My quick rating - 6,1/10. I knew going in this was going to be a tough one when following such a brilliant original. I figured that getting Jordan Peele onboard writing was going to help bring us something original to add to the plot. Well, it did but only marginally and to the point it was hardly the focus. Where the racial tones of the first one were apparent this time they seem to be more of the focal point. How they were able to work the Candyman story from the original into this flick though was well done, even if it did alter the story a bit and leave some holes. The Cabrini Green location was fundamental to the first one, and none of that will make much sense if you are not a Chicagoan. This movie seemed to also be a painstaking commercial for the city to point out what they have done with the previously crime-ridden and poorly kept up housing project now that the renovation has been in progress for YEARS. So hopefully you have seen the first to understand that the Candyman is an urban legend that will appear if you say his name 5 times (supposed to be in a mirror, but that part gets some liberties throughout this one). After he has been summoned, well, you can guess what happens. Again, Tony Todd plays the part and is criminally underused throughout this flick. His chilling voice throughout the first led to many of the original greatest and most memorable scenes. In this sequel, I questioned up until the end if that was even him in the movie. The atmosphere really didn't ever grab your attention to lead to any scares as well. This is the point of talking down my rating as I type since I think it through as I go. I did however like how they pulled the lead into the whole story played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II even if it took them a while to get to that. The horror aspects of this to me have toned down a notch. Starting off with a nice first kill to get your attention, it then just falters in following that up. I think if this were a stand-alone flick without following such a modern classic, it would have fallen completely flat. As it is, I was entertained and also did like the few nods to the original that did work for this story, I just really expected more to be done with it since they were smart enough to follow up DIRECTLY with the first one and ignored the sequels that followed it in the '90s. Basically, a decent effort that for me was disappointing. You may not be as entrenched in the location, original story and Clive Barker (who had nothing to do with this one as well) which is a shame. The things that still made this movie enjoyable for me are also the reasons I believe it let me down. Check it out and see what you think. (The popular thing on IMDB is hate, so don't be sheep and watch for yourself)
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