On a trip to New York, The Charles family (Nick, Nora, Nick Jnr and Asta) go out to the estate of Colonel MacFay to discuss a possible job. On the way to the house Nick spots a dead body by the road but, when he investigates, the body is nowhere to be found. Continuing to the estate Nick discovers that MacFay fears for his life; in particular from Phil Church who wants revenge for a past wrong and claims to have foreseen MacFay's murder in his dreams. When MacFay is found murdered the police start a manhunt for Church, but it is all a bit too tidy and convenient to convince Nick.
I must be honest and say that the idea that a baby had been added to the mix made my heart sink and made me worry that, as with some modern films/TV shows, the addition of a baby was an attempt to freshen up the series and that it would rely on this infant too much. Fortunately, although it may have been added to freshen things up a little, the film generally sticks to the aspects of the original that made that film work well enough for us to get to film three in the series even if it has drifted away from the tone of the original a little bit. The mystery story starts well, with plenty of interesting aspects but I didn't feel like it did enough to maintain that sense of mystery and build on it. It was still interesting enough to do the job but maybe not as strong as it could have been. The comedy still has plenty of laughs and sharp lines but it isn't as great as the original. In the original film everything seemed to exist within a tongue-in-cheek, winking cocktail hour to which we were all invited, here it can't help but seem a little more straight-laced even if it is still fun.
The cast are as good as before although the leads are not quite as fresh as they had been a few years earlier. Powell is funny and he works well with Loy, who holds her own again and has a good chemistry. The support cast are a bit more colourful than the usual b-movie fare; Pendleton makes a nice return, Smith is larger than life in his early role, Kruger is good as the rest are generally, meanwhile it is nice to see Asta back even if the dog hasn't got a great deal to do.
Overall this is an enjoyable film but, like most of the sequels, doesn't really get it as right as it did in the original film. The mystery starts well but only fades as a result while the comedy is funny but not quite what I had hoped for despite the cast doing all they can. Worth seeing of course because it is an enjoyable film in an enjoyable series but those who have not seen the first film in the series would do better to start there.
I must be honest and say that the idea that a baby had been added to the mix made my heart sink and made me worry that, as with some modern films/TV shows, the addition of a baby was an attempt to freshen up the series and that it would rely on this infant too much. Fortunately, although it may have been added to freshen things up a little, the film generally sticks to the aspects of the original that made that film work well enough for us to get to film three in the series even if it has drifted away from the tone of the original a little bit. The mystery story starts well, with plenty of interesting aspects but I didn't feel like it did enough to maintain that sense of mystery and build on it. It was still interesting enough to do the job but maybe not as strong as it could have been. The comedy still has plenty of laughs and sharp lines but it isn't as great as the original. In the original film everything seemed to exist within a tongue-in-cheek, winking cocktail hour to which we were all invited, here it can't help but seem a little more straight-laced even if it is still fun.
The cast are as good as before although the leads are not quite as fresh as they had been a few years earlier. Powell is funny and he works well with Loy, who holds her own again and has a good chemistry. The support cast are a bit more colourful than the usual b-movie fare; Pendleton makes a nice return, Smith is larger than life in his early role, Kruger is good as the rest are generally, meanwhile it is nice to see Asta back even if the dog hasn't got a great deal to do.
Overall this is an enjoyable film but, like most of the sequels, doesn't really get it as right as it did in the original film. The mystery starts well but only fades as a result while the comedy is funny but not quite what I had hoped for despite the cast doing all they can. Worth seeing of course because it is an enjoyable film in an enjoyable series but those who have not seen the first film in the series would do better to start there.