Major League II (1994)

Very well executed

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I would've rated higher but just because it's hilarious doesn't mean it's excellent. One of my gripes about this one is how Willie Hayes' ambition to go deep and the Skipper's disapproval was simply used all over again. Willie tried to be hot stuff in the first and Lou scolded him, explaining his job is to get on base, not hit homeruns, to which he responded, "Hey :), no problem :)!" For THIS one, he buffed up over the winter and is trying to be Babe Ruth again, and LOU, AGAIN, has the same talk with him as if they didn't go through that already in the FIRST movie. The climax is so totally ridiculous and unrealistic: no manager would ever allow the scenario at the end. If he did, regardless of whether it turns out successfully, he'd be fired and wouldn't be picked up by any other club.

Well, it's got some amusing parts. However, much of the movie is painfully reusing story points and gags from the first movie. Some interesting characters from the first movie are either missing (Russo, Snipes) or mailing it in (Bernsen, Whitton). Story lines involving the changes to major characters seem forced and generally don't work well. Add to that a general lack of character empathy, and you have a movie which shouldn't be enjoyable. That said, it's watchable, with the same general flavor as the original, but be prepared to roll your eyes occasionally (okay, more than occasionally) at the soulless, generally lazy rework this movie is.

The original "Major League" had a distinct heart that's all but gone this lackluster sequel. Retreading the first movie in nearly every way, "Major League II" takes the lazy way out and turns these great characters into cartoons for cheap laughs. There's no way the Rick Vaughn we know would've gone full-on cleancut endorsement boy, and making all of these guys into complacent wimps after just six months is ridiculous. Where's Harris? Why is Hayes suddenly an actor? The best parts of this movie were all of Rube's scenes and Tanaka's intro, but they couldn't make up for Charlie Sheen's nodded-off performance. It's not a bad movie, but it does have "meh" written all over it.5/10

Some sequels should never get off from the idea stage, and Major League II is one of them.We get to see more of the Cleveland Indians as they embark on another season in the big leagues. Charlie Sheen as Ricky "the wild thing" Vaughn has replaced Tom Berenger's Jake Taylor as the film's leading man, and centers around The Wild Thing basically being castrated and becoming more commercial and career seeking. Not very interesting, and it goes on for a long while without evoking any real laughs along the way. Omar Epps is a poor substitute for Wesley Snipes as Willie Hayes, the fastest running ball player around. James Gammon, Bob Uecker and (incredibly enough) Corbin Bernsen provide the film's only entertaining moments. A recurring cameo by the ever funny Randy Quaid is totally wasted, Sheen and Berenger look bored.The original was hardly original (hmmm...) but it was well written and expertly performed; a real home run. The sequel, sad to say; strike out.