Horrible Bosses 2 2014

Critics score:
35 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Duct tape, thick rope and the threat of being shot all figure prominently in "Horrible Bosses 2." All would have been required to keep me in my seat if it weren't my job to report back on this factory-issued sequel. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Lots of gags fly by, many of them in questionable taste (some downright offensive) and most of them unfunny. Read more

Daniel D'Addario, TIME Magazine: Horrible Bosses 2 has ditched its predecessor's universality, but kept its amiable good will. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: Inane and incredibly tasteless ... Read more

Jesse Hassenger, AV Club: The laughs don't linger, even within individual scenes. What remains, reinforced by a set of end-credit outtakes, is the sense that Sudeikis, Day, Bateman, and Pine had a really good time making a sort of okay movie. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Every now and then a laugh breaks through the thick cover of mediocrity. But for the most part, it all falls flat. Read more

Tom Russo, Boston Globe: A new misadventure whose negligibly refined formula somehow ends up being more consistently entertaining. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: This is the sort of slapdash comedy in which characters get smarter or stupider from one scene to the next, depending on the script demands. Read more

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: It's the small, tossed-off moments-Bateman's deadpan mugging, Day's frenzied cluelessness, and Sudeikis' smarmy one-liners-that land the best. Read more

Justin Lowe, Hollywood Reporter: The jokes start growing stale well before the film's midpoint. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: Make no mistake, despite some well-earned laughs, "Horrible Bosses 2" is not what qualifies as a good movie or even a particularly good R-rated comedy. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: Cruder, dumber and far less funny than the original, which is saying something. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: This is strictly a by-the-numbers, squeeze-out-some-more-money sequel. And the worst thing is, the stars here didn't need any horrible bosses to drive them to do it. They did that all by themselves. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Bateman has never been funnier on film, because the zingers he launches are bounced off of the oafish Sudeikis and the ferrety Day. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: "Horrible Bosses 2," one of the sloppiest and most unnecessary Hollywood sequels ever made, isn't dirtier or more offensive than its 2011 forerunner. But it is infinitely dumber and not half as funny. Read more

David Hiltbrand, Philadelphia Inquirer: The Horrible Bosses comedy franchise is like a recipe full of ingredients that you'd think would go well together. But the taste ends up being off anyway. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Horrible Bosses 2 (emphasis on "horrible") is an apt title for this repugnant, unnecessary sequel. Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: 'Horrible Bosses 2' is so lazy it's not even about horrible bosses. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Horrible Bosses 2 is harsh and tasteless, not to mention broad and shameless, but that's not a bad thing in this case. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Three years after its nauseating - yet popular - original installment, "Horrible Bosses 2" reunites the cast members in a juvenile, generic and outrageously funny sequel. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Horrible Bosses 2" is further proof that likable actors have to take an occasional sick day. Read more

Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail: The follow-up's improbable story involves kidnapping -- 9 to 5, anyone? -- but the worst ransom will be paid by the bilked popcorn munchers who have to sit through this inane bungle of a budding cinematic franchise. Read more

Jake Coyle, Associated Press: Horrible Bosses 2 goes for whatever cheap, vulgar gags it can collide into. Most unfortunate is the sex-crazed debasement of Aniston, who lights up the movie but suffers some of its lowest jokes. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Director Sean Anders and his three co-writers go out of their way to up the profanity, vulgarity and absurdity of the first film, falling into the classic sequel trap of attempting to dirty-up and double-down on every laugh. Read more

Dan Callahan, TheWrap: Puerile, ugly and painfully unfunny. Read more

Trevor Johnston, Time Out: Another convoluted tale of criminal bumbling. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: This ill-conceived sequel to 2011's entertaining Horrible Bosses is base, moronic, insulting and vulgar. It's also cringingly unfunny. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice: Not every joke hits its mark; maybe only even half of them hit. But the picture skips along briskly, thanks in part to its nimble editing. Read more

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture: It's not really about bosses or office politics. Its only allegiance seems to be to the law of the sequel: It puts the same characters into a vaguely familiar situation, with diminishing, tepid returns. They should have just called it 2. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Even at its lamest and most entitled, this sequel will most likely please fans of the first installment, chiefly because Bateman, Sudeikis and Day are, admittedly, often very funny together. Read more