Kindergarten Cop 2 is a 2016 American comedy film starring Dolph Lundgren and directed by Don Michael Paul. It is a standalone sequel to the 1990 film Kindergarten Cop, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.[1][2] Principal photography in Maple Ridge, Langley, and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada took place for 28 days, from July 27 to August 24, 2015.[3] The school at which the film was produced is Kanaka Elementary. The film was released by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on DVD in the United States on May 17, 2016.[4]
| Kindergarten Cop 2 | |
|---|---|
 Official DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Don Michael Paul |
| Screenplay by | |
| Story by | Murray Salem |
| Based on | |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Kamal Derkaoui |
| Edited by | Vanick Moradian |
| Music by | Jake Monaco |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Universal Pictures Home Entertainment |
Release date |
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Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
editFederal agent Zack Reed and his partner Sanders are pursuing dangerous criminal leader Alexander Zogu who has discovered a copy of the FBI witness protection database. The file has been stored on a USB flash drive by a now-deceased kindergarten teacher.
After Sanders interviews the teacher's students and the staff, no one seems to know where the drive is. So Reed, with a fictitious resumé, applies for the role of teacher to the bereaved class and is easily hired.
The school has a very liberal/modern perspective on teaching and managing children which is, at first, quite awkward to Reed's more straightforward ways. On his first day, Reed struggles to keep the kids' attention and to keep it together. One boy has severe allergies, especially nuts, so mayhem breaks out when they realize that Reed is eating peanut butter. Again he loses control when he gives them chocolate cookies and they bounce off the walls from the sugar.
Although day one is rough, Reed insists he will persevere without Sanders' help. He uses an air horn to command obedience, but the principal gives him one strike. This motivates Reed to apologize and ask for some assistance from Sanders (father of five), Reed learns to lead the class in a more relational and emotionally-aware way.
Another teacher in kindergarten, Olivia, is an attractive single woman. When she catches him in her office snooping for the thumb drive, Reed asks her out on a date and they begin to connect romantically.
Reed and Olivia's classes compete in a capture the flag competition and his class win for the first time. As his students explain that the other kids' are larger, he gives them a trojan horse strategy.
The criminal leader, Zogu, captures the FBI surveillance van and discovers the crucial role of the children. In the meantime Reed reveals his cover to the principal, telling her about Zogu and the importance of locking down the school.
Zogu finds the thumb drive with the children on a field trip, but they manage to surprise him with their trojan horse attack strategy. The drive is returned to the FBI and the kids celebrate their victory with their parents.
Cast
edit- Dolph Lundgren as FBI Agent Zack Reed
- Fiona Vroom as Michelle
- Aleks Paunovic as Alexander Zogu
- Andre Tricoteux as Valmir
- Bill Bellamy as Agent Sanders
- Sarah Strange as Miss Sinclaire
- Darla Taylor as Olivia
- Raphael Alejandro as Cowboy
- Enid-Raye Adams as Jett's Mom
- Jody Thompson as Hot Mom
- Rebecca Olson as Katja
- Dean Petriw as Jett
- Jenny Sandersson as Hot Mom
- Carolyn Adair as Felicity
- Nicholas Carella as Bernie the Hot Single Dad
- Michael P. Northey as Hal Pasquale
- Josiah Black as Jason Flaherty
- James Ralph as SWAT Leader
- Abbie Magnuson as Molly
- Tyreah Herbert as Hannah
- Blake Stadel as Mr. Edwards (Molly's Dad)
- Oscar Hartley as Simon
- Matilda Shoichet-Stoll as Sophie
- Valencia Budijanto as Patience
- William Budijanto as Tripp
- Chris Violette as Country Bar Bartender (uncredited)[citation needed]
- Tawny West as Line Dancer (uncredited)
Production
editCasting
editOn June 1, 2015, it was reported that The Garden and Half Past Dead filmmaker Don Michael Paul would be directing the film, and Arnold Schwarzenegger would not be reprising his role as Detective John Kimble. Schwarzenegger announced that his character Detective John Kimble is now officially retired from being a kindergarten teacher and police officer. Schwarzenegger was replaced by Dolph Lundgren as a new character, FBI Agent Zack Reed.
On December 21, 2015, the 25th anniversary of the theatrical release of the original film, the first official photos of Kindergarten Cop 2 were released via About.[5]
Reception
editCritical response
editOn the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 29% of 7 critics' reviews are positive.[6]
Common Sense Media gave the film a score of 2 out of 5, and described it as "FBI man meets cute kids in trite comedy; violence, profanity."[7] Randall Colburn of Consequence of Sound gave it a grade D and wrote: "Kindergarten Cop 2 ultimately resonates as nothing more than a sub-par rendition of its predecessor. The script is bad, the direction is uninspired, the villain is boring, and Lundgren can't navigate that space between comedy and action like Arnie can."[8]
References
edit- ^ Orange, B. Alan. "First Look at Dolph Lundgren in Kindergarten Cop 2", MovieWeb, published August 13, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
- ^ Williams, Owen. "Dolph Lundgren Starring In Kindergarten Cop 2", Empire, published August 14, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
- ^ Wolfson, Rebecca. "From Universal 1440 Entertainment: Kindergarten Cop 2", PR Newswire, published August 17, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
- ^ Loiaconi, Stephen. "Kindergarten Cop 2 is coming soon. You have been warned." Archived 2016-02-17 at the Wayback Machine, WICS, published February 16, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- ^ McKittrick, Christopher. "Official Photos from Kindergarten Cop 2 Starring Dolph Lundgren" Archived 2016-01-25 at the Wayback Machine, The About Group, published December 21, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ^ "Kindergarten Cop 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media.
- ^ "Kindergarten Cop 2 - Movie Review". Common Sense Media. 2016-05-15. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
- ^ Randall Colburn (18 May 2016). "Film Review: Kindergarten Cop 2". Consequence of Sound.
