Personal opinions on BB2000

[BurtonMercer]

I have been a Blues Brothers fan for as long as I can remember...but unfortunately, I have to say that BB 2000 was one of the worst movies ever made. The music in it was pretty good, but the movie is generally embarrassing and does not remotely come close to the original. And how did Elwood's tough guy/cool appearance from the first movie turn into his dorky/bad Chicago dialect/cheezy persona in BB 2000? (e.g. "I t(h)ink you need a hug!") I just wanted to vent and state my disappointment. Does anyone else feel the same?

[Jakejoliet]

I feel the exact same way. This movie was such a disspointment. The music was great, but the rest was simply no good. I think the problem was the they focused to much on the music in this film and not enough on the story and dialogue. The Russian Mob??? And those militia guys ain't got nothin' on the neo nazi's from the first movie.

Wouldn't you agree?

[boogiebabe]

i must admit..i wasnt going to watch the 2nd movie..knew it would be a dissapointment, a fan for years i have been, thot no no no no, not a sequel....the 1st 1 is a classic & no matter what nothing will ever take it's place.
The music in the 2nd 1 is good sure..story was tho
just not the same.

[Joliet_Jake]

I thought it was okay. Not nearly as good as the original, but, it was okay.
If you think about, Elwwod really had no reason to get the band back together. Except, just to play. No charity, or anything.
I did really enjoy the music. My son likes it too. He has yet to see it, but has the soundtrack.

[jakelwood]

I think the most interessant in bb2000 is the fact that we can see the same places and characters that we had seen 20 years before in the first film.

[Mareiki]

Hi, i`ve never seen blues brothers 2000, because i think watching this movie it can happen that the first movie losts his "coolness". I heard from friends that the second movie is very bad and so i'm afraid of watching it. (sorry for my bad english, i'm german)

[BurtonMercer]

Don't see it. I wish I could take back the times I have watched it. Although, I do own the DVD which seems contradictory... but I own it mostly for the music (and some kinda cool scenes with the Crown Victoria). I would just buy the soundtrack.

[bbcentral]

You can buy the soundtrack from the Blues Brothers Store
It's a great album, full of great Blues legends!

[elwood]

do u count johhny lyne as a blues legend? i think he is cuz he is skillful with a guitar and can sing pretty good too!

[marcboll]

The film was horrible.I just can't understand why they didn't wait james belushi to do the movie together.Even if they can't wait I think that Mack and Elwood would have been enough without introducing a 10 years old blues brothers(I hate that kid).I think the film should have been like this:Elwood get out of jail but time have changed and there is no room for his music so he find a straight job.At work he meets mack, a guy who still believe in soul.They put togheter the band and partecipate a pop music concert with silly teenager singer and they win because blues never die.

[jakeblues36]

I am hoping that there will someday be a 3rd movie that will get it right, and get back to the subversive nature of the original movie. I have been thinking along the lines of either Elwood discovering he has another brother(Jim Belushi), or Elwood is seen as the Cab Calloway character, and has raised a couple of kids as he was raised. That would put a bit of youth back into the movie, with all of the irreverance of the first movie. Still, I would again like to see as many original characters as would want to return, beause I thought that it was a neat idea to re-visit them 20 years later. Oh, and the band has to remain the same(well DUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHH).

[jakeelwood]

I just saw BB2000 today, and, even though I like the original much better, I think this one was pretty good, exept for the fact that Dan Aykroyd doesn't sound anything like he did in the first one, and that they don't really get into the fact on how Jake died. However, the music was good, the car scenes were good, and the action is okay. I give this movie a B-.

[TKvanB]

Kind of off the topic (Disappointment of BB2000)


Speaking of a Blues Brothers 'part 3' , JakeBlues36, there is this:

The John Belushi Estate and Dan Aykroyd
Present:

T H E O F F I C I A L
BLUES BROTHERS REVIVAL



"American icons Jake and Elwood Blues, also known as "The Blues Brothers," are coming home to stay -- back to Sweet Home Chicago in the world premiere musical of The Blues Brothers Revival. Opening in the Windy City and planned as a continuous run, The Blues Brothers Revival will preview April 9 and open on April 20. The musical will capture the spirit of the original Blues Brothers movie and pay homage to Chicago's rich history of blues, gospel and traditional soul music while throwing in Jake and Elwood Blues into the mix. It's where it all started -- its where the Blues Brothers began.

This live stage musical will combine the hits from the original movie as well as the five popular albums put out by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. The musical is presented by the John Belushi Estate, Judy Belushi Pisano and Dan Aykroyd.

Producer/director Victor Pisano, who wrote the musical stage play, will direct the performance, at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, 777 N. Green Street. Established Chicago Blues artists will form the new "Blues Brothers Revival Band" on stage. It is also envisioned that the cast of Gospel singers and other cast members will be from the city of Chicago.

