"The Sting II" is one one of those movies you wonder why it was made. Nothing about it comes even close to the original. The cast is likable but not up to the caliber of the first movie. Because of the first movie, there are no real surprises in "The Sting II". We know what kind of movie to expect. The sets look good but they give off the vibe of a made-tv movie of that era. "The Sting II" does have a couple of nice moments but it's the cast that makes worth the effort.

I can't believe I'm saying this but I think part two was even better than part one. That's probably a blasphemous statement considering how good The Sting was, but this was at least equally good.

The Sting was clever, broad in scope, and well executed as a movie and as a con. Part two was all of that and I'd say even more clever. It certainly was more risky.

Of course, with a movie like this you're looking for the loose ends. Where did they slip up so I can poke holes in it? You have this elaborate con being orchestrated by Fargo Gondorff (Jackie Gleason); he has Gus Macalinski (Karl Malden) as his mark but then there's a bogey in Lonnegan (Oliver Reed) that could blow the whole thing and/or kill everybody. There is an unknown in Veronica (Teri Garr) whom you don't know what side she plays for, and a potbellied cop that could be as big a problem as any. In the middle of it all is Jake Hooker (Mac Davis) who is just trying to do his part.

Like any good heist/score movie we, the audience, aren't given too much information throughout. We have just enough to know the ruse and the major players. You know that the con centers around a fixed boxing match and that's really all you know. You have to patiently wait as everything else develops and plays out. I thought it was masterful. This was a more than adequate follow up to the first.

That tells you something about the "quality" of this movie . Not only it's a unwanted sequel , but also a pointless one . The original director and stars didn't wanted to waste their time and reputation for this made-for-cash-only sequel. They were right. It was impossible for the sequel to be better than original , hell , it would be hard to even come close to that level quality. Yet , here we have a sequel that belongs to the long list of unwanted sequels.

The opening title cards are great , even if they are obviously ripping off the original. The set design is good and the music by Lalo Schiffrin is the best thing in the whole movie (it was nominated for Oscar). Unfortunately that's all the good things I can say about "The Sting 2" (aka "The next sting").

Gone is Gorge Roy Hill as the director and instead of him we have unknown Jeremy Paul Kagan . He doesn't destroy the movie with his direction , but doesn't help it either. Gone are also Robert Redford and Paul Newman . Here we have Mac Davis and Jackie Gleason . Mac Davis isn't charming , but irritating . He behaves like a village idiot and while I'm not crazy about Redford I missed him . Gleason does a better job, he is believable as smart and charming con artist. He's no Newman, but he gives a decent performance. The strange thing is the change of relationship between main hero's : from friendship in the first movie to a father-son relationship in the sequel.

We also have here Teri Garr and Karl Malden who gave rather bad performances.

David S. Ward , the writer of the original is also the writer here. I guess they paid him A LOT of money. It doesn't change the fact that the screenplay lacks inspiration . All the dialogue and twists are tired and clumsy. Ward even tries to unnecessary complicate the screenplay which results in a "he thought that I thought that he didn't know that I know" ending.

It's a awful sequel , just awful . Avoid it . I give it 1/10.