Inspector Gadget 2 (2003)

You say Inspector, I say Inspector - Let's call the whole thing off!!

I have hit an all-time low. I have rebooted my film lifestyle. Prior to watching "Inspector Gadget 2", I was willing and absolutely able to watching anything that came through the system. I was up for any low-budget feature, no matter what country of origin, I was up for good, the bad, and the ugly, AND I was even up for those direct-to-home features that make nearly every cineophile shudder. This was my life, up until about a week ago. I found myself trudging through both "Inspector Gadget" as well as the cartoon voiced by Don Adams, and the direct-to-Disney sequel, "Inspector Gadget 2". It was after this viewing that I eliminated all the upcoming films in my list, opened a fresh page, and started from scratch. I am going to begin (after I finish watching "The Longest Yard" remake and original) watching more classic, foreign, and contemporary independent films. I want to bring the level of control back and impress those with more of a knowledge than whom was a better Inspector Gadget, Mathew Broderick or French Stewart - alas, friends, I do know the answer to that, and I am not proud enough to shout it on the highest mountain. It is embarrassing that I have to nominate one "Inspector Gadget" film over the other, but a critics work is never done. I have no favorite when it comes to this franchise, I have no favorite when it comes to stories that completely demolish the structure of the cartoon of which it is based. In closing, I have no favorite at all when you have two films that are only connected by the titles they share.

"Inspector Gadget 2" is possibly one of the worst sequels to dawn the direct-to-DVD call tag at the bottom of the box. Using nothings from the original film (not the same characters, not the same style, not the same comic timing), this film is one that you have to watch alone, not standing right next to the original Broderick vehicle. French Stewart (he is always squinting ... why?), with the aid of director Alex Zamm try to bring the original concept back the the series without any known budget. Stewart brings a new Inspector to the film, a more arrogant, snobbish, seems to be tormented by life, protagonist that cares nothing for those surrounding him. He is a character that we cannot love, no matter how many times we have to sit through one viewing of this film. What is interesting about Stewart is that he is actually closer to the the animated Gadget than the original. Zamm also tries to create a Dr. Claw that is closer to the original - but the trouble occurs with the fact that the two share very little screen time and thus there is no real chemistry between the two. Claw used to always monitor Gadget's doings, in this one, there seems to be a haphazard care as to what either is doing. Penny still doesn't have her book and Brain still isn't getting anyone out of trouble. Where is the consistency here? Too add to the mix, we are introduced to a new character "G2", the newest upgrade to the Gadget line. Like anything this riddled with clichés, there is an initial problem with the two of them, but eventually a spark misfires and Gadget is introduced to yet another love interest. Considering the problems anatomically with this couple, there is no further spark between them. The only reason the two are put in a this film are to be together, not for any other purpose. There is no sense of individualism, just flimsy cause followed by an effect that could have been predicted before the opening credits ended.

"Inspector Gadget 2" has not seen the best reviews, nor will it get a good one from me - it tried, but ultimately it failed. There was no purpose to create this erroneous sequel. Disney was hoping to cash in on the Broderick fan base, the younger generation that knows no better , or just to make some extra dollars to pad their bottom line, but there was no reason to resurrect this already problematic series. I hated Elaine Hendrix's mesh between "Robocop" and "Judge Dredd". She was funny at parts that were not meant to be funny, and chokingly bad at parts that were meant to draw sympathy from the audience. Perhaps it was the writing, or the campy way that it was filmed, or the cheesy ploy to get audiences to laugh, but this sequel just left me out to dry. If I had to speak positively about this film in any way, I would have to comment on the CGI which did improve a bit with this lower-budget film. I thought the idea of "freezing-time" was a fun concept equal to what Claw would do, but again, we seemed to lack the spunk and originality of the cartoon. I would never consider this franchise a remake of the cartoon, but instead their own unoriginal spin-off.

