Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

"I found a new book which only tells truth. It's called Facebook." Despite its cult status, the first Borat didn't quite get me as excited as many viewers, but I still saw it as an aptly ironic comedy that didn't mince words on any front. The sequel appealed to me in much the same way, though its atmosphere shifted more into the waters of the drama-family genre, but still with an unmistakable ironic-critical tone. Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat is once again insane, making fun of Trump, the coronavirus, Americans, Jews, women, feminists and many others, which he does brilliantly in places, and a little less so in others. Borat 2 is a textbook example of a film for which I can understand any rating! (2020-10-29)

The first half is great: brisk, funny, politically incorrect enough, and original, but then comes the unusually stagnant filler, with the characters just moving around and boring emancipation bullshit that only someone as bold and original as Cohen could get away with. Things get back on track in the last ten minutes, which prove that this film is at its best when it relies on individual clips and gags, which isn’t that good for a feature film threading political and social insight. 65% (2020-10-27)

In some ways, Borat has a much harder time than he did 14 years ago, because what was a marginal excess back then is normcore today. But Sasha can get tough, and even though he recycles essential jokes, they are still great and they still work even in partial improvisation. There are a few instant classics (invasion of the Republican congress, a menstrual dance, a synagogue, a concert and, above all, Rudi's incredible anal sex), and the introduction and conclusion have a wonderful cadence, and Maria Bakalova is a great side-chick, although the finished family storyline is definitely a weakness. For me, Borat remains one of the few completely free forms of satirical commentary on the present, in which the Kazakh redneck, along with a collection of highly misogynistic, anti-Semitic and racist views, acts as a gentle caress of the skin. The world has turned to shit, and people like Cohen protect what is left of common sense. (2020-10-26)

I definitely appreciate about half a dozen of the film’s truly funny and imaginative gags and scenes, but otherwise it's quite weak, especially compared to the excellent, first Borat. Confrontations with "unsuspecting" Americans (who are surprisingly resigned this time around and put up with everything) are unfortunately dull, sometimes giving the impression of artificial staging and especially the desperate need to involve them in a poorly directed, convulsive and unfortunately broken plot about the relationship between a father and his daughter. As long as Cohen is provoking people while wearing bizarre costumes, the film works, but as soon as the scripted actions take place, or if anyone else is on the screen, the film immediately falls off the rails. The film only has sporadic quality satire and is otherwise mostly a relatively standard comedy with borderline humor and plenty of dead spots. (2020-11-02)

The beginning and ending in Kazakhstan are great, but everything in between is rubbish that touches on simmering social issues, but through an unimaginative plot structure and silly, unfunny humor. And it seems that no one even attempted to employ the “hidden camera” effect that made the original Borat great. (2020-10-27)