Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2

Directed by Andy Fickman, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 follows Kevin James’ title figure as he once again springs into action after criminals, led by Neal McDonough’s Vincent, kidnap his daughter (Raini Rodriguez’s Maya). Filmmaker Fickman, working from a script by Nick Bakay and James, delivers a mostly (and palpably) underwhelming sequel that fares even worse than its lackluster predecessor, with the movie’s tiresome, tedious storyline compounded by a wide variety of far-from-enthralling attributes and elements – including James’ grating central performance and a recurring emphasis on lowest-common-denominator, bottom-of-the-barrel jokes and gags. (There is, for example, a recurring bit involving Paul’s ongoing encounters with a violent bird that couldn’t possibly be less funny.) And while the picture admittedly benefits from the sporadically amusing efforts of certain periphery performers, with McDonough’s predictably engaging turn a rare highlight within the proceedings, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 builds towards an action-packed third act that’s just about as dull and interminable as one might’ve feared – with the end result an aggressively ill-conceived (and executed) misfire that’s likely to alienate even fans of the first movie.

* out of ****