Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)

“I had to come. It was a sequel. ” – Ramada Rodham Hayman

Number of Times Seen – at least 5 times (Theater in ’93, cable, video, 10 Dec 2006 and 25 Aug 2019)

Brief Synopsis – Topper Harley is once again brought back into the military in order to help rescue hostages taken by Saddam Hussein.

My Take on it – This is another great parody film that manages to capture the essence of war and action films and make so much fun of them.

It may not be as fun as the original film in the series, but it manages to still have some great ideas.

Charlie Sheen is once again cast in the lead, but he feels a bit out of his depth here in the Rambo persona.

The parodies of films in this genre are done really well and one need a vast knowledge of films in the genre to try and catch even half of them along the way.

The supporting cast is once again also quite good, but Lloyd Bridges steals every scene he is in as the President of the United States.

He constantly gives off the Leslie Nielsen vibe and that works quite well.

The story as presented here is a bit too bland and generic but once again, no boy goes to see films like this for the plot.

Rowen Atkinson has a small role with limited screen time yet he still is able to make a huge impact in those short minutes.

Once again, the choice not to limit themselves just tp action and war films works really well and the best ones that appear make fun of Basic Instinct (1992) and Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) which are hilarious to watch.

I’m quite happy that they chose not to make more films in the series, because things were getting a bit thin already.

Bottom Line – Another great parody of action films that isn’t as good as the original, but still has some great ideas. Sheen feels a bit out of his depth in the Rambo persona, but they are able to once again give us something that parodies such a wide variety of war and action films. Bridges once again steals every scene he is in as the President and gives off the Nielsen vibe which works quite well here. Th story once again is a bit bland but that isn’t really why people will go to see this film. Atkinson has very limited screen time, yet also manages to make quite an impact despite this. The choice to parody other genre besides action and war films also pays off here and the best ones are the Basic Instinct (1992) and Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) parodies that are hilarious to watch. Quite glad that they stopped this series after making this movie because it was already getting a bit thin.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – After U.S. President Benson hits four other former presidents with his shovel, ex-President Gerald Ford falls down of his own accord. Ford acquired a public reputation for clumsiness after a fall on the stairs of Air Force One, the presidential aircraft. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (7/10)