Clerks II: Critic Reviews

If you're a fan of Clerks... then you'll probably want to see Clerks II.

What makes Clerks II both winning and (somewhat unexpectedly) moving is its fidelity to the original Clerks ethic of hanging out, talking trash and refusing all worldly ambition.

The laughs are still there.

Kevin Smith has grown up, even if his films haven't. That might explain why Clerks II can't quite decide how old it wants to act.

Clerks II finds Smith up to the profane, raunchy, profoundly humanist mischief of which he alone is the master.

Has Kevin Smith gone soft?

Smith's heart is in it, but it's sort of a broken heart now; Clerks II feels as though it was made by a man who needs a change but isn't permitted to make one.

Though Clerks II is in color, the acting is just as amateurish and the directing just as awkward as the black-and-white original. Dawson gives the only competent performance, and only Becky and the abused donkey are sympathetic characters.

Clerks II is neither the best nor the worst installment in Smith's Jersey-centric 'askewniverse,' but fans will find plenty to feed their obsession.

Clerks II repeats all the charms and flaws of the original with a far less forgivable outcome, since Smith is now in a position to do far better.

OK, Kevin Smith. All is forgiven. Obviously, Jersey Girl was just a silly aberration. You not only have not lost your comedic touch -- you've taken it to new heights.

Clerks II is more sentimental and ruder than its predecessor, though its brand of raunch tends to curdle halfway out of the characters' mouths.

Kevin Smith's sequel to his 1994 indie classic about two aimless New Jersey buddies is as dead-end as their jobs.

Here the storytelling, Smith's great strength, is 90 percent riff and 10 percent theme. Shouldn't the characters be more memorable than the punch lines?

For a guy who will evermore be associated with slackers, Kevin Smith is quite the dynamo.

Clerks II is dumb. Clerks II is brilliant. Clerks II is a rehash. Clerks II is surprisingly fresh. Clerks II will disappoint you at the same time that it keeps you fully entertained.

I don't think Smith could have made a worse movie if he tried, and keep in mind, I've seen Jersey Girl.

Clerks II strikes its deepest chords when it appeals to the emotional security of a passionately provincial status quo.

If Clerks II doesn't have quite the scabrous kick of its predecessor, the chance to revisit a classic premise must have renewed the writer in Smith, whose banter here often achieves a sharpness and quality.

Not that Butch and Sundance (or even Harold and Kumar) are going to sweat their place in the buddy movie hall of fame.

While it's the sadness of the aging geek that resonates most potently throughout Clerks II, the movie itself is far too glib to let anything that bleak get close enough to the surface to bubble over and stain the counter.

For casual fans of writer-director Kevin Smith, his new film, Clerks II, feels a little like the new Pirates of the Caribbean -- a similar wet fizzle of a sequel for sequel's sake -- but what do we know?

Smith, an inherent optimist, has made a movie full of crude humor that also manages to explore the enduring qualities of friendship.

Despite not achieving the level of the original...this is the most amusing comedy to arrive in months.