally, the trip doesn’t go smoothly as they are being followed by a man who claims Wednesday was switched at birth and isn’t an Addams, while Uncle Fester (voiced by Nick Kroll) is slowly morphing into an octopus following a botched science experiment.
Although this sequel feels as unnecessary as it is, it was nice to revisit these characters once again – especially Lurch (voiced by co-director Conrad Vernon) and Cousin Itt (Snoop Dogg) – and it was still plenty of fun. The comedy isn’t quite on par with the first one – I certainly laughed less – but there is still a lot of silly hijinks to keep kids entertained and jokes for the adults too. I felt the attention in the cinema screening starting to dip as the film approached the final act but it brings it back with a wild monster battle. I certainly preferred the story in the first one and the fact that it was largely set in their wickedly weird house.
Much like the first film, this sequel has a stellar soundtrack filled with contemporary bops, rap and the surprising use of Motorhead’s Ace of Spades. We also get a random but delightful musical number courtesy of Lurch, who takes on Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive to hilarious effect.
I’m not particularly taken with the animation style either, I think the characters look ugly – especially Pugsley, Gomez and Fester – and it’s not all that pleasing to the eye. I know their proportions have been exaggerated for comedy value but Pugsley (voiced by Javon Walton, who replaces Finn Wolfhard) just looks so unwell!
The majority of the voice cast from the 2019 film return and they do a solid job bringing the characters to life. Just like before, you might be unable to pinpoint who voices the characters as hardly any of them speak like themselves. Isaac gives his voice a Hispanic flair for Gomez, Moretz drags her sentences out and speaks slowly and quietly, like it’s an effort, as Wednesday and Charlize Theron goes for something quite different as Morticia.
The Addams Family 2 is unnecessary and nowhere near as entertaining as the previous film but children should still find it an enjoyable watch.
In cinemas from Friday 8th October