The sequel to a quite charming predecessor, isn't too bad, but like the predecessor it does have a number of failings that let the film down considerably. I will say that there are some lovely locations, a nice soundtrack and very spirited performances from Anne Hathaway as Mia and Julie Andrews as Clarisse. Another big treat was hearing Andrews sing at the pyjama party. Even seven years of not being able to sing at all, her voice is not too bad, even if it lacks the angelic quality that made her so memorable in Mary Poppins and Sound of Music. However, had he had some better material to work with, John Rhys Davies could have been really entertaining. Because that wasn't to be, he was merely good, as we didn't learn very much from his character. Other failings include a rather contrived plot- then again the predecessor wasn't entirely successful at that either-, an underdeveloped romance and some uneven scripting. Overall, not bad at all, but could have been better. 6/10 Bethany Cox.

It's been 5 years since Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) found out that she's princess. Mia is turning 21 and wants to succeed her grandmother Queen Renaldi (Julie Andrews) of Genovia. Viscount Mabrey (John Rhys-Davies) convinces the parliament that Mia must be married or else his nephew Nicholas Devereaux (Chris Pine) gets the throne. She is given 30 days. Mabrey convinces Nicholas to stop her at any cost. Mia hates Nicholas but the Queen invites him to stay. Mia quickly picks Andrew Jacoby (Callum Blue) to marry. He seems to be a perfectly nice guy. Joe (Hector Elizondo) is still protecting the royals. Lilly Moscovitz (Heather Matarazzo) comes for a surprise visit. Things heat up when Mia falls for Nicholas.

The story has lost its innocent charms. The moments, where they try to bring back that feeling like the bow and arrow scenes, are just too fake. There is a scene where Abigail Breslin is a young orphan. It's a good moment of trying to be heart warming. The rest is a bland rom-com. I don't really like Chris Pine here no matter how hard Anne Hathaway tries to sell it. On top of it all, Genovia looks like a street in a Disney amusement park. There is too much faking going on.

I watched the first and second installment in this series back-to-back, and my main interpretation was that it was a little bemusing that the creator of "Happy Days" was directing movies about a well-meaning but awkward teenage girl who becomes a princess. Anyone used to Fonzie's turning on the jukebox just by hitting it would have to find it hard to believe that Garry Marshall directed these.

While I usually heckle these kinds of movies like the "Mystery Science Theater 3000" characters do to really crummy movies, I didn't heckle these ones. I'm not tempted to heckle Anne Hathaway, considering that she's proved herself to be more than just another pretty face by playing more serious roles in "Brokeback Mountain", "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Rachel Getting Married".

Basically, "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement", like its predecessor, is very predictable. A major thing that I interpreted from it is that it must be weird to have people waiting on you constantly. That's all that I have to say about "TPD2:RE".