Undercover Brother 2 review by Bobby Blakey
Back in 2002 comedian Eddie Griffin stepped onto the big screen in the hilarious action comedy Undercover Brother. It was one of those films that had no business working, but thanks to Griffins charisma, great cast and over the top hijinks brought the laughs. Now, seemingly out of nowhere a sequel is here but instead of Griffen this time around we got martial artist and action star Michael Jai White taking on the role. Could this film bring the same fun of the original or should it have stayed in the past?
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Undercover Brother 2 follows the coolest spy in the game Undercover Brother and his less-than-cool younger brother, Lionel. Way back in 2002, the brothers were hot on the heels of The Man, the leader of a racist, worldwide syndicate known as The Organization, but accidentally got caught in an avalanche of oppressive, white snow. Sixteen years later, they are discovered, thawed out, and as Undercover Brother remains in a coma, Lionel sets out to finish the job they started. With the help of The Brotherhood, an old foe, and an ethereal vision of Undercover Brother guiding him along the way, Lionel must take on an even more dangerous threat to the black community and the world – extreme "wokeness"!
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I had no idea this movie was being done which was strange since I am a huge fan of Michael Jai White and tend to keep up with his projects. I can’t lie that while I didn’t have high hopes for this entry, White’s involvement had me pretty excited to see what he was going to do with the character. Right out of the gate it works pretty well with him in the role despite looking and acting nothing like Griffen’s original take. This could have easily been a follow up to White’s Black Dynamite, which fans have been hoping for. Sadly it does not live up to my hopes after getting into it mostly because they sideline outside of a few moments here and there and the end. I know this might be spoiler-ish, but going in fans need to know that this entry focuses on Undercover Brother’s Brother Lionel played by Vince Swan. While he does a fine job in the comedic role the movie struggles to really find its footing and laughs.
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They play up the same formula complete with hunting for the “Man” and the Agency of the Brotherhood and varying new brothers and the token white
guy. They continue the story form the “Man” who escaped in the previous film before jumping ahead in time and diving into the ridiculousness of the story. The Captain America-esque story of being frozen for years allows them to explain away the time in between the films and play up some new more modern jokes. There are plenty of topical jabs that work and some fun action, but as a whole it limps along trying to recreate the same silly magic of the original without much originality of its own.
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If you like silly over the top ridiculous comedy then give it a shot as you might find it hits your funny bone. It leaves it open much like the original film so who knows if we will get another entry, but if so hopefully we will get a lot more White who is so good in these kinds of roles and brings the action chops to make it all the more entertaining. Decide for yourself and grab your copy of Undercover Brother 2 available now on DVD from Universal Home Entertainment.