"Crocodile" Dundee II (PG)
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This, of course, is the sequel to "Crocodile" Dundee. It was released in 1988, two years after the first movie. I must have seen it on VHS or something, in the late 80s or early 90s. I'm writing this after watching it again on DVD in 2019. (I happened to watch it the night that I did because earlier that night I had watched an episode of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic in which we met a couple of adventurous ponies, a husband and wife... at least one of whom definitely had an Australian accent. I didn't notice the wife having one, but the husband did... I kind of felt like he might be based to some extent on Steve Irwin. Still, when I was trying to decide what to watch on DVD, I thought of Crocodile Dundee, since I still needed to watch the sequel.) Anyway... this is sort of a cross between a comedy and an action movie, I mean like a typical 80s action movie, but with an Australian twist. Apparently critics did not like it, but I did. And I can't really understand not liking it. I mean, yeah, I get the "novelty" wearing off after the first movie, and this one certainly isn't nearly as iconic. But I still found it amusing and generally entertaining, and the "action" aspect I didn't really find inferior to any other 80s action movie, especially ones that are hybrid comedies. I suppose I'd say this feels kind of like a spoof of such movies, but maybe if critics didn't get that, I could sort of understand their not liking it. Maybe.

Anyway, it begins with Mick out in a boat, and throwing like dynamite or something into the water to catch fish. (That was the one scene from the movie that I remembered before re-watching it.) We soon learn that he's been living in Manhattan with Sue for some time now, but he's finally ready to start looking for work. He accepts a job offer from a guy named Leroy Brown (Charles S. Dutton), who maintains an image of being some sort of criminal, though he actually just sells stationery. Meanwhile, Sue's ex-husband, Bob Tanner (Dennis Boutsikaris) is in Colombia, taking photos of members of a drug cartel. When he captures a murder on film, he runs away and calls the DEA agent he was working for, but instead of sending the pictures to him, he mails them to Sue. Soon thereafter, Bob is killed.

Back in Manhattan, Mick picks up Sue's mail, which contains the film. The cartel's leaders, Luis Rico and Miguel, kidnap Sue, and want Mick to deliver the film in exchange for her. Mick asks Leroy for help in rescuing Sue, and he introduces Mick to a local gang, whom Mick convinces to help him. They succeed in their rather amusing rescue operation, and subsequently Mick takes Sue to Australia, where he believes he'll be able to keep Sue safe. The cartel, of course, still comes after them, even though the film has already been delivered by then to the DEA. So really, the only thing the Rico could be after at that point is revenge. They take Wally hostage to help them track Mick and Sue, but eventually Mick rescues him from the gangsters. And... I guess that's all I want to say about the plot. But I really do think it was a reasonably fun movie.