The Blues Brothers Revival is woven around John Belushi's character Jake, who has spent most of the last several years stuck in Purgatory. Elwood and a cast of Gospel characters use whatever musical means possible to get him out and up into the "Kingdom of Heaven." Jake, Elwood and the Cast attempt this musical redemption every performance with the able assistance of the audience. The two Act Musical has a 1970 South Side Chicago set.

The raucous fun will include their encounters with black magic, beautiful blues singers, Chicago cops, as well as an orphanage nun, Mother Immaculata who leads the cast in an Irish step dance. The Band is comprised of street musicians playing classic Blues Brothers songs: Soul Man, She Caught The Katy, Sweet Home Chicago, Shotgun Blues, Rubber Biscuit, Jailhouse Rock to name a few and the show also features the classic hit songs R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Son of a Preacher, Rawhide, Minnie the Moocher and a number of American Gospel classics.

The Chicago Center for the Performing Arts is the city's newest multi-venue entertainment complex in the city's burgeoning River West area, minutes from the Chicago Loop."

Dan Aykroyd was in town a few weeks ago for the opening of the show. (April 20)
AS of today, I haven't spoken with anyone I know who has seen this show. Since it is a theatrical performance, the focus will be on the music, dancing and the story. I do want to go see this.



Back on topic, I can honestly say that I have never seen Blues Brothers 2000. I vividly remember seeing the billboards around town and thinking to myself----"How are they going to make a sequel when Jake is dead?" "Who the heck are the people pictured on that poster?" "Why the heck is there a little kid in a hat and sunglasses?" (Lord, please don't let it be some sort of reincarnation of Jake) And then I learned that the ""story"" (double sarcastic air quotes) was allegedly to take place in Chicago, but absolutely none of it was even filmed in Chicago. That's when I thought to myself that this was some thing that would horribly scar me for life if I ever saw it.
I heard that the music was O.K. though. I'm curious, but apparently not that curious yet.
Reading this thread will reinforce my resolve to steer clear of it . However, I might pick up the sound track.


The stage show, on the other hand, is something I will see.

[Blues_Sister]

Okay, getting back to the topic, I enjoyed the movie but overall it was disappointing.

Elwood is completely different, he actually SMILES for crying out loud, and talks - a lot. Elwood never smiles in the first movie and rarely talks to anyone except Jake. And in this film, he takes Jake's death in his stride. They're brothers, they grew up together, you'd think he'd be depressed! But no, he gets over it easily enough.

Mack can't replace Jake, Cab was alright, but Buster was just too cheesy. The references to the first movie were generally pretty good and I did like the musical mumbers. The big car pile-up was crap, it went on way too long and didn't have the fun of the original car chases.

There were some great moments though, the best being 'GET THAT MOUND OF MOSS!' and when Elwood takes off his shades only to be immediately blinded.

Without John, it couldn't have really worked. But it could have been better than this. And what was with all that voodoo/zombie/magic crap?

[20elwood02]

there are SOME scenes in the first movie in which elwood smiles, for example when jake says "fix the cigarette lighters" or when they perform at the country bunker. but i get your point. it`s right that elwood should not smile very often.

[Ankles]

this is wat iv herd
the new blues mobile can fly and drive underwater. there are now 3 adult blues brothers and a kid, jake died, curtis died (2 reesons i think the moovy shoodnt have been made) most of the band is in it, no ray charles, and theres only one car crash worth metioning.....

shood i watch it, or will i just think that they ruined the blues brothers?

[sonsofsatchmo]

I havn't watched it either and i've been asking myself the same question. reading through the endless support on these pages think that i'll never watch it but perhaps you people might change my mind.

[marcboll]

i think bb2k is maybe the worst movie EVER!!!It's a shame because a good movie could have brought blues brothers to a wide audience.
But you could still want to see it(if you have enough stomach )
to see Mighty Mack singing looking for a fox and, the james Brown
and Junior Wells songs at the end of the movie that are NOT included in the soundtrack CD

[20elwood02]

what do you have to loose? watch the movie! if you don't like it, that's it but that won't spoil the first one for you. although bb2000 is far away from being perfect i like watching it twice a year or so. there is some pretty cool stuff in there, too...

[Blues_Sister]

What I mean is, he has that stoicism about him in the first - rarely talking, rarely smiling - that makes him seem almost robotic. And then he has those rare moments when he breaks out of it and comes out with long speeches like his openings onstage, the '106 miles to Chicago' spiel and stuff. Then there's that wonderful little shot of him grinning during the Rawhide number, I love that - it's such a contrast to his normal self.
But because he's smiling and talking so much in the second it's not a big deal when he comes out of the normal character.
That probably didn't make much sense, I'm sorry. I really love Elwood but I can never explain why.

