There was no need for a Zoolander sequel, nor has there ever been a good enough reason for its existence. The original concluded quite neatly: lose ends tied, subplots coming full circle, jokes used to their fullest. Having finally seen Zoolander 2, I can write for certain it is indeed, a number 2 in quality. Zoolander 2 is a classic bad sequel: trying, in all the wrong ways, to recapture the original’s charm and comedy—failing both in a spectacularly disappointing fashion (pun intended). Its comedy is either incredibly unfunny, poorly executed, and/or rehashes the original’s jokes. Consistently recycling jokes from past installments (or other films) is almost always a nail in the coffin for comedy sequels. Has Ben Stiller not seen Airplane II, Men in Black II, and/or The Hangover Part II? What made Zoolander effective was its original material: its zany plot and wacky, unpredictable humor. Zoolander 2 might as well been 100 minutes of Stiller beating a dead horse, because there is no new material here. The main difference is its action/spy setting—a genre that has been parodied so, so many times better in previous comedy films.
Its main plot is convoluted, all over the place, and disorganized by Stiller’s mission to fit as many unnecessary celebrity cameos as possible. The subplots are shallow and pointless in all regards to comedy, drama and/or character development. The one-off Sting joke from the original film is turned into an entire subplot (Zoolander 2 really is Men in Black II all over again, except even worse). None of the characters (old or new) are interesting, funny or likable; Ben Stiller is unfunny, Owen Wilson is unfunny, Will Ferrell is unfunny, and Kyle Mooney’s Don Atari, at this time, holds the spot as most insufferable 2016 film character (though the film at least makes a point to kill him off). Zoolander 2 is an unoriginal, bland and unnecessary sequel that should have never been made. Go watch the original for an actual funny Ben Stiller film with a near-exact premise.