I've always loved the first HOME ALONE film, ever since I was a kid, but I deliberately put off seeing this sequel after reading the negative reviews back in the day. Watching it now, as an adult, I can see what the reviewers meant: this is an insult, or indeed a kick in the teeth, to anyone who loves the first film.

Given that the original movie was a smash hit, it was inevitably that a rushed-out sequel would quickly follow. And rushed out is right; this is a mere remake of the first film, albeit with a different setting (and nobody gets "lost" either, despite the title). The characters are all exactly the same, the gags are the same, everything's the same. A bigger budget doesn't mean improved quality; it means that everyone was in this to grab more dollars.

It feels exactly like director Chris Columbus and writer John Hughes are going through the motions here. The bumbling villains are back and have even more ridiculous motives than previously. The crazy pigeon lady replaces the crazy old guy. Even the same TV gag is played out again. Hell, even the climax takes place in a house again, so the whole New York setting turns out to be a cheat. The whole sub-plot with the stressed out parents really drags things down a lot too.

HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK isn't a total loss as a film, even though it's a crushing disappointment. It's hard to dislike Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, two actors giving such physical performances. Tim Curry is a fun addition to the cast too. But Macaulay Culkin's self-knowing, superior attitude is becoming annoying already (and, indeed, his Hollywood star was to quickly wane after this) and there's absolutely nothing here that hasn't been done better previously. It's a real disappointment.

Macaulay Culkin is still cute one year later. This time Kevin gets on the wrong plane. He goes to New York and his family to Miami. Kevin is alone in the big city. With his father's money, he books into the Plaza. He must outsmart the suspicious concierge Tim Curry. Then he runs into The Wet Bandits (Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern) once again.

I'm willing to accept the Wet Bandits to return in this sequel. It makes no sense, but that's not the biggest obstacle. The biggest obstacle is the repeat of the first movie. I don't understand why they feel the need to copy. They had a fun setting in the hotel. It would be so much more interesting to have the hijinx there. Kevin pulls a funny fast one on the concierge. The movie needs more of that. Imagine if Kevin had to outsmart all three of them at the same time. That would be a much better sequel.

This is one of the few times the sequel is better than the original. A classic Christmas movie. The house traps at the end are much better than the first movie too. And who doesn't love Harry and Marv?

Final grade: 9/10 ya filthy animal