Customer Reviews

Sandlot 2 [VHS]

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(40)

 

 

Ten years after the events of "The Sandlot" comes another story set in the same neighborhood on the same sandlot. All of the kids from the first movie are now ten years older and have all moved away. The only person remaining is Johnny Smalls (James Willson), the younger brother of Scott Smalls, the main character and narrator of the first movie. Johnny grew up hearing about the legends of the sandlot and how Benny pickled the Beast and recovered the Babe Ruth autographed ball and how Hercules, the Beast, was tamed. But this is now 1972 and those events are barely legend around the sandlot. A new group of kids play there now. But there are only 5 boys on this team. The boys are led by David Durango (Max-Lloyd Jones). The rest of the boys are fairly nameless. Sure, they are all given names, but their personalities are lacking. The catcher, Mac (Brett Kelley) seems to be taking the place of Hamilton Porter from the first movie as the loud mouth, large bodied catcher. But he lacks the personality of Ham. It is as if he is a poor copy of the original character. There is the token black kid on the team, taking the place of Kenny DeNunez. There is one character who stands out, the entertaining Fingers Samuelson (Sean Berdy). Fingers is deaf, hence the nickname, but is somehow the most striking character in the movie.

But there is a twist. This time there are girls. Hayley Good fairer (Samantha Burton) and two of her friends end up rounding out the team and are just as good, if not better, than the boys. Right from the start some of the old conflicts start up: the sandlot kids have a rivalry with the uniformed little leaguers and someone hit's a ball over the fence at Mr, Mertle's yard (James Earl Jones) where there lives a descendant of the Beast called the Great Fear. It is at this point that Johnny Smalls relates the legend of the Beast and the rise of the Great Fear. Naturally mischief ensues.

If anyone has seen the first "Sandlot", that person has a very good idea about how the rest of "The Sandlot 2" is going to play out. The stakes are raised in this movie, though that is also a matter of perception considering the first movie featured a retrieval of a ball autographed by Babe Ruth. Even so, "The Sandlot 2" is not a very original movie. Perhaps this isn't a surprise considering this movie was direct to video rather than getting a theatrical release. But so much of it plays out exactly like the first movie even with the same dialogue. What is most disappointing about this is the fact that both this movie and the original were written and directed by David Mickey Evans. If anyone could recapture some of the magic of "The Sandlot", it would be him. At least this wasn't a low budget sequel written and directed with somebody who has no ties to the original. That's also why this is so disappointed. Evans essentially remade the first movie with small cosmetic changes.

But what I don't understand is why the kids didn't just go and ask Mr. Mertle for help in retrieving what went over the fence. Scott Smalls had been friends with Mr. Mertle for years, so Johnny has to know that he is a decent and friendly man. The brief explanation given doesn't really make sense except that it allows the last third of the movie to have a conflict. Without it, this movie would have ended after an hour. It was just a weak explanation, though, and it just let the kids go through some of the same things that occurred in the original movie.

I'm sure than a younger audience will enjoy "The Sandlot 2", but those who have fond memories of "The Sandlot" should probably stay away. This does nothing to tarnish the original movie, but there just wasn't a need for a sequel and even with the original writer/director on board, there is no comparison between the two movies. "The Sandlot 2" is an inferior product and is missing the charm and humor and fun of "The Sandlot".

Grade: C-

-Joe Sherry

Maybe I would have liked this movie if the original had never come out, but probably not.
The acting was flat out terrible. You'd think that the kids were hired as actors just because they can catch a ball, not because they could nail a line.
The movie wasn't funny. It wasn't even fun. It was just a pile of junk.
It was dumb how they followed the original storyline excactly. The movie was so predictable, since it was practically a remake of the original. The parts that they didn't remake were the parts that made "The Sandlot" a good movie.

Not worth seeing if you have seen the first one...all this move does is mirror the first sandlot. Change the names add a couple of girls and maybe switch the script around and Sandlot 1 and 2 are pretty much the same. I bet you could watch them at the same time and the timing would be right but the words would be different. Not worth buying if you have the first one. Which I will add is an awsome movie. This movie should have never been made...stay away from S2 because the only purpose of this movie was to make the director some more money and make you poor.

I am a kid from the beautiful generation the Sandlot came to and to be completely honest when I saw this film being advertised I wanted nothing to do with it. A lot of people have said what they feel about this remake but this is an awful attempt. It was very hard watching this but since my past is so in love with the original it would have been odd to watch this and like it. For on this movie is goofy and these actors really don't have the same talent or strong presence the old cast had. If you ask me this is just a weak attempt to give the new generation their own Sandlot because the only thing different here are the girls. This Sandlot is a legendary classic so why would you be so cheap to ruin a films reputation this way.

