BURT REYNOLDS RETURNS IN 'SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT 2'

What critics and most fans think of Part 2 Year: 1980

One scene in this sequel to SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT has Burt Reynolds and Sally Field, playing Bo “The Bandit” and his reluctant road moll Frog, joking around with each other in the "cockpit" of the cross country vehicle…

And instead of hearing their inane banter, easygoing country music plays over the scene: Thankfully the most annoying aspect of the fast-paced original is skipped over this time around. Unfortunately there are less car chases between the Bandit’s new Trans Am, flanked by Jerry Reed’s truck hauling the goods… And scene-stealing Smokey Jackie Gleason provides only mumbling one-liners at his dimwitted son, and is hardly an antagonist.

SmokeyScore: ***

Instead of hauling beer for money, the gang needs to move an Elephant named Charlotte from Texas to Florida for a political convention. Dom DeLuise joins the road trip as an Italian doctor hired on as a vet.

Foreign Poster

On paper this seems trivial and lame but it’s got heart. The elephant aspect is corny, sure, but it provides a character-arc for Bandit, who might have to think about something other than a big payday. Meanwhile, there's a fun little chase under a rollercoaster, all leading to an 11th hour battle between more than a hundred cop cars verses that many trucks, looking as if David Lean directed a smash-em-up.

With this intentionally overdone climax, perhaps director Hal Needham had to make up for the lack of stunts in the rest of the film... But some of the best scenes occur before the odyssey begins as an out of shape, hungover Bandit’s forced to get back into the driver’s seat... or whenever the gang, with time running out, has their back against the wall: So in a nutshell, while it's not great as sequels go, but it flows decently enough. And the soundtrack, including the Statler Brothers and Roy Rogers, is relaxing and fun.

Bandit getting in shape after boozing the loss of Frog as personal coach Snowman looks on