[.ca] Inspector Gadget: 2 Gadget Meets His Match

From Amazon.com:
A live-action Inspector Gadget is back, this time with higher tech gadgets and more special effects. French Stewart (TV's Third Rock from the Sun) replaces Matthew Broderick as the bumbling detective in a plot that revolves around the glitch-ridden Gadget's replacement by a completely robotized female. Parent Trap's Elaine Hendrix does what little she can with the one-dimensional role of "G2." Still, Gadget falls for his rival and the pair team up with his smart-as-a-whip niece Penny and her brainy beagle for a showdown with Claw. Where Broderick struggled to humanize the caricature of an inept detective in the 1999 original, Stewart doesn't even try. Instead he plays Gadget as a cartoon, with endless mugging and over-the-top theatrics. The enhanced special effects may placate young viewers, but without the comedy of the original, that's small comfort. The best thing about this movie? It's rated G and, thus, harmless. (Ages 4 to 10) --Kimberly Heinrichs

not bad,but not as good as the original:
in many ways,i thought this movie was not as good as the 1st.yes,it is truer to the animated show in many respects.in fact,id say it is too true to the cartoon.in this case,the cartoon does not translate too well into live action.in the 1st,they veered away from the cartoon quite a bit and that worked for me.in this movie, "Dr Claw" seemed way too over the top and not in a good way.the character sounded more stupid than anything.i think they tried too hard to make him seem evil and instead made him a caricature.the henchmen were dimwitted,just like the cartoon,but that seemed to work in this movie.most of the humour is of the type that young kids would find funny,but most adults probably wouldn't.as for the title character,i found he was was too idiotic(it worked in the cartoon,but not here),at 1st,but after awhile he became somewhat endearing.there are few things a liked about the movie.i liked the fact that Penny had a bigger role to play,and i also liked the fact that Gadget had some competition/decent romantic interest.overall,though,i didn't think this movie measured up to the original,though it had its moments.for me "Inspector Gadget 2" is a 3/5

harmless fun:
A straight to video live-action movie based on a cartoon? It sounds like a forgettable idea, but "Inspector Gadget" is actually masterful for its harmlessness - no gadgets or people were harmed in this flick. Here, the glitch-ridden Gadget inexplicably manages to keep Riverton so safe, that he's got nothing to do. With the evil Dr. Claw behind bars, Gadget is stuck pulling over speeders - including one who (of course) turns out to be Chief Quimby's mom. When Claw escapes - leaving hints that he's got a big job planned - Gadget goes on the case. Unfortunately, the Chief gives the job to Gadget's replacement - an all-woman, all-robot enforcer called "G2". For Gadget, it's love at first scan, but G2 has no interest. Gadget manages to only get in the way while Claw grows ever nearer to his goal of robbing the federal gold supply locked away in Riverton. If it's not a laugh a minute, it's still fun for your kids, and it won't put you to sleep either. The FX aren't quite cutting edge, but they're not horrible either. In short, "Gadget 2" looks like it was more fun to make than to watch, but still fun to watch anyway.

Oh, the humanity... er, cyborgity!:
A little known tidbit about the history of Philadelphia: Channel 48, once known under the call letters WKBS, liquidated their assets in 1983 due to increasing problems with their transmitter lease. The station signed off on August 29 -- but not before going out with a bang. Using the last of their resources, their final half-hour was used to broadcast the first episode of a never-before-seen cartoon, one that would serve to change, in it's own small way, the cultural landscape of America. That cartoon was Inspector Gadget. (Incidentally, a Google search of the program's airdates lists the earliest known broadcast of the series as September 5, 1983. Channel 48 may not have bothered to log it's final program to the FCC -- but trust me, I was there. They had it first.) The continuing adventures of the bumbling cybernetic detective hold a special place in my heart because of this strange and fateful day. Channel 48 was a beloved station -- for many of my school years they broadcast Pink Panther for two hours every day(!) as well as such wonderous cult 'toons as Tenessee Tuxedo. It was a crushing blow to my young heart to bid farewell to that old, treasured friend, but their maverick decision to end with the very first broadcast of Gadget was an fond, fitting tribute. I watched Gadget on Channel 17, who picked it up the following year, religiously. Often I would rush home from school, determined not to miss the antics of the robotic constable, the case-cracking skills of his behind-the-scenes niece Penny and her dog Brain, and the sinister growl of the menacing Doctor Claw: "I'LL GET YOU NEXT TIME, GADGET!" So it was with a deep and abiding love that, when I spotted this film on the used DVD rack at my local record shop, I gladly forked over the twelve bucks to revisit my childhood one last time. But instead, I ended up feeling like my inner child had been spanked and sent to bed without dinner. Dear Lord, this movie is terrible. Really, truly, terrible. Not a single redeeming quality about it. French Stewart may be the worst comedic actor known to humanity, accurately desribed by a friend of mine as "Like Kramer from Seinfeld, except not funny" -- I honestly think Carrot Top would have been a better choice, and I HATE Carrot Top. And though Eliane Hendrix provides that safe Disney level of mildly enticing sex appeal, her patently robotic acting is only barely forgiven by the fact that, well, she's LITERALLY playing a robot. And that incessantly unfunny car! Can we please have a modern comedy which doesn't try to infect some form of satirically cliched, urbanized Chris Rock Lite stupidity into it? Tupac is rolling over in his grave right now! It's terrible. Disney has once again ruined the beloved characters of literary history, as they did with Hercules, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and the Little Mermaid. Maybe I'm reaching a little there by putting Gadget in such notable, royal company, but if in my passion I take such liberties, I beg you all to forgive me my indulgence -- certainly it's not nearly as insulting as the liberty that Eisner and company have taken in turning our favorite stories into Technicolored tripe.

INSPECTOR GADGET 2:
My family and I watched the first Gadget and really liked it. We thought the second one was extremely painful to watch. We give it a definitive thumbs DOWN!

DISNEY'S WORST SEQUEL YET:
When none of the original actors return to make a sequel except the voice of a talking car, you know something has to be wrong with the script. In this case, you'd be correct. French Stewart does not have the same boyish charm of Matthew Broderick in the original and the highly vaunted special effects are nothing more than pure cheese. The original had tremendous holes and seemed to be rather careless with plot and character development, but compared to its sequel it is nearly in the neighborhood with the Godfather and Casablanca.