Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Nick Danger What seems obvious to me is that this movie was definitely written with the return of the Matthew Lillard "Stevo" character in mind. All the secondary characters from the first movie who returned for this one claim an uncle-type relationship with Ross, the son of Bob, who is the main character in this movie. But none of those guys had particularly close relationships with Bob, or Trish, the mother, in the first movie. The only character who did was Stevo. So yeah, the subtext here is, the movie was written for Lillard but he decided not to do it.My guess is, Lillard wouldn't do it because he read the script, which is...unreliable. I enjoyed the random elements of the first movie. For example, when the character Mark (played by a young Til Schweiger - later Hugo Stiglitz), the independently wealthy European drug dealer, left town and never came back, even though he was one of the more well-developed and interesting characters. I loved that. People actually do sometimes leave town and never come back. James Merendino just gave Mark up to the void. He could have kept him around for the whole movie and thereby kept the door open on all kinds of interesting antics, but he had a real story to tell and Mark's part was over. I like it when a writer's not afraid to leave a good character behind for the sake of the story.No such artistry here. The only character who really gets left behind is Lillith, Ross's first love, who was not developed at all. So when she ended up making out with some other guy in some dark corner of a bar and obviously breaking Ross's little heart, I for one felt nothing, even though this was supposed to be the seminal moment in the movie that sent Ross off on an entirely new path in life. By the way, it's pretty obvious that at some point in his real life, Merendino had a girlfriend and caught her making out with another guy, because the same scene happened to Stevo in the first movie. Does this happen that often in reality?Also missing from this movie was any kind of counterpoint to the youthful rebellion that is punk. Christopher McDonald as Stevo's father in the first movie was a vital (not to mention hilarious) representation of the kind of vapid, money-motivated society that punk kids want no part of. But what are the kids rebelling against here? There's one nonsensical scene in which the female lead Penny runs into her father at a gas station and he slugs her in the nose for drinking and carousing. But how the hell did that happen? They were taking back roads all over Utah and they just happened to pull up at a gas station where her redneck father was getting gas? Very contrived. There were a lot of parts of this movie that were obviously contrived, which is, again, disappointing.Still, I enjoyed the movie for nostalgia's sake. It was good to see Bob narrating from the afterlife. Unfortunately it kept reminding me that the first movie contained some real substance. I actually cried when Bob died in the first one.Overall, I'd recommend it for people who loved the first SLC Punk. I can't imagine, though, the boredom that would probably be felt by someone viewing this movie as a stand-alone comedy-drama, with no frame of reference from the original. It really isn't even in the same category. The original SLC Punk was a very insightful commentary on the conflict between youthful idealism and the reality of transitioning to adulthood. This movie? Just a road trip to nowhere.I'm giving it 5 stars. I don't want to encourage or discourage anyone about seeing it. Those who saw the first one won't need any encouragement, and those who didn't should probably stay away.

Jace Bitton SLC Punk is a great coming of age movie focused on after college life, through the eyes of modern day rebels. This movie is focused on parenthood punks and high school punks, it does the original movie justice. Cinematography and editing are off different from original, not that classic feel. In any case, really good movie and dialog touches and goes to interesting places. A good sequel for the budget.

stormofwar To be honest, this movie isn't a sequel to the first film in any relatable sense. Some characters appear with the same names as some in the first film, there is some narration that happens, a goth kid goes to a punk show, gets hammered, has a revelation while getting the hell beat out of him, and end show? SLC Punk! was a surprisingly great film. This one? Not so much. The production values weren't good, the acting was uninspired, and the direction was horrible. The original was one of those films better left on its own. It was like they were pressured to make it at gunpoint and this was the post-mortem product.This is what happens when you try to recapture lightning in a bottle while standing in a half-full kiddy pool.

Hellmant 'PUNK'S DEAD: SLC PUNK 2': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five)A sequel to the 1998 cult classic 'SLC PUNK!'; once again written and directed by James Merendino. Actors Michael A. Goorjian, Devon Sawa, James Duval and Adam Pascal all reprise their roles (from the original film); as Heroin Bob, Sean, John the Mod and Eddie. Matthew Lillard (the star of 'SLC PUNK!') did not agree to return, to his most iconic role. The film also stars Ben Schnetzer, Machine Gun Kelly, Hannah Marks and Sarah Clarke (replacing Annabeth Gish, as Trish). The film tells the story of three outsider rebels, on a road trip to a punk rock show. It's definitely nowhere near as good (or as classic) as the original. The story, this time, revolves around a 19-year-old misfit, named Ross (Schnetzer); the son of Heroine Bob (Goorjian) and Trish (Clarke). Bob died before Ross was born, but he still narrates his story; from beyond the grave. Ross just got dumped by a girl, and has decided to go on a road trip with two punk friends, Penny (Marks) and Crash (Kelly), to a punk rock show. Along the way he does drugs and alcohol, for the very first time, and his mother becomes very concerned; upon hearing about it.The movie is extremely low-budget, and amateurish looking; which is very fitting for a movie about punks, and punk rock music. I admire the message of the film, and a lot of things the filmmakers were trying to say, but I just don't think it came together right (as a whole). The jokes are not funny, and the characters all seem like bad fake stereotypes. In a way, the movie kind of becomes what it's supposed to be fighting against. I respect it's ambition, and effort though; but it definitely doesn't live up to the original. There are some good live performance in it (from the likes of Dwarfs and Screeching Weasel), and the soundtrack is pretty cool though!Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://youtu.be/n2qWxeZ0Tck