The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2015

Wesley Morris, Grantland: The whole movie is caught somewhere between apology and entitlement. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Second best by a distressingly large margin, "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" is a pointless sequel to an overlong but charming little comedy that was never designed to launch a franchise. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: I can see no real reason for a sequel to the delicious 2011 hit The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. It was perfect the first time around. But the second jog around the track passes the time pleasantly enough. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: For a film conceived without any chance of a sequel in mind, "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" actually lends itself surprisingly well to being extended ... Read more

A.A. Dowd, AV Club: There's something heartening about a franchise headlined by a bunch of 60-or-older stars, none of whom were catchphrase-spouting action heroes in their youth. Read more

Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic: It's asked in the film, "How many new lives can we have?" The answer, it turns, is however many we want. And as long as Dench, Smith, Nighy and Imrie stick around, the same probably is true of "Marigold" movies. Read more

Peter Keough, Boston Globe: Performances from venerable thespians such as Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, and Bill Nighy are nuanced and piquant, but they are stuck in a story with too many moving parts - most of which are worn out from overuse - that never gets anywhere. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel grossed some $46 million, an impressive take for a niche-market release, so here comes the pointless sequel. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: "Second Best" offers little you couldn't write yourself, but it does so with respectable level of craft. The appeal lies in the ensemble playing. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: That's the wonderful thing about great actors -- they can turn gush into gold. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Sure, it has the comfy vibe of the familiar, but it's all in feel-good fun. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: There's a stretched and buffoonish quality to the aptly named "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" that detracts from any sincere sentiment or wisdom the film hopes to impart. Read more

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: It's the kind of movie that provides a perfect answer for when your mother or grandmother calls you up and asks, "What should I go see with the girls after our weekly canasta game?" Read more

Leslie Felperin, Hollywood Reporter: Honestly titled if nothing else, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a sluggish also-ran compared to its predecessor, 2011's retirement-themed comedy-drama The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Read more

Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: The film has only the sheer charm of its cast to get it by, and it says a lot about the actors that they nearly pull it off. Read more

Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News: If the first film felt like snuggling up with a warm blanket, this one is like sipping a comforting cup of warm tea. Read more

Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is exactly that - second best. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: Any film that can't make good use of Nighy, an actor whose shrewd intelligence shines through even in dreck like "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans," is doing something dreadfully wrong. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The same problems as the first film also re-occur, and this time they're a bit more glaring. Read more

Andrew Lapin, NPR: Good on the Marigold team for creating unlikely franchise fare, and for resisting the temptation to coddle the mystique of their "exotic" setting. But any fear of cultural imperialism has been replaced with imperialism of dullness. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Yes, there are good moments from a team of veteran British actors, but overall, this return visit to the 2012 gray-set rom-com is deadly dull. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: The director, John Madden, and the screenwriter, Ol Parker, who created the first film, try to compensate for the new movie's lack of coherence and narrative momentum. But with no real story to tell, only so much can be done. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: All manner of subplots weave their way through the film, which teems with "colorful" characters and saccharine cliches. But, like the first film, it's next to impossible not to find diversion in the company of such stalwarts as Dench and Nighy and Smith. Read more

Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times: I'd love to see a third "Marigold" adventure. Better yet, a "Masterpiece Theater"-type TV series, where we get to spend an hour every week with the regulars at the hotel and various newcomers who stop in. Read more

Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com: Madden's movie is crammed with so many characters that we never spend enough quality time with any of them for their stories to resonate. While the many attempts at poignancy feel forced and false, the effort as a whole feels like it will never end. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: When such consummate actors as Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton show up together in a movie, even a sequel as wobbly as this one, you'd be wise to just sit back and behold. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: The storyline of the sequel ends up tying itself in knots, and the addition of a splashy, expensive-looking Bollywood musical number just underlines the lack of perspective. Read more

Thomas Lee, San Francisco Chronicle: The acting of course is first-rate, and the movie mostly preserves the original warmth and wit of the original. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: If news of the sequel made you reminisce about the halcyon days of summer 2012, your hope is rewarded. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Madden has stripped away the socio-economic context from the first film and turned the sequel into some kind of thinly rationed romantic comedy. Read more

Christopher Orr, The Atlantic: Whether or not it succeeds will depend on how individual viewers weigh the movie's narrative flaws against the profound appeal of its stars and setting. For my part, it was a reminder that sometimes second best is good enough. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: A bit like a second linty mint delivered from the depths of your grandmom's cardigan pocket: sweet but, really, no need. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: As with the original, Dench, Smith, Nighy and the rest of the standout senior ensemble cast are a joy to watch and the setting, gorgeously lensed by cinematographer Ben Smithard, will have more than one person staring wistfully at their suitcases ... Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: Coasting is all there is, in the hopes that these charismatic actors can somehow make tandoori chicken salad out of a screenplay full of lazily-constructed conflicts so contrived they'd get booted out of the Two and a Half Men writer's room. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: Silver fox Richard Gere is the magic card up the filmmakers' sleeve for this warm if rambling sequel. Read more

Bruce Kirkland, Toronto Sun: Because I found the original movie so engaging, I enjoyed finding out what has happened, and what is to come, in the lives of these characters. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: A mildly diverting trifle, notable for its stunning setting and some deft performances but crammed with too many forgettable subplots. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice: If the harsh truth is that this follow-up is second best, it's still not half bad. Read more

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture: Chances are, if you liked The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, you'll like the second best one as well. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Sure, it's pat and occasionally patronizing and too adorable by half, but it's also a rare, optimistic portrait of aging that suggests it can be a productive, erotically charged time of life. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Much of this sequel is clumsy, and awfully silly, but consistently shallow it is not. Read more