"Major League 2" is on the Short List of Worst Sequels Ever Made

About a month ago I decided to revisit one of my favorite movies when I was a kid, "Major League". It holds up. It is still as funny and biting and cool as I remember. It makes me laugh harder than some modern comedies. I also find myself as intrigued by the ending as the first time I saw the movie. I know what the outcome is going to be, but I still get nervous. So, due to my OCD and other issues, I have decided to rewatch all three "Major League" movies. I like to finish what I start.

The other day I turned on "Major League 2". It is streaming on Netflix and I had some laundry to fold. It was an easy choice. I remember the movie not being that good, but hey, it is an old sports movie so I figured I'd enjoy myself. Well, I finished it this morning, it has been raining all damn day here, and this is a bad, bad movie. There is really nothing that is redeeming or good about it. I was trying to find something, anything that would bring me back to thinking it may be okay. Tom Berenger is okay in this movie. He is still moving along like the original Jake Taylor. But, the bite from the first movie is gone. He is old, a has been now. He has settled down. He is a coach. He isn't the same guy we all grew to love in the first movie. Charlie Sheen cannot handle the role of trying to be the good guy millionaire that is trying to leave his old life behind. He is dull in this movie. He is boring. He is not funny. There aren't any jokes like he was popping off in the first movie. They completely recast Willie Mays Hayes. Wesley Snipes is gone. Omar Epps takes over. Epps is fine, but they never address the fact that it is a totally new actor playing a beloved character from the first movie. I think the writers just figured we wouldn't notice. That is a spit in the face to the viewer. I found this to be the most annoying part of watching this sequel. They totally changed Dennis Haysbert's Pedro Cerrano. He is a buddhist now, which I'm cool with, but what made him so great in the first movie is gone here. He was a silent homerun hitter who would curse out Joboo in the first movie. Now he is saving birds when he hits them with a ball. It is a bizarre, unnecessary change. Corbin Bernsen's character is relegated to owner, which is fitting, but he is annoying and flat out stupid in this movie. I do think Rachel Phelps, the old owner, knows what type of movie this is supposed to be, and she is okay in her very minimal role. And Bob Uecker is always electric. He is wonderful as the announcer. He always delivers. They bring on a few new characters, but they add nothing. Rube has a good joke in a minor monologue, but he is so dumb and so oblivious to the real world that it is hard to watch his performance. The "bad guy", Jack something or another, is a cliche dickhead of a baseball player. You hate him from the moment he steps on screen. He has none of the charisma that Clue Haywood had in the first movie. Randy Quaid's crazy ass is in this movie. He is dreadful and we all should have known that he wasn't all there just by watching him put on an abysmal show in this movie. And I cannot go without mentioning Tanaka. This is a very, very offensive portrayal of an Asian baseball player. I understand that work is work, and I'm sure he got paid well for this movie, but it is really tough to watch on screen. I don't get how some writers got away with this.

This is such a disappointing sequel to what I consider to be a classic. This is case and point for why some things are left at one. Certain movies and tv shows don't need sequels or prequels. It is fine to just leave some stuff in one version. I know that the third version of this series is even worse, but I'm still going to watch it. From what I remember there is a young Walton Goggins in the third movie. But man oh man is "Major League 2" a terrible, horrible, not nearly as fun sequel to the incredible "Major League". 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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