Blues Brothers 2000

As befits a comedy monolith based around a loose series of old Saturday Night Live skits, Blues Brothers 2000 is essentially a series of flamboyant comedy and musical set-pieces, some of which soar and some of which merely twitch, but all of which are infused with a ceaseless beat-your-head-in comic sturm und drang; if one gag doesn't do it for you, surely the next one will. Read full review

Despite the cries of "sacrilege" by some Blues Brothers and Saturday Night Live (where the Belushi/Aykroyd act started) die-hards, Blues Brothers 2000 represents a respectable follow-up to a uniquely American classic. Read full review

The best way to characterize "The Blues Brothers 2000" is as a fabulous concert film with incredibly bad patter between the songs. If you ignore the silly plot that links the extravaganzas together, you'll have a great time. Read full review

Blues Brothers 2000 doesn't tell much of a story, but it makes for one smokin' concert. [06 Feb 1998]

Above all else, Blues Brothers 2000 becomes an immensely appealing musical romp after the introductions are complete. [06 Feb 1998, p.8]

Though it suffers from the late John Belushi's absence, John Landis's deliberately corny "Blues Brothers 2000" is a decent sequel to his cult comedy of 1980. [06 Feb 1998, p.L24]

If you like movies with plots, skip this review. If you like movies with realistic characters, ditto. But if all you want in a picture is a few smiles and two hours of toe-tapping music, Blues Brothers 2000 is a potlatch of blues, bluegrass, country, gospel and soul, a celebration of the awesome diversity - and uplift - of American music. [06 Feb 1998, p.03]

The foot-stomping, hand-clapping, ear-electrifying soundtrack, courtesy of such pros as B.B. King and Eric Clapton plus newcomers like Erykah Badu, in Blues Brothers 2000 (# # 1/2 out of four) rectifies many a movie-making sin in this near-Xerox sequel to the 1980 Saturday Night Live-spun hit starring Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi. [06 Feb 1998]

The movie only really comes alive when the music plays and people sing and dance. Read full review

Even if the Blues Brothers routine is a joke that has gone on too long, the music in Blues Brothers 2000 turns at least some of the film into an encore worth hearing. [06 Feb 1998, p.20]

The film is lame comedy surrounded by high-energy blues (and some pop, rock and country music). Read full review

There's some terrific music in "Blues Brothers 2000," but you have to sit through a lot of tedious overkill to hear it. [06 Feb 1998, p.F5]

Things pick up a bit toward the end, abetted by a string of relatively energetic musical numbers, but they can only partially redeem a film that's as pointless as it is perfunctory. Read full review

Nothing Landis can do makes up for a limp plot bolstered by distinctly Cannonball Run-ish car smashes and an irritating sprog. And the movie's not even out in the year 2000. Read full review

There are funny sight gags strewn throughout, but because so many scenes and confrontations are repeated from the original, there’s a staleness and sense of melancholy to the whole affair. Read full review

This isn't a sequel, it's a remake. Some ingredients have been substituted, but it's the same recipe of R & B and comic overkill. As before, the best thing is the music: Aretha Franklin, Sam Moore, James Brown. The rest is stale, cynical and hamfisted. Read full review

Dan Aykroyd and director John Landis take a bumpy trip down memory lane in "Blues Brothers 2000," a sluggishly paced, fitfully funny followup to their 1980 musical comedy extravaganza. Read full review

Landmark musical performances from countless stars draw attention from a mediocre plot. [20 Feb 1998, p.B2]

A dull, clumsy copy of the original The Blues Brothers, this'll give you the blues, all right. [06 Feb 1998, p.24]

With their white-boy blues grimaces, Aykroyd and Goodman are almost unwatchable.[06 Feb 1998]

There are chase scenes and car pileups. This wasn't fresh in 1980. It hasn't gotten any fresher. Read full review

In the tradition of misbegotten sequels that stagger into theaters long after the original movie's release, this follow-up to 1980's BLUES BROTHERS may find a sympathetic berth with ardent fans. But newbies are warned to stay away, unless they feel compelled to experience endless scenes of pointless buffoonery and crashing cars. Read full review

The Blues Brothers may now just qualify as the most overextended one-joke shtick in history. Read full review