Home Alone 2: Lost in New York Movie Review

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)

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Written by: John Hughes (characters), John Hughes
Directed by: Chris Columbus
Starring: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O'Hara, John Heard, Tim Curry, Rob Schneider
Rated: PG
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Plot
One year after Kevin McCallister was left home alone and had to defeat a pair of bumbling burglars, he accidentally finds himself stranded in New York City with the same criminals not far behind.

Verdict
This takes the plot of the first movie and makes every aspect bigger. This movie is sequel-itis manifest. This movie takes the formula of the first movie and changes locations, increasing the production budget. The plot lines are reused and revamped, but the biggest issue I have is the violence. I don't mind violence in movies, but Harry and Marv get hit in the head with bricks and manage to get right up. The violence in this movie is too much. I can't bear imagining something like that actually happening. If you've seen the first movie, you know nearly every beat of this movie. It does a great job of excelling in the ways a sequel should, though it recycles the first movie.
It depends.

Review
Many of the story points are similar to Home Alone, though the violence is a lot more unrealistic and extreme. Kevin is left behind again, this time getting lost in the airport. The plot for this movie is a redux of the first movie and it works. Kevin gets to explore New York and outwit the concierge where he manages to book a suite.

Macualay Culkin plays Kevin.

This movie does everything the first movie does, but bigger. It's a solid blueprint for a sequel. This movie recreates some scenes nearly exactly. A favorite scene from the first one is Kevin using a video to trick a pizza delivery guy. A very similar scene plays out almost exactly in this one.

Kevin befriends a woman in the park, much like the elderly neighbor in the first one. This plot line plays out better, as does Kevin's related plot line helping a toy story owner.

Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern play Harry and Marv.

The one downside to this movie is the violence. I have to look away when Marv gets hit in the head with a brick from a third story roof. He would be dead. In the first movie the injuries were grievous, but there was a possibility Harry and Marv could survive. In this movie, they would certainly die from their injuries. This sequel cranks up every aspect from the first, but the violence didn't need to be more or worse. I don't mind violence, but for a kids movie it's extreme.

Tim Curry plays the Concierge.

I don't find the violence comedic, not in the first one and certainly not in this one. That's the one downside to an otherwise solid sequel, though the script seems to use the first movie as a basis for nearly all the plot points.