Gremlins 2 The New Batch (1990) - Newspaper Ad

San Francisco Examiner - June 9, 1990

Despite the wish casting in the banner of this ad for a "Special One Night Only" Sneak Preview screening of Gremlins 2 The New Batch, the Gremlins did not get out of hand when they were unleashed on June 15th. So it goes.

Less a linear sequel and more of an outright Looney Tunes cartoon-style parody of what a Gremlins sequel might be like, both in front and behind the camera. Gremlins 2 The New Batch is a whirling and wobbling dervish anarchic energy and slapstick comedy.

If there is to be a downside to this movie, it is that it leans a tad too heavily into cartoonishly comedic chaos and nowhere near enough toward something approximating an actual, you know, story. It just takes the narrative framing of the first film upon which to hang an insane, almost exhausting, number of jokes, references, gags, parodies, and creature effects.

Not that that is a bad thing. There are will always be times when one is dire need of watching something that only exists to be a silly, funny, and goofy good time. An admission that makes me want to plop on the couch and watch Gremlins 2 The New Batch one more time.