Borat 2 reviews: Sacha Baron Cohen’s sequel hauled as ‘fitfully funny’ and ‘urgently satirical’
The first reviews are in for Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat sequel, and critics appear to be loving it.
Since it was reported that the comedian had secretly filmed a sequel to his hit 2006 mockumentary, the movie has become a huge talking point – and living up to the hype of the first is no mean feat.
The forthcoming film – officially titled Borat Subsequent Movie Film – sees Baron Cohen reprise his role as the buffoonish Kazakh reporter as he returns to America in the run-up to the US election. This time, however, he is accompanied by his 15-year-old daughter Tatur (played by Maria Bakalova).
Reviewers appear to be pleasantly surprised with how well the Borat shtick has aged, with The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey giving it a four-star rating.
Loughrey called it “a jaw-dropping expose of America in the here and now” with “a pay-off that’s worth a lifetime of being subjected to the words ‘very nice!’”
The LA Times’ Justin Chang praised the sequel for being “scattershot, fitfully funny and sometimes weirdly poignant”.
Nicholas Barber, of the BBC, noted the timely release of the film and its overt political agenda as key factors in its success.
“Having been made with a specific political purpose, Subsequent Moviefilm won’t age as well as the previous Borat did,” he said. “But it’s the ripped-from-the-headlines relevance that makes it so fascinating, and it’s the boiling rage at current politics that makes it so bracing. There aren’t many films as urgently satirical as this one.”
Variety’s Peter Debruge wrote that Borat 2 is a “a staggering act of comedic revolt with built-in viral potential".
He added: “Rowdy and relevant, the film is shaping up to be the kind of October surprise capable of sparking laughs, fuelling public discourse and engaging voters as serious-minded messaging can’t.”
A few other publications were less enthralled with the forthcoming film.
In a three-star review, The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw wrote that perhaps the joke is “overstaying its welcome” and speculated whether the sequel may leave Borat fans “wondering if the thrill is gone”.
Borat 2 will be available to stream on Amazon Prime on Friday 23 October.
