Search - Major League 2/Major League: Back to the Minors on DVD

The Indians Are Back!

Jeffrey T. Munson | Dixon, IL | 01/15/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The boys from Cleveland are back to prove that last year's team was no fluke in this great sequel film. After winning their divison, the Indians were defeated by the Chicago White Sox in the ALCS. After losing, team owner Rachel Phelps (Margaret Whitton) sold the team to former third baseman Roger Dorn (Corbin Bernsen). Roger then brought in high-priced free agent catcher Jack Parkman (David Keith) to bolster the Indians line up. However, incumbent catcher Jake Taylor (Tom Berenger) is still on the team, along with another catching prospect, Rube Baker (Eric Brushotter). Pedro Cerrano (Dennis Haysbert), Willie Mays Hayes (Omar Epps), and Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn (Charlie Sheen) also return from last year's team, along with manager Lou Brown (James Gammon).

Hayes starred in his own action movie in the off-season, and also tried turning into a power hitter, much to the chagrin of manager Brown. Cerrano discovered Buddhism, and now treats everybody as a friend, even the opposing players during a game. Jake's knees finally got the best of him, but Lou asks him to stay on as a coach. Roger soon finds out that he's in way over his head. He overpaid Rachel for the team, and now he has only enough money left for two months of operations. His first move is to trade Parkman to the hated White Sox for outfielder Isuro Tanaka (Takashi Ishibashi). Tanaka immediately challenges Cerrano, saying he has "no marbles". Roger's second move is to re-sell the team back to Rachel, much to the horror of everyone else! Rick Vaughn has shed his "Wild Thing" image. He and his agent/girlfriend Rebecca Flannery (Alison Doody) have concentrated on getting commercial advertisements and endorsement opportunities. Meanwhile, Rick has lost a lot of the zip off of his once-blazing fastball, and he's now getting hit hard by opposing teams.

Their season starts out rather slowly, just like the previous year, and to make matters worse, Lou Brown suffers a heart attack and is forced to step down as manager. Jake is given the job as manager in Lou's absence, and it falls on his shoulders to mold the team back into winners. Will Jake be able to get the team back on track. Will Rick, Willie, and Pedro re-discover their lost talents?

Many times, sequels fail to live up to the success of the original film, but that is not the case with this excellent movie. Major League 2 is every bit as good as the original. Having everyone except Wesley Snipes back from the first movie helped to make this movie so much fun to watch, and Omar Epps does a fantastic job taking over for Snipes as Willie Mays Hayes. Newcomers David Keith (Parkman), Takashi Ishibashi (Tanaka), and Eric Brushotter (Baker) add new flavor with their new characters, and Bob Uecker returns as the zany Indians announcer Harry Doyle.

I give this movie my highest recommendation. Baseball fans will surely enjoy watching the Indians in their chase to win the World Series."

The hard luck Indians are back for another season

Brad Cooper | Beckley, WV | 06/02/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"While this isn't the instant classic that the first MAJOR LEAGUE movie was, I actually like the sequel as well as the original.The only thing really missing from the first film is Wesley Snipes as center fielder Willie Mays Hayes, but Omar Epps does a nice job in his place.So what if you know that they're going to pull if off from the outset...it's all about the journey right?Bob Uecker makes the film!"

Typical sequel: Enjoyable, but inferior to the original

BRADLEY R HUTSON | Illinois | 05/01/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I saw this movie in 1994 at the theater, and I went into it hoping for as good a movie as the original. Of course, with sequels that is largely the "Stuff of legend", and this movie proved to be no exception. It was still an enjoyable film, however. Most of the great cast from the original returned for this installment, with the major exception being Wesley Snipes as "Willie Mays Hayes." He was replaced by Omar Epps, who did what turned out to be a decent job with the role. At the time, I wished they would have written it so that Hayes had gotten traded instead of hiring another actor to play him, since I thought Snipes was the ultimate for the part. However, Epps later won me over for his outstanding performance in "Higher Learning", so he is OK in my book. As far as the DVD for this movie is concerned, it has the all-important "Widescreen" feature, which for us purists is the only real way to watch a movie. The trailer for this film as well as some bonus trailers are included, but that's about it for extras. The sound quality of this DVD is great and the price is affordable. Although not as good as the original film, this one is worth picking up. One last thing about this is that, despite the lack of extras, at least Warner Bros. did their part and released Major League 2 and 3 on DVD. I have to agree with the above reviewer in wondering why Paramount has not gotten their act together and released the original "Major League" on a DVD of their own? A step in the right direction for them was getting "The Bad News Bears" out recently. Until then, I was starting to think they had something against baseball movies. I guess all we can do is keep hoping and dreaming that it will show up one of these days. Let's all hope that the delay is attributed to them taking the time to do it right and include a commentary track with the director or better yet, the hilarious Bob Uecker. Until that day arrives, the DVD of "Major League II" would be a worthwhile purchase."

They should have stopped with this one

Tasha D. Staggers | New York, NY USA | 07/02/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Major League 2 had some of the great major magic as the first Major League. But after Sheen and Berringer left. The story line totally struck out."