REVIEW: 'Sione's 2: Unfinished Business'

Sequel to the awesome Sione's Wedding (2006), picking up five years later with the Duckrockers dealing with marriage, parenthood, money and a missing Bolo (David Fane). Now playing nationwide, click for movie times and trailer.
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When it was released six years ago, Sione's Wedding didn’t quite make the economic or cultural impact expected. One school of thought blames piracy for the former, but the latter is more readily explained by the film doing merely an average job at charting overly familiar comedic territory (albeit with a Polynesian Auckland twist). So what’s this ‘Unfinished Business’ referred to in the title of its sequel then? Upon seeing Sione's 2, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that they’re talking about box office, rather than funny business.

With the characters already established from the first film, there’s little that Sione's 2 needs to do but jump straight into the story and get the jokes flowing but, like its predecessor, the film applies the blueprint of mainstream Hollywood. When the strength of your cast lies in its comedy potential, this is what needs the most screen time, rather than dramatic elements that have predictable twists and turns. Better to have the most perfunctory narrative than the laboured effort that shows up here and focus on the gags.

Laughs don’t come often enough though, and when the film’s focus moves away from the well-depicted humorous chemistry shared by its leads, it struggles to work. This sequel underachieves when you look at what the contributors should collectively be capable of.

• Watch trailer for Sione's 2: Unfinished Business
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