“It’s for the fans and not for the critics,” was the phrase heard repeatedly before watching the new “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” movie. While I agree that it could be an enjoyable movie for fans of the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” (FNAF) games, I question what the phrase “not for the critics” really means. If it means “clunky dialogue and awkward delivery from Josh Hutcherson,” then I would agree that it’s really “not for the critics.”
That isn’t to say that the movie wasn’t enjoyable. It’s a fun, 104-minute experience that clearly doesn’t take itself too seriously. In my theater, I enjoyed hearing the reactions of other audience members when seeing familiar characters or catching references. It was especially funny to watch Josh Hutcherson’s character, Mike Schmidt, try to fend off the animatronics in the security office from the “FNAF 2” game.
The animatronics were a major strength of this movie. Like the first movie, they weren’t created with CGI and were instead actual puppets. The animatronic characters looked incredible; seeing these characters physically exist in the movie was fun, and seeing them act like their scary, “quirky” selves is a major draw.
Sadly, the best part of the movie was short! With the amount of effort that was put into building the animatronic characters to look faithful to the source material, I’m shocked at how little some of the models appeared. Instead, much of the movie focuses on the characters, who are a little hard to care about with awkward and, at times, alien-sounding dialogue.
While watching the movie was enjoyable, I wouldn’t recommend watching it alone. Not because it’s too scary (because it is not scary), but because the experience is enhanced significantly by having someone nearby to react with. Watching at the movie theater could be enjoyable because you might hear the other audience members reacting to references and funny moments, but this movie would be best enjoyed amongst a group of friends at home.