I blame Disney a bit for this film because cutting corners and cost is not an excuse for making poor films. If Broderick or even the horrid Everett could not reprise their roles for this sequel, it should have just stopped there. Don't push a circular peg into a square hole, but instead we continued to push and found cheap replacements for the original. This is a very kid friendly moment that if I were 3, would probably find visually entertaining, but from a company that prides itself on making Oscar-worthy animation, I expect a higher level of distrobution. French Stewart should stop working while he still is remembered for his humorous work on "Third Rock from the Sun", while the rest of this cast shouldn't even bother with another feature. I think it is bad enough that they couldn't even get Cheri Oteri back, cause, you know, she's expensive.

Overall, I have to say that "Inspector Gadget 2" is a blunderment of a film, and the one star review that I am giving it is generous. There is no need for these types of films to enter into mainstream cinema. It dulls the senses for those hoping to find engrossing cinema out there, and proves that a mind isn't necessary to watch French in action. As a cinematic community, we have to put a stop to this. Zamm attempted to retain some of the originality of the cartoon, but couldn't compile a cast good enough to bring the humor, form, grace, and talent of the animated series to light. There was no chemistry between anyone, and when the clichés began to cause a horrid avalanche, I was caught with nowhere to hide. As I attempt to think of another film that likens to how poor this film was, nothing comes to mind. So, with that said, I have restarted. You will see me soon reviewing better films where my mind can be used, instead of trash like this were jell-o sliding on a stick would be more entertaining. If I had to end with a thought in mind, it would be this - Claw never showed his face, this can be learned from watching the pilot "Inspector Gadget" where he had a mustache, so you shouldn't be able to see his face in the films. It is simple. It would be like creating the Smurfs live-action where they were a shade of orange instead of blue. You just don't do it. So, when it comes to this film - just don't do it. You will be happier, and no so bitter like myself.

Grade: * out of ***** October 13, 2007

An Excellent Family Comedy

A very enjoyable family comedy. Sort of like the first inspector movie -- but double the gadgets. Double the gadgets means double the fun. If you put an extra "y" in fun, you know what that spells -- "funny".

It is extra funny. If you are six years old like me, I bet that you will like both inspector gadgets on DVD. I say buy them both.
September 4, 2006

More like the cartoon

I've seen both the first and second Inspector Gadget movies. I was (and still am) a huge fan of the Inspector Gadget cartoon show (one of my all time favorites, actually), so I was really looking forward to when the first one came out. I was sorely disappointed in it. I found this one to be better. Here are some of my reasons:

1. My favorite character from the cartoon is Penny. I'm glad to see she got more screen time in this movie than in the first one.

2. I found French Stewart's Gadget to be more of a bumbling doofus than Matthew Broderick. Stewart's Gadget, to me, was a lot more like the Gadget in the original cartoon.

3. The biggest mistake they made in the first one: Dr. Claw. You are NOT SUPPOSED TO SEE HIS FACE!!!!! Adding an actual claw for a hand is a nice touch, though. Also, in the first one, Rupert Everett was too young to play Claw. I don't know who played him in this one, but the voice was better as well. It was raspier than what Rupert Everett did in the first one.

All in all, I felt this movie was more like the cartoon than the first one. I'm not a fan of live action movies based on cartoons, but I found this to be a good remake. April 20, 2006

what was this?

This movie proves that the 1st should have been the last. It was worse then the 1st movie, it was even worse then the animated inspector gadgets.
I didn't like it but I do like the over all story line of all the inspector gadgets: a man who becomes a robot, but is still a man. he is no where near perfect, he is often blind to what is really going on, even stupid. Yet he ends up saving stuff or people with a lot of help from his niece Penny. And some how he is the hero once again!
Don't Buy this one, buy the first one. February 14, 2006

Do-over of crap

I love everything don adams did from get smart to inspector gadget. Then i watch the first one and it was good( sort of). But i had too much hope for this one because i expected don adams. At the end of the first one he made an apperance as the voice of brain. So i rented this to see what they continued and what i got was THIS! Pete jr from the goofy cartoon of the ninties is brain, french stewart is gadget,he falls in love with an android, and now all his faults are caused by a chip, and what happend to the good doctor. The only thing they did right this time around was hide claw's face.
:^( January 31, 2006

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