Movie Review: Leprechaun 2 (1994)
Synopsis: Los Angeles resident Cody is having a rough St. Patrick's Day. First, he needs to cancel a date to cover a city tour for his uncle, Morty, who is too drunk to drive. Then, he is arrested for numerous traffic violations and later accused of murder. On top of all of that, his girlfriend, Bridget, has been kidnapped by a leprechaun who wants to make her his bride and Cody is the only one who can save her.
Who's in it? The movie stars Warwick Davis, Charlie Heath, Shevonne Durkin, Sandy Baron and James Lancaster.
Review: It took me nearly 20 years to watch the first Leprechaun movie and since that time, I have seen the Jennifer Aniston-led original a few more times. However, when my wife and I watched Leprechaun 2 last night, it was the first time I had ever seen any of the sequels. While not as bad as I thought it would be, the film failed to convince me I was missing much.
The plot of the movie is fairly simple (in a good way). The leprechaun (Davis) has a previous attempt at marriage foiled and 1,000 years later, makes another attempt at marrying (against her will) a descendent of his first choice. This results in Bridget (Durkin) being taken to his lair and her boyfriend, Cody (Heath) trying to save her despite being the one blamed for both her disappearance and the leprechaun's murders.
Unlike the first movie, the leprechaun seems to have more magical powers, which I did like. I also thought the added obstacle of Cody's uncle (Baron) was an intriguing wildcard because it was unclear if the greedy Morty would help Cody rescue Bridget or if he would end up betraying his nephew in some way, either intentionally or unintentionally.
My biggest problem with this movie is it seemed undecided about what it wanted to be. This could have been a reasonably decent horror film, especially since Davis does a great job as the villain. However, the writers also seemed determined to keep it a bit too upbeat to the point it was almost a comedy, ultimately failing at that as well.
I was also a bit confused about this movie's connection to the first one. It was unclear if it was the same leprechaun or a different one and, if the former, how the timelines synched up and how he got to Los Angeles. Of course, it also doesn't really explain the whole needing to wait 1,000 years to try to marry again or how he found Bridget.
My biggest complaint though had to be the ending. The final fight between Cody, Bridget and the leprechaun was entertaining, but the film leaves way too many loose ends, including the fact Cody is a fugitive facing charges for two homicides. It kind of felt like he would have a hard time convincing the police a leprechaun did it.
Final Opinion: I didn't hate it and have not ruled out watching another sequel, maybe even this week. However, it wasn't a movie I regretted waiting so long to watch either.
My Grade: C+
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Here are some reviews of other movies from 1994:
Movie Review: Wagons East (1994)
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