By Geno McGahee
In 1990, Arnold Schwarzenegger was in the huge hit “KINDERGARTEN COP.” The film would make an 80 million dollar profit and prove that Arnie’s game has diversity. So, 26 years later we are back with a sequel with Dolph Lundgren and I can’t think of a better choice for a star. Lundgren was groomed to be the next Schwarzenegger but it never worked out on the level that most thought it would. His high profile films like MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, THE PUNISHER and I COME IN PEACE were not box office hits and Hollywood shifted away from him as a new action star. A successful run in lower budgeted action films along with a role in THE EXPENDABLES franchise has brought him back to the mainstream and now we are here for KINDERGARTEN COP 2.
Reed (Lundgren) is an FBI Agent and he’s ready to bust one of the biggest bad guys in the world, Zogu (Aleks Puanovic). The two meet up at a hotel room and Zogu is ready to kill the agent when the FBI busts in and saves the day. The war has begun and Zogu will be hard to put away considering his power and ability to intimidate witnesses. A USB drive with FBI agent information goes missing; both Zogu and Reed want to recover it, leading to an elementary school and a group of kindergartners that may hold the answer to its location.
Posing as a kindergarten teacher, Reed steps up and gets a culture shock. The world has changed and everything that he knew had to change. There was no more “sitting Indian style.” There was no more putting the kids in the corner. This was a new PC world and he had to become acclimated to it and there was some humor to be found here. Lundgren did a good job struggling with his old ways and trying to incorporate the new methods.
Reed’s partner, Sanders (Bill Belamy), becomes his lifeline. Using an earpiece, Sanders advises his partner through the process, using his experience with his own five children as a basis. The kids begin to warm up to the new teacher, and so does the other kindergarten teacher, Olivia (Darla Taylor). Reed and Olivia begin a romance that includes line dancing, bull riding and eating Twix bars with regularity. I have no doubts that Twix bought some time in this film. Even the bad guy notes that it’s a good candy bar. In the film’s defense, Twix is damn good…although I wish I could find the peanut butter Twix bars easier.
Hal (Michael P. Northey) is not happy with Reed’s new relationship and starts trying to get him fired. Northey does a great job in this role. He is very funny at times and works very well across from Lundgren. At one point, Hal finds a Taser gun in Reed’s briefcase and turns it into the principal. Reed thinks quickly and insists that it belongs to Hal, leading to an accidental shot to the crotch and you can’t go wrong with that. I know it may be considered cheap comedy, but I found it very funny.
Zogu intrudes and leads to a big showdown where Reed must save the day, save the kids, and save his relationship with Olivia. This also gives Hal another chance to shine and he does. A decent battle between Zogu and Reed end this story on a happy note and a great line. “Class is dismissed” notes Reed, another throwback to a time long gone. Sanders comes over and questions him on it and Reed notes that “it sounded cooler in my head.”
KINDERGARTEN COP 2 starts off without much promise. It trudges along, but it starts to find its footing and it gets pretty good all things considered. Lundgren does very good in the role and obviously had a lot of fun with it. Northey was hilarious and Bellamy had great comedic timing too. At one point, he screams “yeah, kill the black guy.” It was very funny. Darla Taylor did a very good job in this as well. She played shy and likable and then showed her tough side.
I should also mention that there was a rather funny scene where Lundgren was being sold off in a bachelor auction and had a guy, Bernie (Nicholas Carella), betting feverishly for a night with him. It was really funny.
Overall, the film, written by David H. Steinberg, works. It’s not going to be comparable to the first but I didn’t expect it to be. This is a good straight to video sort of comedy that had its moments. Some of the kid actors were not very good and the beginning of the film should have been evaluated and changed, but I actually enjoyed it. It was a good family film if you don’t compare it to the original.
Rating: 5.5/10
