Pitch Perfect 2 [M]

After a stage stunt causes a rather nasty wardrobe malfunction, the Barden Bellas are suspended from competing at a collegiate level of acapella. Determined to defend their title, they decide to go to the world championships and win in order to regain their prestige. But the road is long and arduous and how can the Bellas sing as a group when they seem to have rifted and lost their sound? 

Definitely not as good as the first one. I’m saying that right off the rank. Where the first Pitch Perfect brought a group of girls who didn’t really belong in any social group together, the sequel plays on themes of change, identity, and the future, seeing as all our favourite singers will be graduating soon. For me, the humour of the script felt a bit forced, there were some changes done to characters that I really did not get or just generally did not gel, and on more than one occasion it got a little showy. To be fair, I wasn’t expecting this movie to be good because really the first one wasn’t that great on a cinematic level. I still laughed and sighed and rooted for the characters that I fell in love with in the first one, but this definitely was not as good. 

After a stage stunt causes a rather nasty wardrobe malfunction, the Barden Bellas are suspended from competing at a collegiate level of acapella. Determined to defend their title, they decide to go to the world championships and win in order to regain their prestige. But the road is long and arduous and how can the Bellas sing as a group when they seem to have rifted and lost their sound? 

Whilst my initial synopsis may seem pretty small and boring, there are actually a lot of stories happening in this movie. All of them centre around our characters changing and worrying about the future with graduation looming overhead, as well as a few rifts that occur within the group. Beca is juggling an internship in a legit production company whilst simultaneously trying to hide it from Chloe who has essentially become Aubrey of the first movie in her obsession with winning the world championships. The central conflict here is pretty good actually with friendships strained and even Beca, the strong, alternative girl that we loved in the first movie, takes a battering as a character when the harsh reality of career-life hits her. I have to say it’s a tick there for me; the internal drama was pretty good. We then have this conflict between the Bellas and the German team Das Sound Machine, which makes for good fun. 

We’ve got some new characters thrown into the mix, providing more comedic relief and acting as means to an end in terms of plot. 

I found that some of the acapella sequences and shows became a bit too showy, very heavy and extravagant on choreography, sets, and even song mash-up choices with some of the music not really being to my taste. The performances are all pretty solid again, though there was something going on with Beca’s character that I found kind of weird and we get to see some familiar faces, which is always nice. The nostalgia card is a powerful one. 

Starring Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Hailee Steinfeld, Skylar Astin, Adam DeVine, Katey Sagal, Anna Camp, Ben Platt, Alexis Knapp, Hana Mae Lee, Ester Dean, Birgitte Hjort Sorensen, Flula Borg, Chrissie Fit, John Michael Higgins, Elizabeth Banks, Keegan-Michael Kay, Shawn Carter Peterson, and featuring special guest appearances by Snoop Dogg, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Pharrell Williams, Blake Shelton, and Barack Obama, Pitch Perfect 2 is a fun sequel, but the first one is still definitely my favourite. Filled with drama, romance, friendship, tension, and another epic riff-off, I can’t say that I was disappointed with it because I really wasn’t expecting anything to begin with. It’s fine, it’s fun, and it’s a visit from some old acquaintances.