Borat 2 Review

The nostalgic components and slapstick satirical humour of comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's character Borat quickly turn sour in Borat 2, the horrendously unfunny sequel to his notable 2006 comedy. Unoriginal political humour, exhausting attempts at shock, and a gratuitous lack of the cleverness that once enriched Cohen's fictional personality combine to make Borat 2 a mostly cringeworthy adventure. Abysmal editing and the film's non-existent structure make the gags and reactions that managed to get spliced together fail notably. There is little throughout Borat 2 that is prominent or remotely as memorable as the first film, resulting in a painfully absurd experience that is a struggle to endure.

Borat 2 joins the Kazakh TV talking head Borat 14 years after the film that made him a star. Once again dispatched to the United States, this time he is coming to bring a present to the White House in the form of a bride to wed.

The obnoxious attempts at stark or ironic political commentary come off as desperate and forced, lacking the critical and sarcastic elements needed to provide innovative takes on topics that have been done to death. Instead, Borat 2 is a monotonous romp that never stops repeating itself. Donald Trump and the recent political climate of the United States has been a constant inspiration for comedies and satires since the election in 2016, but Cohen's perspective on the matter in Borat 2 offers no remarks that haven't already been made.

A level of sympathy should be given to select members of the film, whose reactions and witty responses sometimes save certain scenes. Sacha Baron Cohen has always had a knack at finding the right unsuspecting person to play off of, and while there's a shortage of that compared to his previous works, Borat 2 features moments that prove that can still be the case.

The scattered moments of one-time laughs can never elevate Borat 2 past its pointlessly repetitive and unnecessary narrative. Heavily edited gags and inauthentic moments mar the film to the point of exasperation, failing to become even a shell of Cohen's first endeavour as the fictional Kazakh reporter.

The unoriginal humour and debilitated takes on today's political climate make Sasha Baron Cohen's Borat 2 an immensely vexatious film.

Produced By: Amazon
Runtime: 95 minutes
Rating: R