The comedy is not the same, neither is the seriousness of the characters, and then there's no powerful character like Benny who was the most memorable character from Sandlot. Nobody here is memorable and they don't give off the deep feeling the original cast gave. Then there is the part at the end where they make this story up about the Beast really wanting to be released because there was a female dog in another fence he was in love with and he couldn't get to her. If I remember correctly the backyard was so huge that there wasn't enough room for another fence or for the Beast to know there was a female dog around. I also hated that the beast was smaller than most of the kids and in the first Sandlot beast was huge. This isn't really a sequel it's just a lousy remake with a couple of changes to make it appeal to kids. It's hard to believe that I don't hate this film because it was made off of a film my cousin and I grew up on but I gave it a fair chance and it just didn't work. Maybe kids will get a kick out of it but I didn't, it's just better to watch the original over and over.

This film is terrible. It's practically a reamake with no magic unlike the original. "The Beast" scenes are awefully flat, the acting's crap, the idea is completely uninventive, and the characters are annoying and whiney. Skip it.

I am a huge fan of the original Sandlot; it ranks as one of the best baseball and kids movie of all time. That said, I hesitantly purchased the sequel hoping it would be at least half as good as the original -- WRONG!!

I should have realized that any movie released straight to DVD was not going to rank that high, but I was not prepared for the utter horror of this movie.

The worst is the acting -- it is dead-pan flat. I think these kids were reading cue cards behind the camera. Example: The fat kid hits his first ever homerun in the sandlot and he deadpans how great it was with a bunch of forced one-liners - no overflowing joy of euphoria for achieving a legit homerun (a boy's dream).

The language for a "kids" movie was questionable (the original Sandlot had a few too), but unlike the masterful original the screenplay for Sandlot 2 just out-right sucked. The story was more about the Space Shuttle than baseball and the story-flow was choppy at best.

The only redeeming quality was James Earl Jones, the 70s soundtrack, and the rolling credits in the end.

My 4 kids each felt ripped-off by the movie's producers for duping them into thinking it was a legitimate sequel. Its akin to when Coke tried to promote the NEW Coke as something great like original Coca-cola: a quick cash marketing scam on a popular name.

My advice is to RENT this flick first AT A MINIMUM before you purchase it -- then feel free to thank me for the forewarning.

You people who reviewed the movie without seeing it are all retarded. I have in fact seen the movie, and it isn't bad. Sure it isn't as good as the original, but anyone who hasn't seen it has no basis upon which to say anything about the movie. When one of you morons actually does watch the movie, then you can say something. Until then, shut your mouths.

When i saw this movie yesterday it killed me i literally fell dead on the floor because it was so funny the one part i liked was when the GREAT FEAR thruw that kid right over the fence 10 feet in the air and into the pool that made me die laughing get this movie you will die laughing.

For a baseball move it sure didn't have a lot of baseball in it (maybe less then 10 mins worth).

I never understood the point of making a sequel if you're not going to change the plot. It was basically a remake of the original and a really bad remake at that.

Pretend this movie was never made and go watch the original (you'll be happy you do)

When I first learned that David Evans was making a sequel to the Sandlot, and that it would not contain any of the children from the first film, I'll admit I hated the idea. My love and devotion for the original film inspired me to purchase a copy of the sequel, and I was blown away. I'm not going to say that "The Sandlot 2" is better then the original film, but it sure is close.
This film is set ten years after the summer of 1962 in the original Sandlot, those boys have grown up and are off fulfilling their dreams. New Neighborhood children battle for the possession of the Sandlot against an all-star baseball team. Being set in the 70's, the film pays tribute to the "women's lib" movement when three girls battle against the neighborhood boys on the subject that "girls can play baseball too". This time, the spawn of the Beast keeps the Sandlot gang riled up as they seek to retrieve an irreplaceable model rocket. There are many elements that tie this film together with its predecessor that do not turn this film into a re-hash of the original, instead, the similarities pay homage to the great film the original Sandlot is.
Max Lylod-Jones and Samantha Burton potray young left perfectly, and their performances will bring smiles to your face. The acting is great, and the film captures the seventies perfectly. The seventies hits will definitely take you back in time. If you were skeptical about purchasing or renting this film, because you're afraid that it will destroy the magic that made you love the original. It has owned it's place next to classic film. This is a must have for your collection.