Good Burger 2 is the largely-anticipated sequel to the smash hit to, that’s right, the first Good Burger that premiered in 1997. Kel Mitchell & Kenan Thompson reunite with a large ensemble of supporting cast & cameos. The film is directed by Phil Traill, who’s biggest film, at least in my recollection is 2009’s What About Steve, which was not good by any means. But it didn’t really matter who directed this though. The duo that started it all was back, and fans of the first will surely enjoy this. Others may not get much out of it.

I’ll be completely honest: I only watched the first recently this year when the trailer for the new one came out. While I fit into the millennial generation, I never got into this, frankly due to the fact that I didn’t really watch a whole lot of Nickelodeon. Plus, the humor didn’t make much sense to me at the time, so I never got the appeal. Since the sequel appeared to be a monumental event, I gave it a go. I truly can see the appeal with the first one. It’s goofy and the cast elevate it to make it even more entertaining; however, I found it to be okay. Yes, it doesn’t age well, but the film is simply not for me. Plain & simple. Neither bad nor great. After watching the sequel, I still feel the same.

Good Burger 2 is, perhaps, not the best movie to critique. The people behind these films aren’t looking for a critically-acclaimed movie. I decided to review this, because I am in the process of moving. I asked my film community on Instagram if they wanted a review of an older movie or a newer movie hitting streaming. Newer movie on streaming won by one vote, so here we are. Since this film was the latest one I saw on streaming, it was still fresh in my memory. While I can see fans thoroughly enjoying this, the fact that its really just a carbon copy of the first makes me feel like this has been done way too many times in recent memory that audiences are starting to get a bit burned out by it. Plus, the movie does have a solid premise in its first half, versus its second half, which got lazy due to it trying to tie itself to the first one too much.

What I did like about it is, of course, the humor. That’s something that I liked about the first one. While Mitchell & Thompson are great together, it’s really Mitchell that is the standout with his goofy & sarcastic humor. I also found the setup in the first half to be mostly interesting, even if the characters are essentially at the beginning of where they were in the first one. The cameos are not only great, but actually surprising. I don’t want to give anything way, but there was one scene at a restaurant involving a comedian that does impressions. I completely forgot that he was in it. It’s little moments like that that keep the film on its toes and make it extremely entertaining.

The second half feels unnecessary. They do this reveal that ties it to the first in a big way, but it’s not needed. If anything, it comes off unoriginal & lazy. With talks of more on the way, I really hope they make the plot more original only to put Mitchell & Thompson in an exciting direction. I also was not a fan of Thompson’s characterization. His motives are evil in the beginning, then suddenly him & Mitchell are okay with one another. I know to not take these realistically, but it feels uncalled for and only shows that it is a remake of the first. While I enjoyed the cameos, they can be a bit much at times. Between the nostalgia bait based on how much is copied from the first and with the cameos, there’s not much else to see.

Overall, Good Burger 2 is everything that fans of the first will want. Newcomers might be more interested in its super-sized cast and cameos. If they make more movies, I will be sure to check it out, only because other people will probably be talking about it. If it wasn’t for the popularity, I still wouldn’t find the appeal. There are things that land in this film, but it’s truly just a copy and paste of the first. Do I regret seeing this? Not at all. Fans of the first will surely enjoy it, but that’s about it.

VERDICT: Okay