[Ankles]

some things i think were unrealistic, like the witch lady, the underwater car, and some parets were gay, like busters fake harp playing and the carribian number, but for the most part it was ok...buster probably shoodnt have sang, and jim belushi coodv been much better to the story besides mack and cab, tho i admit, mack is good

[ZeonSoldier]

I agree with "Ankles" above. Otherwise the bb 2000 wasn't all that bad...

[Carrie_Blues]

ive watched both movies i dont know how many times and can realy tell the second one is based on first
sure its missing the with WHY elwood is puting the band back togheter
aso but i think its well worth to watch

[Blues_Sister]

Okay.

I had a particularly boring science lesson today (our teacher is unbelievably dull, in the past she's managed to bore us in lessons about exploding cows) so instead of listening to her explaining how an electromagnet worked I decided to figure out once and for all why the second movie didn't work for me.

I came up with two reasons.

The first is the mistake in the title. It's a simple grammatical error but somehow it made into the final prints of all the posters and whatnot, I can't believe no one else spotted it.

It's got an extra S in it. It's called 'Blues Brothers' when in fact it shouldn't be plural, as there is only one Blues Brother in the movie.

I mean, one proper Blues Brother. Anyone can stick on the suit and shades and dance about but that doesn't reserve you a place in the Bluesmobile. There was just one Blues Brother, no more, and come to think of it that one wasn't brilliant either.

The second; well, I took a long time on this one. I had it in my mind but I couldn't quite put it into words. But I've decided on something I can use as a second reason; it’s kind of a symbol or a metaphor or whatever.

The second reason is Elwood's shirt.

Yes, you’ve read that right. Elwood's shirt. And his jacket buttons.

Don’t worry; I’m not judging Elwood’s fashion sense. I’ll try to explain.

In the first movie, Elwood's shirt is loose and floppy, obviously was white when he bought but now the colour's faded due to frequent use and I can’t imagine he’d buy a new one very often.

In this movie, Elwood's shirt is obviously new, the collar is stiff, it looks like it's been ironed inside and out and the whole thing is the kind of perfect, dazzling white you usually see on Ariel adverts.

And his jacket buttons. At almost every point in the film, they're buttoned up.

In the first movie, his jacket was almost always hanging open so that you could see his wonderful shirt in its full glory.

That's not what Elwood wears. Elwood's cool, cool guys who cause major pile-ups don't wear immaculate clothes. Elwood can come out of collapsed buildings with his hat firmly on and his glasses intact, fair enough, but having a perfect shirt and done up jacket is just wrong. Wrong, unrealistic and just plain out-of-character.

You can ignore that if you choose to. I'm just weird, get used to it. Essentially, the Blues Brother(s) are a watered down version of how they should be.

I'm sure this post hasn't meant anything to anyone, but I personally came out of that Science lesson feeling very enlightened, even if I hadn't learnt a thing about electromagnets.

[Bluto_Ray]

Wow...actually I can't resist responding to a post like that Blues Sister

I agree with you overall about Elwood's character...as seen in the other thread about Elwood on this page. While I do think it's plausible that he would change a little given what has happened to him and all the time that has passed, certain things shouldn't have changed. To me Elwood is more of a follower than a leader. Oh sure it's not like he has no independant thoughts or ideas and never acts on his own. But it seems to me whenever Jake was around, he was happy to let Jake run things. So it's hard for me to buy that he would suddenly take this leadership role in running the band. Besides if you read the book, part of the reason the band broke up was because Elwood couldn't keep them together.

I also agree to a point about Elwood not being stoic enough. That was definately part of his personality and while he may loosen up a bit he shouldn't have to the great extent he did in the second film. Except for one notable exception: that being when he found out that Jake was dead. He took that entirely too well considering how inseperatable they had been.

Now others would disagree with me on this (including you perhaps) but I think that the extras (Cab, Mack, Buster) should have been left out. Yep left out with just Zee in the plot instead. Why? There were two brothers in the first film, and the focal point was on them. I think the same should have remained true in the second film, with the focus on two brothers. Only this time it would have been about resolving their differences.

The chase scenes did get a bit stretched I will admit....I guess Landis wanted to outdo himself there....not a good idea

And yes there was some fun. I personally like the line Elwood tells the Penquin about her having a promotion. But you know even she seems a bit out of character. She is a bit harsh, but I would have thought that she would have been a little more sympathetic to Elwood.

And yes Dan's love of the supernatural got away in this film. He should have been playing Elwood Blues not Ray Stanz.

As for your comment their being one Blues Brother....well I guess you could say that the name also applies to the band...and I would deem them worthy of that.

Your metaphor about the clean shirt and jacket I guess leads me to think that you thought things were more superficial in the second film. If so you are right, sorry if I misunderstood though

By the way I do remember the days of boring teachers...I had one that was a perfect monotone...he was the first and only teacher that made me fall asleep in class.

Whew I'm done