In 2004, the movie “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy†launched the careers of several comedic actors and became a box office hit. The much-hyped sequel, “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues†had tough footsteps to live up to and a legacy to follow. Did it live up to the hype?
The short answer is no, the sequel fails to live up to the over-advertised hype, but it’s still a very funny movie. Focusing on Ron Burgundy’s news team at the core of the movie, the film moves into a new city, New York, a new decade (the 1980s) and a few new cast members (including Kristen Wiig and James Marsden). This all allows for hilarity and wackiness, including a shark attack and the reappearance of the beloved dog Baxter.
“Anchorman 2†is not without its faults. Rather than establishing itself as a fresh new story, it relies a little too heavily on the popularity of the first movie, with many recurring jokes and tired gags.
However, this utilization of callbacks to the previous movie isn’t always a bad thing, as the best part of “Anchorman 2†is arguably its crazy final act. Without spoiling much this callback  is stuffed with cameos, great one-liners, and explosions.
“Anchorman 2,†while not a great movie, is still a very good movie.