Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)

Directed by: Jim Abrahams | 86 minutes | action, comedy, war | Actors: Charlie Sheen, Lloyd Bridges, Valeria Golino, Richard Crenna, Brenda Bakke, Miguel Ferrer, Rowan Atkinson, Jerry Haleva, David Wohl, Mitch Ryan, Michael Colyar, Ryan Stiles

Nice sequel to the first ‘Hot Shots!’ movie from two years earlier. Sequels are often said to build on the original and add nothing. Such rules may not apply to this type of film and anyway ‘Hot Shots! Part Deux’ has become a worthy successor.

Topper Harley (Sheen) has this time gone on a retreat in the Far East, where he became a blacksmith in a Buddhist monastery. Then his old superior Colonel Walters (Crenna, in a genius parody of his own role in the ‘Rambo’ parts) comes to ask him to free some hostages from Iraq. Topper refuses, after which Walters himself goes to war and is also captured. As a result, Topper decides to take action, spurred on by the sexy CIA agent Michelle “Rodham” Huddleston (Bakke). She seduces Topper and also lends him her beauty spot. During the mission, his ex-girlfriend Ramada “Rodham” Thompson also reappears in Golino’s attractive appearance. When Topper asks her why she came back, they end up in a discussion about sequels and what the reviewers will say. Also present is Bridges, who has risen as Tug Benson from Admiral to President. His incompetent blunders make for a few funny moments when, for example, he knocks out his predecessors with a shovel or throws up (à la George Bush Sr.) in the lap of the Japanese Prime Minister. The otherwise unknown Haleva takes on the role of Saddam Hussein, just like in part one – which he would also do in ‘The Big Lebowski’ by the Coen brothers. Ferrer’s new addition as the howling commando Harbinger is also very funny. After having a handkerchief very stuffed, he can handle it again. Moments later, he declares with a big grin on his face: “War. It’s fantastic!” There is also a small role for British master comedian Rowan Atkinson as one of the hostages. It is a pity that we actually see too little of him and his talent is not used optimally.

In part one, macho action movies were ridiculed, most notably ‘Top Gun’. This time it is the turn of the ‘Rambo’ films with Sylvester Stallone to be victimized. And especially the ridiculous sequels to the first ‘Rambo’, which was actually quite okay. But there are also recognizable scenes from plenty of other films, from ‘Star Wars’ to ‘Casablanca’ and ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’. As Topper and his team travel on by boat (!) and rerun the enemy inspection of the boat from ‘The Guns of Navarone’, perhaps the film’s most inspired moment comes: at one point you hear the voice-over first. Sheen’s father Martin from ‘Apocalypse Now’ and also his boat sails past, with father and son shouting to each other: “I loved you in ‘Wall Street’!” Brilliant. ‘Part Deux’ has a slightly less joke density than ‘Hot Shots!’, but is just as entertaining because of the enthusiastic playing and intelligent references. Anyone who thinks it’s just blunt jokes of the “thick wood one saws planks” type will be disappointed. Obviously a lot of work has gone into setting up the jokes and it pays off as there is a lot to laugh about. Excellent entertainment for an empty evening, which is guaranteed to put the viewer in a better mood.