The One Thing SMILE 2 Got Right - And Everything It Didn’t

[@lightningmonky7674]

I love your honesty here, while I did think it was a fun movie, it wasn't nearly as impactful as part 1, which just felt more "artistic" I suppose

[@filmyourdarlings]

Hey, thanks for the comment. I thought the movie was super fun, actually. I probably should have emphasized that a little more. I hope part 3 is a bigger departure.

[@IonTheContaminator]

I personally liked both films, but I do agree that this film copies the first too much. -Both have the protagonist embarrass herself in a social gathering, get jumpscared by the entity, and someone falls through a table. -Both have a hardcut to a previous victim's death involving a disfigured mouth. -Both have the protagonist answer the phone and realize the person with them is the entity and the real person is on the line. -Both have a jumpscare in bed involving a car horn noise. -Both have the protagonist argue with her mom only for it to be the entity. Etc etc. However, I think Smile 2 is a better film than the first objectively. It just derives too much from the first, which already derived from other films like The Ring or It Follows. It suffers from the law of diminishing returns.

[@filmyourdarlings]

Yes, definitely suffers from the law of diminishing returns. And reading your list here, the amount to which part 2 rips from the first one is pretty wild.

[@VIRGOLEGACY]

While not a hardcore fan of the original going into this one I must say it was more entertaining than the original and yes I was already a Naomi Scott fan and she definitely saves the movie

[@filmyourdarlings]

This movie made me a Naomi Scott fan. Now I have to watch everything else she's done!

[@DannyKnightblade45]

I kinda found Smile 2 to be frustrating because of all the numerous scenes that turned out to just be hallucinations. A movie can't keep on doing that "it was all a dream"- type scenarios too often with me because it starts to seem as if almost everything i'm watching doesn't really matter, and the entity can do virtually anything so there's virtually no way for the protagonist to win. Naomi Scott's performance was so strong, though, that she still made the movie worth watching for me.

[@filmyourdarlings]

@@DannyKnightblade45 yes I agree with everything you wrote here. Like, after the third fake out I just stopped caring. Scott is great, though!

[@DannyKnightblade45]

@filmyourdarlings Yes, she had to act, sing and do choreographed dance scenes. She's multi talented.

[@jeanniemoody3932]

I agree with you on your Smile 2 take, but Smile was a great horror film. Enjoyed your insights though.

[@filmyourdarlings]

pos ok

[@shaddixthedoodleguy]

I loved both of the movies, but other people have different opinions on it. I am rooting for a 3 movie about a football player or a president and they would off themselves on TV with everyone watching

[@filmyourdarlings]

@@shaddixthedoodleguy A sequel in the world of sports would make for some pretty great horror scenes

[@aseedwithoutsoil]

I believe they focused too much on one character unlike the first film. There were many more scare sequences because more were affected. No spoiler here 😅

[@filmyourdarlings]

True. While I loved the lead performance here, this could have benefited from spreading the haunting around.