Kevin James and his Segway are inseparable in Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015)
Certified: PG
Duration: 94 minutes
Directed by: Andy Fickman
Starring: Kevin James, Neal McDonough, Daniella Alonso, David Henrie, Raini Rodriguez, Loni Love, D.B. Woodside, Eduardo Verastegui, Nicholas Turturro, Gary Valentine, Geovanni Gopradi, Vic Dibitetto, Ana Gasteyer
KRS Releasing Ltd

Paul Blart (Kevin James) is the single father of Maya (Raini Rodriguez), who is now a high school senior. She has just received her acceptance letter to the University of California in Los Angeles, meaning she will be leaving the nest, but hesitates to tell her father.

Meanwhile, Paul, who is such a dedicated security cop at a mall in West Orange, New Jersey, is invited to attend a security cop convention in Las Vegas. He invites his daughter to join him.

When there, Paul meets Divina Martinez (Daniella Alonso), a hotel general manager whom he sees as making a pass at him, even though she is dating the hotel’s chief of security, Eduardo Furtillo (Eduardo Verastegui). He looks down on Paul, seeing him as a simpleton.

Maya gets close to Lane (David Henrie), who is a valet at the hotel, and soon discovers that a criminal organisation is at work.

The film’s rhythm is one of silly slapstick combined with a mix of special effects

Vincent Sofel (Neal McDonough) and his gang are planning a heist that involves all the artwork that is owned by the hotel. Vincent and his gang kidnap Maya and Paul enters the scene in order to try to save his daughter and the day.

In 2009 Paul Blart was a low-budget movie, crammed full of silly jokes, and looked like an ode to Die Hard. Strangely enough, the only thing I remember from this movie was the vision of James driving a Segway.

Now along comes the sequel, which serves for two purposes: one to please James fans and another to serve as a travel brochure and tourist advert for Las Vegas.

The film is the first one to be shot in Wynn Las Vegas, a rich and expensive property owned by Steve Wynn, one of the world’s richest persons (he makes a cameo appearance). It also serves as a running advert for the Cirque du Soleil and their shows.

For all its simplicity the film is characterised by Kevin James, who as the main protagonist really fits the bill. As in the first movie, James and the Segway are still tied together. The actor invests a lot in his character and it seems that the script, which was also written by him, seems to have been written by Paul Blart himself!

Director Andy Fickman places James at the centre of things. At times he makes him look heroic and at others he is not sure whether he is making fun of or laughing at the character. The film’s rhythm is one of silly slapstick combined with a mix of special effects.

This is due to the fact that the comedy, while being very physical, also involves situations such as someone getting a kick from a horse, that obviously enough was not carried out in actual fact.

Overall, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 is, like its namesake, a commercial product that would live happily in a mall and made for all the Kevin James fans out there.