Super Troopers 2 is a 2018 comedy about a border dispute that arises between the U.S. and Canada, where the Super Troopers are tasked with establishing a Highway Patrol station in the disputed area.
The Broken Lizard gang is back 17 years later with the follow up to their original cult classic, Super Troopers. Unfortunately, Super Troopers 2 fails to recapture the magic of its predecessor, and leaves us with a movie full of flat jokes and lazy one-liners.
After taking over for the Spurbury police sometime ago, we pick up with the Super Troopers in their new roles as construction workers. Following a ride along gone wrong that resulted in the death of Fred Savage, they were fired from the force. With a stroke of luck, they are asked to resume their former roles as highway patrolmen until a border dispute between the United States and Canada is resolved.
In order to transition the Super Troopers peacefully into Canadian territory, they are aided by the mayor of the town, Guy Le Franc (Rob Lowe) as well as the Mountie unit that they’re replacing. Unfortunately, the Mountie’s (who are not thrilled with losing their jobs) greet the Super Troopers with hostility, and prank them by letting a bear into their patrol station.
In retaliation, the Super Troopers kidnap the Mountie’s and leave them naked in the woods. With the Mountie’s temporarily subdued, they disguise themselves as Canadian police and get back to their usual antics and pranks to smear their name. The plan backfires, however, leaving the Super Troopers once again on the brink of joblessness.
Throughout their recent time as highway patrolmen, the Super Troopers had come across multiple stashes of drugs and weapons. They come to the realization that the drug stashes will be much more valuable in America, which means someone has been storing them until the border dispute is over and the territory is officially American. That way they don’t have to worry about smuggling over borders. From here the gang takes it upon themselves to get to the bottom of this drug smuggling, and hopefully save their jobs in the process.
It’s fair to say that most comedies live and die by their writing. That’s not to say acting and directing aren’t important, because they certainly are, but if you have a bad script your movie isn’t going anywhere. That’s the main problem that we run into with Super Troopers 2. My concern going into this movie was that instead of making it because they had a great idea for a sequel, they forced a movie out for reasons unknown. The original Super Troopers balanced its goofy inappropriateness with a certain amount of wit, but in the sequel the wit is nowhere to be found. The script was pieced together with gags that would make a 13 year old laugh, but that doesn’t the spirit of the original.
The main thing that Super Troopers 2 has going for it is the fact that it built such a cult classic with the original. It will have no problem putting out decent opening numbers based strictly on fanboys. It won’t shatter any records, but will easily regain its budget. Having said all this, I will admit it was great to see the gang back on screen together again. Even though I wasn’t a huge fan of the dialogue, there is a natural chemistry and rapport among the Broken Lizard guys that is undeniable. Although I thought they could’ve done a much better job at replicating some of the jokes from the original like “Ramrod” and the “meow” game, just hearing them brought a smile to my face as I reminisced.
I truly wish I had a better review to give, because I wanted to like this movie so much. Unfortunately, Super Troopers was a movie that did not merit a sequel, and it feels slightly tarnished by the fact that they made one. I would recommend re-watching the original, appreciating it for all its greatness, and stopping right there.